Warming temperatures have lead to melting snow and messy roads, but also to the realization that spring is on the way! Many bird species like robins, eastern bluebirds, turkey vultures, sandhill cranes, wood ducks, and redwing blackbirds started arriving back into Wisconsin in February. Going into March, the northern part of the state is starting to see these birds, so take a stroll outside as the mornings are full of life!

There are so many ways you can help out these birds that have traveled sometimes thousands of miles to get here. Putting out nutritional food like seeds and fruits will help replenish their energy. Do NOT use food like bread as it will fill them up without providing them much nutrition. Putting up nesting boxes is another simple thing that you can do. Bluebirds, wood ducks, and American kestrels will use nesting boxes that are placed in the right location. www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2010/Best-Bird-Houses. Besides birds, bat boxes are critical in the summer to provide shelter to their pups until they are able to fly.

Keep your eyes peeled as March will bring other migrant birds, but other animals will start to emerge or come out of hibernation as well. Chipmunks will be seem running around again. Garter snakes, hog-nosed snakes, painted turtles, salamanders and newts will emerge and warm themselves. Wood frogs will start calling and breeding once the nights get over 50 degrees. Turkeys are going to start gobbling and ruffed grouse will start drumming.

The beautiful sounds and sights of spring are on their way and the only way you are going to witness it, is if you get out outside! Picture or no picture, make sure to record them in iNaturalist so you can track year to year when you started seeing specific wildlife. And remember, take a moment to appreciate that these individuals have survived another hard winter and are truly amazing creatures!

We may look out the window through the snow coming down and think about how all the animals have seemed to vanished. Brave the cold or take a stroll on a "warm" day and you may hear resident birds like the black-capped chickadee or nuthatches chirping away. Off in the distance you see a doe and her now big and fluffy fawn meandering through the snow to find some twigs to munch on.

Unless you enjoy ice fishing, snowshoeing, or snowmobiling, you probably aren't outside exploring as much as you were this last Fall. You know what, that is alright! This may be a good time to cuddle up by the fire with a good book or watch some documentaries to learn more about our natural world.

Even though we may not witness it, there is quite a bit of action taking place in those quiet woods. End of January is when some wildlife species, like red fox, wolves, beavers, Canada lynx, and gray squirrels are starting to mate. By this point in time, great horned owl pairs have sealed their bond and either find a big cavity, take over an old crow or heron's nest, or appropriate a red-tailed hawk's nest (much to the surprise of the homecoming hawks). If you're interested in seeing a great horned owl, February is the month to search the countryside. Bare trees make it easier to locate the large, bulky nests, which may seem unoccupied. A telltale sign a great horned owl is in residence will be two ear tufts rising just over the nest rim or a rounded lump in the center of the nest which may be the brown-feathered back of an incubating owl.

If you decide to brave the cold and explore some, remember to share your pictures with us, especially if you happen across great horned owl nest! Make sure to mark the location so you can return to see those fluffy chicks!

Coming into the Summer means there are babies everywhere! Fawns can be seen just driving down the road and if you're lucky, you might find a bird's nest as you wander through the woods. What babies have you been able to find? Post a picture of your observation and let's see those cute faces!

Spring is in full swing across Wisconsin and oh what a beautiful sight it is! Blooming plants are giving us something nice to smell and those migrating birds are filling the mornings with their sweet songs. Not sure what those blooming plants are? Don't forget to use the iNaturalist app on your phone to take a photo and get a suggestion of the species. Submitting your observations will help you keep a neat list of the birds that you find on your property or while you are out and about.

Have you learned to identify something new this spring? What about a new species on your property? Send in those observations and make a note about those awesome new IDs!