BIRD FEST 2025
Mark your calendars and plan to attend the 12th ANNUAL Green Lake Bird Festival, which kicks off on Friday evening, April 25th from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm with the ever-popular birdwatcher’s social “Birds and Brews” taking place in the Town Square BALLROOM (on the second floor). Grab your non-birding friends and socialize with fellow birders enjoying a variety of “brews” (soda included) and delicious snacks. Peruse the fine selection of raffle items. On display in the lobby will be several paintings by professional bird illustrator Tom Schultz.
The entire festival is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Saturday’s festivities begin EARLY at 6:00 am with a Green Team Bird Hike at the SUNNYSIDE Conservancy. The hike will go until approximately 8:00 AM. To reach Sunnyside Conservancy, take South Street east out of Green Lake, and after crossing Hwy A it will become Sunnyside Road. Follow it east about 1/2 mile to Lakeview Drive and turn right (south). Go to the bottom of the hill, and turn left into the parking lot. There is NO CHARGE for the bird hike, and extra binoculars will be available. Plan for the weather and dress for a chilly morning. Boots are advised, as the paths could be slightly muddy.
Following the bird hike, the festival activities move back to Town Square in Downtown Green Lake. Coffee, juice and Renard’s FRESH pastries will be available starting at 8:15 AM. Give the raffle table another go-around. Tom Schultz will provide a recap of the birds seen at Sunnyside that morning.
An official Welcome and Bird City presentation begins at 9:00 AM. The City of Green Lake is a recipient of this prestigious award, which honors Wisconsin communities who follow criteria that demonstrate they are bird-friendly. Mayor Ray Radis will be present to read the proclamation and Green Lake Bird and Nature Club president Tom Schultz will say a few words about Bird City.
Beginning at 9:30 AM, Lisa Gaumnitz, coordinator for SOS - Save Our Songbirds will share easy tips to help our backyard birds with her program called Saving our Songbirds: 3 Ways to Help at Home. Nearly 30% of North American birds have vanished since 1970 and those we most enjoy seeing have suffered the worst losses: warblers, finches, blackbirds and sparrows. The good news--there are ways to help songbirds at home by adding native plants that are good for birds; fixing windows that birds most often fly into; and making Bird-Friendly certified coffee part of your morning routine. She will have a companion booth and share supplies to jumpstart these actions at home. Take home a free native plant and free native plant guide, samples of Bird Friendly certified coffee and chocolate, and, for a small donation, a window treatment kit.
At 10:30 AM, keynote speaker Bill Volkert will delight the audience with his program entitled “The Mystery of Migration.” One of the most fascinating aspects of the lives of birds is their ability to migrate thousands of miles as they follow the changing seasons. This presentation will explore the annual migration of birds, their seasonal phenology, and recent studies that are revealing more information and greater wonder over the phenomenon of bird migration and the orderly succession of species that arrive in Wisconsin each spring. Bill worked as the Naturalist and Wildlife Educator at Horicon Marsh for 27 years, conducting more than 3,700 programs for his many audiences. He is also a federally licensed master bird bander and a regular guest on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Larry Meiller Show”. He has written many books and papers about his travels and observations, and was our festival speaker in 2014, setting up mist nets and a banding station for those who attended the field trip to Sunnyside.