Bird Ecology
The Baraboo Hills provide habitat for a unique assemblage of species, including birds at their northern or southern range limits. Interior forest habitat, free of housing development, and roads, is rare in the Midwest, yet through the dedication of generations of conservationists, we are able to study bird ecology within several thousand acres of connected protected areas. Additionally, much of our work is centered on the role of active land management in bird conservation. Select a topic below to learn more about our research:
Bioacoustics
What does a healthy Wisconsin forest sound like? Since 2021, we have been working with the Sound Forest Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to learn about the soundscapes of Baraboo Hills forest habitats. Our work has ranged from understanding the influence of oak woodland management on arthropods and songbirds, to contributing data to global soundscape analyses. Select a topic below to learn more:
Insect Biomass & Phenology
Insects are fundamental to forest communities, yet widespread and enigmatic declines have been observed throughout many parts of the world. We monitor insect abundance and biomass during the spring and summer through the Caterpillars Count! platform. During May and June 2021, we recorded some of the highest caterpillar densities on record for the eastern US. You can read about this finding here. Our insect datasets appear in several bird & bioacoustic research topics. Read more below:
Click here to make a donation!