Get Outside, Spot the Leaves!

 By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

As the summer season comes to a close and the shift into fall begins, the world around us begins to change. People begin to be more tired as daylight hours become scarce. Animals become more active as they scurry around, searching for food and collecting pieces of their environment to build their homes for the winter months ahead. Other animals go out in search of a mate or migrate south. The temperatures drop and the air turns brisk as we tilt away from the sun, leaving the summer humidity behind. Most notably, the foliage around us changes colors.

Like many animals and other living things, trees need to find a way to survive through the coming winter. To do so, some trees need to shed their leaves, causing them to change color, illustrating to the world that change can be beautiful as it fills up with reds, browns, gold, and even purple. Here in Wisconsin, these colors can even tell you what type of tree it may be.

If you take a stroll outside, you can spot oak trees that will show off hues of reds and browns, while a dogwood tree will display leaves that are purplish-red. Various colors of yellow can be spotted from hickory trees’ bronze, birch’s bright yellow, and poplar’s golden hue. Then, there are a variety of maples, such as a sugar maple that can be orange and red, a black maple that shifts to brilliant yellow, and red maples that turn scarlet (Wisconsin DNR).

The next time you go outside, take a good look at the world around you to fight the sleepiness that comes with the season. Play a game of “name that tree,” and enjoy the processes that are taking place right before your eyes. See what animals you can spot scrounging for food or sticks for their homes. Since they’re not always visible, keep your ears peeled for the rustling of leaves, for there could be a squirrel or a deer nearby! You may even hear the hoot of an owl or a bird chirping. Enjoy the change while it happens before it's over, and the winter months settle in.

Before the fall season ends, join us at Beaver Creek to enjoy all the processes and changes that come with it. Step on some crunchy leaves on our 9 miles of trails suited for both beginner and experienced hikers. Try and see how many different animals and trees you can spot! 

If you are a member with us, a University student, or have an active Military ID, you can get in for FREE. Non-members are free for those 2 and under, $5 for youth 15 and under, and adults are $8. We are open Monday - Saturday from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM and Sundays from 12:00-4:00 PM. We’d love to see you stop by and enjoy our wildlife before it gets cold!

Bat-tling the Stigma: The Truth About Our Nocturnal Friends

By: Cali Martozie, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

If you’re anything like me, you were warned to steer clear of bats at all costs. Since I was never told why, I assumed everyone was trying to protect me from a creature that would hurt me. It didn’t help when I discovered vampires—people that could transform into bats and feast on human blood as soon as the sun set. With these preconceptions about bats, whenever people told me another scary “fact,” I automatically believed what they said to be true.

One of the biggest, and might I add scariest, things people are told to believe is that bats drink human blood.

Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus)
Photo by Bat Conservation International

While there are species of bats that drink blood, only three out of fifteen hundred species have the capacity to ‘drink’ human blood. The most common of those three bats is the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). They live in tropical and subtropical areas such as parts of Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. Their diet mainly consists of mammal blood, specifically livestock, and sometimes birds and larger animals. It is extremely rare that they would ever go for humans. To feed, they cut their prey using their sharp incisors and lap, not drink, the blood that comes out. Typically, their prey doesn’t even notice this is happening, as this feeding doesn’t hurt them due to their saliva containing an anticoagulant enzyme. The enzyme not only helps them feed and makes it less painful for their prey, but the enzyme in their saliva is also used in stroke medication (Bat Conservation International, 2025)(Klockzien, 2025)(National Geographic).

Then, there’s the notion that bats will fly into people’s hair and get stuck!

Little Brown Bat

The only reason a bat would actively fly near a human is that their food is flying around them, bugs. Because of their great eyesight and use of echolocation, this is rare, as it helps them avoid humans and other large objects to find what they need. Mainly, a bat will only be near someone by accident. Overall, they are not interested in interacting with humans, much less attacking them as their instincts favor them fleeing when there is a threat rather than confronting it (Klockzien, 2025).

Finally, there is the idea that all bats have rabies.

In general, less than 1% of bats have rabies, and animals such as dogs, skunks, raccoons, and foxes are more likely to have it. The main reason they are the leading cause of rabies-related deaths is due to humans not fully being aware that bats can contract rabies and their high population around the United States. It is a good idea to be mindful that bats should be avoided, especially if they are acting strangely, even if there is a low chance the bat could bite someone, have rabies, and give it to them. Being mindful and understanding bats can help lessen this risk (CDC, 2019)(Klockzien, 2025).

Misconceptions like these are what lead people to forget the importance of bats and can make it harder for people to want to support research in saving their populations. They pollinate plants in tropical areas, such as banana plants and agave, and disperse seeds. They even save billions of dollars in payments for pesticides and crop damage just through keeping the bug population in check. By being informed about the truth of our furry nocturnal friends, they can continue to live healthy lives, and research can go towards restoring their populations that are being harmed here in the United States by White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that interrupts their hibernation, leaving them to starve. In turn, they will help our ecosystems thrive while saving us from an overpopulation of bugs (Bat Conservation International, 2025)(Celley)(Klockzien, 2025)! 

If you are interested in working with bats and volunteering, keep an eye on our program calendar for bat programs or contact our Citizen Science Center to get involved!

Native Plant Sale Opening Soon!

 By: Amanda Lamm, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

The geological consensus is in: April showers are officially here! And you know what that means… Starting Wednesday, April 30, Beaver Creek is having their annual online Native Plant Sale! New this year, we've added bundles to our sale, perfect for people looking to attract certain species, or for beginner gardeners. Our bundles of Wisconsin wildlife-friendly plants come in three types; each designed to attract bees, butterflies, or birds. 

Calico Aster

May the flower ‘bee’ with you, and plenty of pollinators, too, with our bee bundle! As the breadbasket of the U.S., bees play a massive role in our agricultural success through pollination, not to mention their help in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and, well…honey!

This bundle includes:

• Anise Hyssop, a drought tolerant plant with a plethora of petite purple blossoms

• Spotted Bee Balm, its willowy petals range in color from pink to maroon

• Calico Aster, an ivory cluster of disc-like flowers

• Early Figwort, a particularly nectar-rich plant that blooms from May to July

• Common Ironweed, a plant with spectacular magenta blooms especially valuable to native

Common Milkweed

Turn your yard into a free-range butterfly garden with our next bundle! In addition to being pollinators, the presence of butterflies is a great indicator of a healthy ecosystem. The bundle has nectar plants as well as host plants which are essential for butterflies. This includes:

• Common Milkweed, the Monarch butterfly’s host plant on which they exclusively lay their eggs

• Prairie Blazingstar, a plant that features electric purple blooms and attracts all types of pollinators

• New England Aster, bold and late-blooming, this plant provides for butterflies well into the fall

• Wild Bergamot, known for its medicinal properties, it’s butterfly-approved too

• Brown-eyed Susan, a drought tolerant plant sporting abundant yellow coneflowers

Cardinal Flower

The birds! Not Hitchcock’s, but Wisconsin’s diverse range of native aviators (and Turkeys, too)! In addition to pollinating, birds are responsible for seed dispersal and nutrient recycling.

This bundle includes:

•  Cup Plant, standing tall at six feet, its seeds provide birds with a hearty meal

• Cardinal Flower, hued as the bird of its namesake, this plant specifically attracts hummingbirds

• Purple Coneflower, this beautiful prairie bloom is deer-resistant, but bird-attracting

• Little Bluestem, a native grass that’s seeds keep the songbirds fed

• Round-headed Bush Clover, a rose-hearted flowering plant whose seeds feed songbirds and game birds alike

Our online sale opens at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, April 30. The online store closes Wednesday, May 7 at 4:00 PM with order pick-up being at the Wise Nature Center on Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10. Some plants will be available to purchase in-person during order pick-up, but most plants will be sold online. To view the list of available plants and plan your garden, you can head to- https://www.beavercreekreserve.org/events/native-plant-sale/

Women in Conservation Unite-Hike!

By: Amanda Lamm, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

On Friday, March 14th, we here at Beaver Creek celebrated women in conservation with an informative PowerPoint presentation and 1.5 mile hike on our trails, amongst Silver Maples in the midst of tapping season. 

The evening began inside the Wise Nature Center, where staff members gave a presentation on women’s representation in the field of conservation. Attending the event were women of all ages and from all walks of life; some worked in the field of conservation and others simply appreciated it. We gathered to learn about the lack of representation of women in this field and to celebrate the accomplishments of the phenomenal women, such as marine biologist and writer, Rachel Carson, chemical engineer and former administrator to EPA, Lisa P. Jackson, Potawatomi botanist and author, Robin Wall Kimerer, and English zoologist, primatologist, and anthropologist, Jane Goodall. 

After the presentation, we headed outside on the beautiful early-spring evening and made our way along the yellow trail, field guides and binoculars in hand, hoping to catch sight of a wing or two in motion. Along the trail, we spotted a few birds (namely two noisy geese), a few whitetail deer, dozens of Silver Maples, and glacier-like sheets of ice still clinging to life on the shores of Beaver Creek. We, a community of women, celebrated women in conservation in the best way we knew how; sharing knowledge, getting outside, and acquainting ourselves with each other and the promise of spring.

Nuclear Knowledge: Exploring Space Through Radiation

By: Amanda Lamm, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Writing Intern

With spring still a chilly month or two out of season, a stellar way to spend a Saturday night would be attending one the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society’s (CVAS’s) monthly astronomy talk in Hobbs Observatory. Just across the road from the Beaver Creek Reserve Wise Nature Center, you enter the Observatory by way of a quick walk among the beautiful pines, guided by a luminous red path (this lack of bright or white light helps to keep the skies stark for stargazers). Each third Saturday, the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society (CVAS) hosts a themed astronomy talk (sometimes accompanied by a demonstration- our most recent involved a Geiger Counter! - or a look through the telescope). Last Saturday, February 16th, gave an enlightening session centered around "Exploring Space Through Radiation". 

This topic may sound broad or even intimidating to astronomical novices, such as myself, but I can promise you, if you have the slightest interest in how this all works (the universe, etc.), you (and kids, too) will come away with infinitely more curiosity and at least a few new nuggets of space knowledge. 

During the talk, members from the CVAS covered: charges (static and dynamic), fields (electrical and magnetic- I learned that you can't have one without the other), waves, the color spectrum (ironically, a star that gives off blue light is on the hotter end of the spectrum, while red is on the cooler), and much more, all brought to you with that science-teacher level of passion and humor that we all know and love.

If you still think astronomy might not be your thing, just remember that opposites attract, so keep an eye out on our event calendar for the third Saturday of many months to come. And keep both eyes out for the Lunar Eclipse on March 13th! 

Beginning in May, there will be public telescope observing every Saturday night until October, granted the skies are clear. To keep up with the CVAS, check out their website.

Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding Season Recap

By: Claire Molina, AmeriCorps Avian Field Technician

Our Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) migration banding season went off with a bang. On October 4th, we started off our season by catching 7 owls and it only went up from there. After 15 nights of banding owls, we had 180 captures and processed 154 individual owls.  144 of those captured were new birds and 36 were recaptures. 13 recaptures were originally banded at other stations while 26 were banded here at Beaver Creek Reserve. So far, we know that we caught a bird that was banded last year in 2023 in Michigan and one of our own from the 2023 season as well. We are still waiting to hear back about where the rest of our recaptured birds were originally banded.

We caught 137 females, 2 males and 15 unknown owls. Females made up 88.9% of our captures and males made up .01%. New research, targeting the banding of male Northern Saw-whet owls, may get us one step closer to understanding why we see this disparity between sexes at banding stations. The smallest bird we caught weighed 75.4 grams and our chunkiest bird weighed 116.2 grams. For reference, a stick of butter weighs about 113 grams.

We hosted 3 public programs to share knowledge about our banding program and to explore the behavior, habitat and obstacles that the Northern Saw-whet owl faces. We reached over 80 people through our outreach efforts and hopefully inspired those who joined us for our owl banding evenings.

25 new banders went through the Beaver Creek Reserve Northern Saw-whet owl training and put in over 800 hours of volunteer time throughout the season. Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers and landowners, we could not do this work without you! Another great season in the books, we look forward to the next one!

What a Thrush!

By: Luke Trittelwitz, AmeriCorps Avian Field Technician

Beaver Creek Reserve’s Citizen Science team was busy in the field during the month of June! Aside from Kestrel banding, bluebird monitoring, and MAPS banding, our CSC team joined a range-wide study to look at the life cycle of a bird listed as a special concern in the state of Wisconsin. The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a medium sized thrush related to the Robin and the Bluebird. Found in dense wooded areas and known by their iconic song, Wood Thrush are part of the newest research at the Citizen Science Center! For the next two years, Beaver Creek Reserve has joined the Missouri Fish and Wildlife Service on their Wood Thrush study. This summer, our bird banding team captured and banded ten Wood Thrush using mist nets and audio lures. Once captured, the birds were equipped with a United States Geological Survey aluminum leg band, and on the other leg a blue plastic color band to help distinguish them from other Wood Thrush. The birds are also fixed with a small telemetry antenna that sits on their back. These antennas transmit information to any MOTUS tower the Wood Thrush fly past on their migration routes.

You may remember last year,  Beaver Creek Reserve installed two MOTUS towers. One tower is on top of the Wise Nature Center and the other tower is at our research property. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international research collaboration that uses automated radio telemetry to track animals across the world! Listed as a species of decline in 25 states and Canada, tagging and tracking Wood Thrush allow scientists to understand their life cycle, their breeding and migratory ranges. Upon completion of this project, Beaver Creek Reserve and all of the other collaborators in North America will have deployed over 600 Motus tags on Wood Thrush. A project of this size that encompasses a species' whole life cycle will help scientists understand the areas of greatest conservation need for the Wood Thrush along with the potential threats that are causing its decline across North America. 

Beaver Creek Reserve is honored to work with the Missouri Fish and Wildlife Service. Thank you to Carpenter Nature Center for asking Beaver Creek Reserve to partner with them as the Wisconsin cohort. We would like to thank Eau Claire County Parks and Forests, local birders and the many private landowners who helped us achieve our goal of finding, capturing and tagging ten birds this June.

To learn more about the project or about MOTUS see the link below. This project is a two-year project. Next year, if you notice Wood Thrush on your property within 15 miles of Beaver Creek Reserve, we would love to have you join our project! Please reach out if you are interested. The links below can be used to learn more about Wood Thrush and Motus. 

Learn More about Wood Thrush: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Thrush/overview#

Beaver Creek MOTUS Blog: https://beavercreekconnection.blogspot.com/2023/07/its-bird-its-plane-its-motus-tower.html

Learn More about the MOTUS Program: https://motus.org/about/