Door County:
A Bird Watcher's Paradise

Like people, some winged travelers stay year round, while others come just for a season before moving on with the changing seasonal winds. In fact, more than 300 species—a figure that accounts for more than a third of North America's native bird population—have been spotted along the peninsula and outlying islands, making Door County a Wisconsin birding hotspot for species both common and rare. Here's what to look for when birding in Door County during all four seasons.

• Spring: Fields begin to flood as the shoreline and inland lakes thaw, creating a welcoming environment for migrant ducks, geese, and cranes. As spring unfolds, tree buds burst open, signaling it's prime time to explore forests, fields, and other landscapes for a glimpse of new avian arrivals.
  
  Spring is also the perfect time to spot gulls, terns, cranes, pelicans, colorful warblers in the woodlands, and waterfowl in flooded fields and thawing shoreline. Anything from sandhill cranes and larks to killdeer and redwings come back to Door County by mid-March, possibly even before the ice is off streams. Then, waterfowl return by mid-April as inland waters thaw out. Migrants, flying in from Central and South America, and shorebirds return mid-May. 

• Summer: Come summer, shorebirds begin to populate the area in droves, spending anywhere from three days to a week in one location. Keep a watchful eye out for the indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, and rose-breasted grosbeak.

• Fall: When leaves turn vivid shades of orange, yellow, and red with the onset of autumn, Tundra Swans, Wood Ducks, and Canada Geese can be found soaring against the colorful harvest backdrop as they journey south for winter. 

• Winter: Even when trees become bare and snow falls upon the rolling hills, limestone bluffs, and open meadows, many birds, including the Black Capped Chickadee and Northern Cardinal, can be found braving the winter wind and frigid temperatures. Many other birds are tough enough to stick it out through the Wisconsin winter, with turkeys, Bald Eagles, Pine Siskins, Common Redpolls, pheasants, and crows all among them.