Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge

06/19/2026

06/18/2026

We are absolutely blown away by the generosity of our Friends at Fremont Federal Credit Union! 😍

The credit union has a Jeans for Charity program. Employees of the credit union can contribute from their paychecks for the opportunity to wear jeans at work, and each quarter, they choose a local nonprofit to receive the funds. They brought us a check for $7,704 to put towards our work conserving Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge!

Thank you to the employees of Fremont Federal Credit Union for choosing to support our organization - and for choosing to protect wildlife habitat at a time when it is needed most.

Their generosity helps provide resources for habitat restoration, trails and visitor experiences, educational programs, and the next generation of conservation professionals. Together, we're ensuring that wildlife and wild places will continue to thrive for generations to come.

Thank you for turning your casual days into conservation! 🦅

Photo: Friends accept a check from Nick Cray, President and CEO of Fremont Federal Credit Union | FONWR (l-r Julia Hinca, Nature Store Manager; Aimee Arent, Executive Director; Nick Cray, President and CEO of Fremont Federal Credit Union; Puddles the Blue Goose, Refuge System Mascot; Carol Fingerhut, FONWR Board Member; Sharon Pesci, Visitor Experience Assistant; Alex Marshall, Community Engagement and Programs Coordinator)

06/18/2026

If you need Father's Day gifts 🎁for your nature loving father, The Rookery Nature Store has you covered! 👀 Look at some of the great gift ideas they have for you.

🦌🦫🎣🧦📖☕👣🐦🦆🦅

Stop by this weekend, Saturday & Sunday 10-4 pm and grab your gifts. You might even find something for yourself. Remember your purchases help to support Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

Share this post for your friends to see also. 😉



Photo gift items from https://www.friendsofottawanwr.org/shop.htm /FONWR

06/18/2026

The building will be closed tomorrow but the wildlife drive is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

As a reminder, the Visitor Center is closed on federal holidays, which includes tomorrow, Friday, June 19th, a day of reflection and celebration. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, marks the anniversary of this day in 1865 when the news of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation finally reached the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas more than two years after it was issued.

As a holiday bonus, the Wildlife Drive is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend, from sunrise to one hour before sunset. Other summer weekends from June to August, the Wildlife Drive is open every Saturday and Sunday.

Regular Visitor Center hours are Thursday through Sunday 10:00am to 4:00pm. Refuge grounds are open daily, dawn to dusk, as are the outdoor restrooms behind the Visitor Center and the comfort station at the trailhead parking lot.

Photo: The Ottawa NWR barn quilt by T. Everhardt.

06/18/2026

Podilymbus podiceps, which is the Latin name for grebes, means feet at the buttocks. Pied-billed grebes are a diving species of birds. They are very adept at diving due to the placement of their legs towards the back of their body.

They build their nests on floating structures as they cannot walk on land. Due to their leg placement, they fall forward. A grebe kind of wobbles on and off their nests to the water during incubation.

This diving ability allows them to chase their prey at the bottom of the water and underwater if necessary.

Next time you see a pied-billed grebe watch it dive a and rise a few times. It usually doesn’t come up will you expect it might. They are fun to watch.



Photo of pied-billed grebe preparing to dive and diving/L. Monska

06/17/2026

☕❤️ Coffee for a Cause!

Every cup served during the festival helped turn caffeine into conservation. Because you grabbed breakfast or a beverage from Sweet Nate’s Coffee during spring migration, more than $700 was just donated to the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge!

From early morning warbler chasers to those needing an afternoon pick-me-up, your coffee stops helped support habitat conservation, education programs, and opportunities for people to connect with the birds and wildlife at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge.

A huge thank you to Sweet Nate’s Coffee for partnering with us, (keeping our staff caffeinated), and proving that even something as simple as a great cup of coffee can have a lasting impact. We appreciate your support!

Photo: Todd from Sweet Nate’s Coffee presents a donation of more than $700 raised in May to the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. | FONWR

06/16/2026

Be sure to checkout the satellite properties for more outdoor adventure!

📢 Announcing Satellite Saturdays! 📢

You probably already know that Ottawa NWR is actually a complex of refuges including Cedar Point NWR and West Sister Island NWR. Additionally, Ottawa NWR includes many satellite properties throughout Ottawa County that are not directly connected to the main Ottawa NWR unit. Ottawa NWR staff manages over a dozen satellite properties (some owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and some owned by partners) as well as the Schoonover Waterfowl Production Area in Michigan. Select properties are open for hiking, hunting, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and wildlife viewing and are easy to recognize by the USFWS kiosks near the parking areas. A few of Ottawa NWR’s satellite properties include the Boss Unit, Marinewood Unit, Nehls Memorial Nature Preserve, Fox Nature Preserve, Turtle Creek Island Unit, Turkey Run Unit, Two Rivers Unit, and Middle Toussaint Unit. Other properties are not open to the public and are accessible by permit only or during special tours.

Feeling overwhelmed? Join us for Satellite Saturdays on select Saturdays during the summer to explore some of the satellite properties. Times and locations will vary. Check the events tab of our page or website for more information.

Photo: A trail at the Fox Nature Preserve by M. Michael.

06/16/2026

School is out for the summer, but there is an interesting vocabulary word to share today.

Crypsis
The ability of an organism to conceal itself by pattern, shape, and color to allow for blending into its environment for concealment from predators or prey. This is a specific form of camouflage

The example that always comes to my mind first is the American bittern. The orange and tan vertical striping create perfect concealment for this species. The way they hold their head straight up as to almost not see their bill either. Leaf insects are another that blend in well as they appear just a leaf.

For general camouflage, think of a leopard laying in a tree or a deer laying down in the woods. Both species blend into their environment.

06/15/2026

In a wetland ecosystem, you never know what species you might find nearby. Some sights are the usual, some are the unusual and that is what helps make any trip out to the marshes a fun day.

On this day, I was watching a couple pied-billed grebes when a beaver popped in. I will take that sight and call it a great day.

Feel free to caption this one. 😉



Photo of pied-billed grebe watching a beaver swim by/L. Monska

06/14/2026

Common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) are a diurnal species warm weather species. During the winter, they hibernate under logs or rocks below the frost lines in holes they have dug out.

Their diet consists of insects and small arthropods. Examples of their diet include but are not limited to worms, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, snails & slugs.

For those curious about their reproduction, they lay eggs and will stay around to monitor the nest area they dug for their +/- 10 eggs. The young are precocial and the female does no paternal care.



Photo