Birding spots

Best Birding Spots in Wisconsin

By species reported, the top birding spots in Wisconsin are Duck Creek, Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, and Forest Beach Migratory Preserve. Duck Creek has the longest list (231 species), and its best season is spring.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	County	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Duck Creek	Brown County	231	4,031	54	207	171	191
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge	Dodge County	228	4,945	23	217	159	179
Forest Beach Migratory Preserve	Ozaukee County	216	1,819	57	183	126	166
Lake Mills Wildlife Area	Jefferson County	216	1,592	75	201	137	144
Bender Park	Milwaukee County	216	1,388	59	189	128	151
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge (southeast)	Dodge County	215	2,074	32	200	132	141
Shoop Park Golf Course	Racine County	215	1,575	59	197	75	153
Warnimont Park	Milwaukee County	214	2,226	46	200	117	147
Lake Park	Milwaukee County	212	3,271	44	198	104	143
Harrington Beach State Park	Ozaukee County	211	1,564	55	182	117	182
Wisconsin Point	Douglas County	211	677	20	167	113	162
Lakeshore Preserve	Dane County	209	3,146	78	189	127	175
1 Reservoir	Dodge County	209	2,770	38	191	123	138
Uw Arboretum	Dane County	208	7,732	82	195	123	159
Vernon Wildlife Area	Waukesha County	208	1,109	40	193	123	110
John Michael Kohler State Park	Sheboygan County	206	1,206	46	176	113	134
Cherokee Park	Dane County	205	4,238	67	194	120	162
Grant Park	Milwaukee County	205	1,876	65	181	84	130
Mack Wildlife Area	Outagamie County	205	944	38	189	116	110
Schlitz Audubon Center	Milwaukee County	204	4,351	59	188	125	155
Bakkens Pond	Sauk County	204	1,020	54	189	101	108
Whitnall Park	Milwaukee County	203	6,089	62	183	120	151
Lake Kegonsa State Park	Dane County	203	3,030	59	192	123	164
Governor Nelson State Park	Dane County	203	2,072	71	179	107	162
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge (Stony Island)	Dodge County	202	1,653	10	157	169	64
Prentice Park	Ashland County	199	3,508	54	178	150	149
Peshtigo Point	Marinette County	199	1,445	20	180	129	128
Manitowoc Small Boat Harbor	Manitowoc County	198	2,200	42	166	122	123
Mequon Nature Preserve	Ozaukee County	198	1,745	39	177	120	130
Green Bay West Shores Wildlife Area	Brown County	198	1,294	26	173	138	148

By county