St. Croix Valley Bird Club

05/19/2026

Help restore bird habitat in Stillwater! 🌿🐦 Join us & City of Stillwater, Minnesota - Local Government on Sunday, June 7 for a volunteer planting event at Lumberjack Landing Park. Together, we’ll plant 175 native trees and shrubs to support migratory birds and strengthen local biodiversity along the St. Croix River.

No experience needed — just bring gloves, a shovel, and clothes for the weather.

Sign up here: https://www.sustainablestillwatermn.org/event-details/lumberjack-landing-planting-for-birds-2026

05/04/2026

Migration is in full swing, so plan to join us for our annual celebration as we welcome the return of our summer residents, as well as those just passing through! This Saturday, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center: Wisconsin Campus.

04/13/2026

Come join us as we celebrate the return of our Neotropical feathered friends. Saturday May 9, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Bird hikes, bird banding demos, kid's activities and more!

04/02/2026

The 2025-2026 SCVBC Program series is finishing with what promises to be a fascinating look at wildlife conservation efforts near and far, presented by Seth Stapleton, Director of the Minnesota Zoo. Please plan to join us on Saturday, April 18 at 10:30 am, UWRF North Hall Auditorium. Always free and open to the public!

03/10/2026

Please join us for our next speaker presentation Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 am. PLEASE NOTE: New location! Because the RF Library is undergoing renovations, all SCVBC programs are being held in UWRF’s North Hall Auditorium (Room #222).
The exterior doors of North Hall will be unlocked. The north door is the best if someone needs an ADA accessible entry and the elevator. Enter at the ramp on the north side and proceed to the T in the hallway. The elevator is to the left. When exiting the elevator on 2nd floor, head left to the auditorium.

02/07/2026

Please join us as we welcome Ranger Dan as our speaker on Saturday, Feb. 21st! See below for all the details.

PLEASE NOTE: New location! Because the RF Library is undergoing renovations, all programs are being held in UWRF’s North Hall Auditorium also known as Room #222. It’s located on the second floor. Please allow more time to find your way inside.

→→ The University Police will have all exterior doors of North Hall unlocked. The north door is the best if someone needs an ADA accessible entry and the elevator. You can enter at the ramp on the north side of the building, once inside, you'll walk to a T in the hallway. The elevator is to the left. Coming out of the elevator, turn left to the auditorium.

→→Attached is a campus map. North Hall is building 17. Parking lots A and Q are free on weekends, but parking lot "Pay 1" which is in the same general area as Q lot is pay by space at the rate of $1 per hour. There is also usually plenty of free parking on the side streets on the weekends as long as people obey the signs - some sides of the streets are for residential permit holders only.

01/11/2026

Members of the St. Croix Valley Bird Club participate in annual Christmas Bird Counts in the Spring Valley and Ellsworth area. Here are this year's resultsl:

2025 Christmas Bird Counts –
Spring Valley, Wisconsin CBC:
• Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025.
• 13 participants in six cars.
• 35 species observed.
• 2,296 individual birds observed.
Ellsworth, Wisconsin CBC:
• Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.
• 18 participants in six cars.
• 35 species observed.
• 3,269 individuals. The Ellsworth CBC includes a porƟon of the Mississippi River which accounts
for the higher number of individuals sighted due to the presence of rafts of waterfowl.

Send a message to learn more

12/12/2025

Our monthly bird hike scheduled for this Saturday, December 13 on the Wisconsin campus of Carpenter Nature Center has been CANCELED due to the dangerously cold wind chill forecast.

11/18/2025

This Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Wisconsin Senate will hold a public hearing on a bill proposing a hunting season on Sandhill Cranes. The International Crane Foundation will be there to testify in opposition—and we invite you to stand with us.

Public Hearing Details:
🕒 Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 9 a.m.
🏛️ Room 201 Southeast, Wisconsin State Capitol, Madison, WI

This is the third time in 12 years that the Wisconsin legislature has proposed a hunt on Sandhill Cranes, often claiming, without evidence, that it will resolve farmers' issues with spring crop damage. We have and continue to work on implementing meaningful solutions for farmers. We are opposed to a widely unpopular hunting season that risks population stability, will operate at a significant financial loss, and does nothing to resolve crop damage.

Further, the proposal comes on the heels of unprecedented outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), posing a significant risk to the stability of crane populations worldwide. This past spring, thousands of Sandhill Cranes died of the virus in Indiana, marking the devastating loss of up to 2-3% of the Eastern Population of the species. In September, we announced the first known loss of an Endangered Whooping Crane due to HPAI. In just the past month, crane deaths in Europe have been estimated at nearly 40,000 individuals.

The science is clear. Now is not the time to experiment with a hunting season on Sandhill Cranes' critical breeding grounds in Wisconsin. 

Your presence sends a powerful message: Wisconsinites value cranes and the ecosystems they depend on. If you are able, please join us at the State Capitol to show your support. At the hearing, you can register as opposed to the proposed bill and even speak as a member of the public.

Not able to attend the hearing? We urge you to contact your legislators as soon as possible to show your support for cranes. You can find your representatives and their contact information here: bit.ly/legiswi

Thank you for speaking up for cranes. Together, we can ensure these remarkable birds continue to thrive in Wisconsin and beyond.

📸 Ted Thousand

11/14/2025

There’s a wonderful opportunity coming up in 2026 to support the Friends of the St. Croix Wetland Management District, and to get out and explore the one or more of the 48 different Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA’s) within St. Croix Wetland Management District #3 in the process! A photo contest! See more details below.

This is an early announcement for a 2026 photo contest being sponsored by the friends of the Saint Croix wetland management District. Contest information as follows: