Nature School - Coulee Region Audubon Society

Dan Jackson locating birs by listening

The Coulee Region Audubon Society is a longtime organization serving Northeastern Iowa, Southeastern Minnesota and Southwestern Wisconsin. They are dedicated to protecting birds and conserving bird habitats and to the education of people of all ages through our meetings, events, field trips, and other programs.

It is this educational component that makes their guided field trips and efforts in the Driftless region perfect.  You can support their mission and learn a ton along the way at their "nature schools."

I have long been interested in their early spring migratory bird hikes in the La Crosse area. These crack-of-dawn-hikes (6:30-8:00am) are the perfect time to hear bird song and see active early birds.  I've thought, "I can't get up and about that early". Was I ever wrong! This year I made a commitment to go on some of the marsh hikes to increase my bird knowledge. Best time I've spent in bird learning in a long time.

These free hikes are scheduled annually for three consecutive weeks in late April to early May. On Tuesdays, everyone meets at La Crosse's Myrick Park The Nature Place and heads out on the marsh trails to catch songbird, shorebird and waterfowl action. On Thursdays, the focus shifts to the lower parking area at Hixon Forest for an amble along the edge of forestland. 

Spotting a bird

Led by Dan Jackson, the participants include seasoned society members, birders and newbies like me. The pace is slow and when one of the 35-40 birds is spotted or heard, the group stops to pinpoint the location. It's binoculars and cameras up as we scan the canopy. We follow Dan's unerring ear and green laser light to spot the smallest of the migrating songbirds or summer resident birds that have recently migrated to the area from wintering grounds.

Dan has an encyclopedic knowledge of bird song, behavior, preferred habitat, flight and wing patterns and I swear, he is a bird whisperer. Like all great birders, he has his eyes and ears attuned and can quickly point out a rare diving caspian tern or osprey, a hooded merganser in flight or a hopping northern waterthrush. And don't get me started on his warbler ID skills.

Warbling vireo
Image - Gwyn Calvetti from CRAS website

All along the walk he identifies birds by song and note as he stops and the group locates the bird in trees or shore. He patiently works with participants so we can all see a bird he has spotted. Other knowledgeable birders on these guided hike contribute as well. 

I can't recommend these nature school guided bird hikes enough. You will leave with much more knowledge than when you started and meet some great people too ! Here are the next three guided hikes as well as other guided birding hikes and events they sponsor.

Hixon Forest Bird Walk

 - Thursday, May 7                      6:30-8:00 am

 - Hixon Forest, lower parking lot, La Crosse WI

We will meet at the Hixon Forest parking lot at the end of Milson Court. We will walk a loop on the lower trails that follow the north edge of the golf course.

Myrick Marsh Bird Walk

 - Tuesday, May 12                 6:30-8:00 am

 - The Nature Place, 789 Myrick Park , La Crosse WI

We will meet at head of main trail at the east side of the Nature Place parking lot. We will walk a loop on the marsh trails and be back at the parking lot around 8:00. All are welcome and it is free and open to the public. 

Hixon Forest Bird Walk

 - Thursday, May 14                    6:30-8:00 am

 - Hixon Forest, lower parking lot, La Crosse WI

We will meet at the Hixon Forest parking lot at the end of Milson Court. We will walk a loop on the lower trails that follow the north edge of the golf course. All are welcome and it is free and open to the public. 

Images, unless Noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Nature School is what I like to call the guided hikes I go on when I’ve a mind to learn more about the natural world and to fulfill my required training hours to maintain my annual Master Naturalist volunteer certification. The Nature School series highlights parks, organizations and groups that provide free or low-cost guided learning experiences while hiking. The Driftless area of MN, WI and IA is rich in dedicated biologists, naturalists and citizen scientists who share their knowledge, passion and expertise. By doing so, they help hikers of all ages better understand our natural world. It’s always a delight to attend their “schools.”

Nature Sneak Peak - May 2026

Trout lilies

Well, April showers did not disappoint so the end of that month gave us first glimpses of our May - early arrival of dandelions, explosive lawn growth, flowering fruit trees and shrubs - all hallmarks of  the month of May and Mother's Day.

Now that the growing season is upon us, here are a few things to look for in your May hiking and excursions into nature.

Wetlands

Virginia bluebells
Duck Egg County Forest, Viroqua WI

Virginia Bluebells - these lovely blue-and-pink flowered plants love wet feet and are best found in wetlands. Carley (MN) State Park has scads of them as do the lower trails of Duck Egg County Forest near Viroqua WI. 

Trout Lilies - are ready to open and curl back their white or yellow bells. They like damp feet and can be found in profusion near water, floodplains and moist woods

Frogs - The singing continues with wood frogs and leopard frogs joining the peepers and chorus frogs. American toads add their trill for a short time during the month. 

Long-legged Shore Birds - Herons, egrets and sandhill cranes are all back and feasting on fish and amphibians

Thigh-high Jack-in-the-pulpit
South Park, Houston
Image - Mike Bonner

Woods
Jack-in-the-Pulpits - are springing up (and in some natural areas, waaaay up) in May. They are fascinating flowers, choosing their gender from year to year. According to the Minnesota Wildflowers website: "Males tend to be smaller than females and have a small hole at the bottom of the spathe (the "hood) which allows pollinators to escape (with their pollen) more easily. Female plants lack the hole and pollinators are more likely to become trapped, better ensuring successful pollination. Sneaky devils."

Trilliums - the short blooming season and carpets of the large-flowered trillium make it a showstopper in the woods. Sharp-eyed hikers can spot the more rare nodding trillium by looking below the leaves to find its white flower with distinctive pinkish purple tips (anthers). Ants are it's pollinators.

Shooting star

Shooting Stars - our Driftless area is rich in these bright purple-pink, limestone-loving ephemerals. Hotspots to find them - blufftops in Wyalusing (WI) State Park, La Crescent's Stoney Point and Perrot (WI) State Park.

Ferns - turning to our showiest greens, ferns are bursting out and gaining height as they unfurl. Look for maidenhair, interrupted, lady, wood, ostrich, cliff, bladder and rock ferns as you walk. My two favorite fern hikes are at Winona's Bluffside Park Wildwood Trail and Rushford's Maglesson's Bluff.  It is fern heaven at a number of places along these trails.

Bishop's cap
Note the 5 tiny fronds
on the tip of each flower

Bishop's Cap  - aka Two-leaf Miterwort, is a tiny but distinct ephemeral. Each flower on its stalk is shaped like a miter (bishop's cap) with fearthery fronds at the tip. Two distinct opposite leaves halfway up the stalk clinch the identification. One of my personal favorites.

Leaves - and shade are back, baby. May is the time of more fully leafed-out trees that shade our walks and provide energy for each tree's growth year. They are always welcome in the Driftless even if we do have to bid farewll to our sun-loving first ephemerals.

Prairies
Prairie Smoke - for my money, one of the most beautiful first flowers of the prairies. A breezy day always finds me on prairies like Holland Sand Prairie enjoying their delicate fuzzy pink flower fronds blowing in the wind. They are also known as "old man's whiskers."

A sea of May lupines & puccoons
Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge

Wild Lupine - during certain years, these deeply purple-blue flower stalks create oceans of color on sand prairies. On good bloom years, the best reliable display is found at Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge on their Prairie Edge Loop (driving, hiking, biking) trail. Wowser.

Male field pussytoe

Field Pussytoes - these humble, short, white plants hug the ground. You need a sharp eye to find them. The male and female flowers are distinct. The females appear furrier with five distinct “toes” like their namesakes. The males are less fuzzy with their brownish stamens protruding above their scalier flowers. Keep a sharp eye out to see them above their grayish basal leaves.

Hoary puccoon

Hoary Puccoon - this impossibly bright orange-yellow flower is also impossible to miss on the prairie. Closely related is the Carolina or hairy puccoon - both continue blooming right into the summer.

Birdfoot Violet - this rare species of violet sports a deep purple bloom with neon bright stamen. What sets it apart from the more  common blue violet are its leaves at the base of the plant. They are lobed and remind one of a bird’s foot. Always a delightful find!

Birds
Warbler Migration - continues with many species resting briefly before continuing on to nesting grounds further north. Yellow-rumped, prothonotary, and palm warblers are a few that will remain here to nest and raise their young. Be sure to keep your binoculars handy and your ears sharp. The Merlin app can help you with this!

The Color Guard - rainbow-bright birds like Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and yellowthroats return to begin their nesting season. They bring additional sounds to nature walks.

Orange-crowned warbler, Frontenac (MN) State Park 
Image Steve Dietz

I hope you get out on the trails this month. The weather is bound to warm up, right? 

No matter where you go, be curious. Take some extra time to look and see what you can see along the trail. You’ll be delighted!

Prairie smoke aka Old Man's Whiskers

If you're interested in some great Driftless hiking destinations to find the above May treats, please stop here for my top picks.  See you on the trails! 

Birdfoot violet

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Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters