Bird-a-Thon

The final results are in—The Craniacs spotted 170 unique species during their 2026 Bird-aThon, nearly matching last year’s tally! From our President and CEO Dr. Rich Beilfuss:

“This year, we shifted our Bird-a-thon to focus on Wyalusing State Park. Wyalusing is at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers, a wonderful landscape of river forest and bluffs that attracts many migrating birds that migrate north along the Mississippi River corridor in spring. We spotted four beautiful warblers that we rarely see on our Bird-a-Thon—Kentucky, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-throated, and Prothonotary—and many others.

“Outside of Wyalusing, we focused on grassland birds, enjoying great looks at Upland Sandpiper and 13 sparrow species in all. We missed our usual stops for shorebirds and wetland birds this year, but loved the opportunity to explore some of Wisconsin’s true forest and grassland treasures.”

To donate, make a fixed gift using the link on this page or pledge a specific dollar amount per species by contacting Jennifer Fiene, Membership Manager, at 608-356-9462 ext. 151.

The money we raise from our Bird-a-Thon supports the broad work of the International Crane Foundation, which includes work right here in Wisconsin to maintain 175 acres of restored prairie, oak savannah, and wetlands on our headquarters site in Baraboo. The hard work we do to maintain our land includes removal of invasive species, controlled burns, restoration plantings, and monitoring to help us understand these complex ecosystems and their remarkable diversity of flora and fauna. Many of our visitors love to walk our nature trails, cherishing the ever-changing blooms from season to season throughout the year. Our work in Wisconsin also serves to inspire and inform our colleagues worldwide who are restoring and managing land and water for cranes and many other species.

Your support of our annual Bird-a-Thon helps such worthwhile programs here at our headquarters and in the many protected areas we and our partners help conserve, manage, and cherish on the five continents where we work.

A Northern House Wren greets the Wisconsin spring. Ryan Michalesko/International Crane Foundation

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