Join Peninsula’s naturalist on Saturday, May 12, from 9 – 9:45 AM to learn about warblers, small songbirds that migrate through and nest at Peninsula. Meet at Weborg Shelter and park at the adjacent day use lot. Bring binoculars if you have them. See photos, listen to songs and then take a short walk to see birds in the field. Registration is not required for this free program, but a state park vehicle sticker is required. If you need additional information phone Peninsula’s nature center at 920-854-5976.

Lady’s-slipper Story and Craft at Peninsula

On Saturday, May 12, from 1 – 1:45 PM families are invited to the Peninsula State Park nature Center to listen to an Ojibwa legend that tells how the lady’s-slipper came to be. We’ll see if this orchid is blooming and craft a lady’s-slipper to keep. This program is free and open to the public but a state park vehicle sticker is required. If you need additional information phone Peninsula’s nature center at 920-854-5976.

Point to Point Birding at Peninsula

On Sunday, May 13, from 9 – 10 AM birders are invited to join the naturalist for Point to Point Birding, a program that highlights basic bird identification skills. Meet at Nelson’s picnic area on Shore Road. We’ll watch for warblers, pelicans and killdeer, and perhaps see indigo buntings, too. Bring binoculars if you have them. Easy walking, less than a mile. This program is free and open to the public but a state park vehicle sticker is required. If you need additional information phone Peninsula’s nature center at 920-854-5976.

Scarlet Tanager

Peninsula is participating in the first-ever Great Wisconsin Birdathon on May 19. Funds raised will support taxidermy for Peninsula’s Nature Center, including a scarlet tanager.

You can pledge any amount per species (for example, 10 cents/species) or make a donation (for example, $10.00.) The number of species spotted by Team Peninsula will be posted on this website and on the FPSP facebook site.

Donations can be given at the nature center or mailed to:

Birdathon
Peninsula State Park
c/o Kathleen Harris
9462 Shore Road
Fish Creek, WI 54212.

Cash donations only. If you need more information call 920-854-5976. Half of all proceeds will be split with the Natural Resources Foundation, a 501C3 organization that works towards protecting Wisconsin’s natural resources.

The web address for the pledge sheet is:
http://www.wisconservation.org/uploads/Birds/Great%20WI%20Birdathon%20Pledge%20Sheet.pdf

Tuesday May 1 Weed Warriors 9 – 11 AM. Meet below Sven’s Bluff.  Park in nearby pull-off on Shore Road. Call 854-5976 if you need more information.

Friday May 4 Birding at Weborg 9 – 10 AM. Park in Weborg day use lot on Shore Road. Look for warblers, shorebirds and more on this naturalist-led walk. Bring binoculars if you have them.

Saturday May 5 Door County Half Marathon in the morning. Go to doorcountyhalfmarathon.com for complete information.

Sunday May 6 – Nature Center closed.

Monday May 7 Bat Monitoring Workshop 8 – 9 PM. Meet at Park Headquarters to learn how to use an “anabat” to identify and monitor Door County bat populations. Dress for the field.  We’ll hike Weborg Shore then visit the Peninsula “shop” area (not usually open to the public) to see if bats have returned to a summer roosting site. This workshop is open to the public, especially those willing to monitor a Door County site once or twice this season. Phone 920-854-5976 or email kathleen.harris@wisconsin.gov.

Tuesday May 8 Weed Warriors 9 – 11 AM. Location to be announced. Call 608-963-8705. Hemlock Trail 1 – 2:30 PM. Meet at Weborg day use lot. Warblers  have arrived and lake iris is blooming. Join the naturalist for a two-mile walk over rolling terrain. Bring binoculars if you have them.

Wednesday May 9 Trillium Count 11 AM – 12 Noon. For about a decade, Peninsula has tracked the number of trilliums blooming inside the deer exclosure cage, constructed in 1992. Learn folklore and facts about this Wisconsin wildflower, then participate in an easy stewardship project.

Friday May 11 Stop by during Nature Center hours to bead an earthy necklace. Especially suited for kids ages eight and younger.

Saturday May 12 Warblers 101 9 – 9:45 AM. Meet at Weborg Shelter, park in adjacent day use lot. Learn to identify Peninsula’s most common warblers through photos, song, and in the field. Bring binoculars if you have them. Legend of the Lady’s-slipper 1 – 1:45 PM. Nature Center. Enjoy an Ojibwa legend about Door County’s official wildflower then craft a lady’s-slipper to keep.

Sunday May 13 Point to Point Birding 9 – 10 AM. Meet at Nelson’s Point. Scan the shore for killdeer and pelicans, then walk to a birding hot spot to see if indigo buntings and rose-breasted grosbeaks have arrived.

Looking Ahead – Saturday May 19

BIRD CITY DEDICATION & PENINSULA BIRDATHON! A full day of activities, including a special award to Door County Volunteer Scotty Weborg. Schedule, pledge information forthcoming. 920-8545976.

The original Memorial Pole was installed on August 14, 1927 and replaced in 1970. A carved climbing bear was perched on the top of the pole. This original bear, “Owasse,” can be seen at the Nature Center in Peninsula State Park.

Humans have lived on the Door Peninsula and surrounding islands for over 11,000 years. The earliest known village site was located at Nicolet Bay dating back to 500 BC. Villages of Potawatomi occupied the area we know today as Peninsula State Park through the mid-1800’s

In 1925 well know historian Mr. H. R. Holand took the responsibility of organizing a project to honor the Native Americans who settled this area. With the support of the Door County Historical Society and Peninsula Park Superintendent Al Doolittle, Holand’s project took shape. The project took the shape of a 40 foot Memorial Pole consisting of hand carved bands. Holand envisioned six “panels” on the pole depicting the history of the Native American people. The carvings included: Native Americans hunting deer, the coming of the missionaries, the arrival of European settlers, the French and English wars, the fur trade, and the Native Americans being driven from their lands by white settlers.

The original Memorial Pole was installed on August 14, 1927 and replaced in 1970. A carved climbing bear was perched on the top of the pole. This original bear, “Owasse,” can be seen at the Nature Center in Peninsula State Park.

The Northern Door Storytellers Guild wish to tell the stories represented in the Memorial Pole’s six carved bands.

Gibraltar Talks programs are sponsored by the Gibraltar Historical Association. They are free and open to the public.

“There will be jobs for all ages and abilities,” said Park Naturalist Kathleen Harris. “We need to dust off the sandhill crane and polish its eyeballs. We’ll rake out garden beds. We’ll carefully shoo away spiders from under the eaves with the purple webster.” Bring work gloves if you have them. Young children are welcome to help. For sustenance, the park will provide a snack from its bestselling 2005 cookbook – perhaps stacked towers or nuts and bolts. Friends of Wisconsin State Parks will give volunteers a water bottle or book bag as a thank you.

With retirements and budget challenges, Peninsula’s staff is scrambling to open the park for the season. Thanks in advance for pitching in at your favorite state park!

If you need additional information call 920-854-5976 or email Kathleen.harris@wisconsin.gov.

I highly recommend hiking Lone Pine, at least part way. Park in the small lot on Shore Road. Once you ascend the bluff, you’ll cross Skyline Road. DRAMATIC spot of last September’s storm damage. Really worth the adventure. [Of course, you could skip the exercise and just drive Skyline to where the trail cuts across, but why not burn some calories?]

Just an FYI that a few new titles have arrived through FPSP merchandise. As you know, proceeds fund both naturalist and invasive species coordinator wages.

Among the new items –

Collection of animal songs for kids by Pete Seeger.
Sibley laminated/fold out warbler guide.
Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?
Cardinal & Hummingbird webkins
Various magnifiers for kids

Next Friday April 20, from 1 – 3 PM, consider helping at the Nature Center. Small thank-you gifts for those who volunteer. WOW does the naturalist need help.

Interesting article posted by the DNR office of information.

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/57323/group/Outdoors%20/

Thursday April 12 Skyline Trail 1 – 2:30 p.m. Meet at Skyline parking lot on Shore Road. Venture past the site of Camp Meenahga (1916 – 48), then through a beech-maple woods. Enjoy a sweeping vista of Green Bay islands. Watch for kinglets, robins and deer tracks on the return trail. About two miles.  Counts towards Like to Hike (see below).

Friday April 13 Bat Monitoring Workshop 7 – 8:30 p.m. Meet at Park Headquarters to learn how to use an “anabat” to identify and monitor Door County bat populations. Dress for the field.  We’ll hike Weborg Shore then visit the Peninsula “shop” area (not usually open to the public) to see if bats have returned to a summer roosting site. This workshop is open to the public, especially those willing to monitor a Door County site once or twice this season. Phone 920-854-5976 or email kathleen.harris@wisconsin.gov.

Thursday April 19 Lone Pine Trail 1 – 2:30 p.m. Meet at Nature Center. Park geology, tree id featured on the two-mile walk. We’ll meander below Norway Bluff on the return, watching for blooming hepatica and invasive garlic mustard. Counts towards Like to Hike (see below).

Friday April 20 Timberdoodle Watch 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Meet at Nature Center. Dress for outside. Be prepared to car-pool to Middle Road. Love is in the air – if you’re a male American Woodcock. See a stuffed bird up close then venture to listen and view the amazing courtship flight of this worm-eating game bird. Rain? The program will shift to a naturalist talk inside the Nature Center.

Saturday April 21 Earth Day Keychains & Necklaces Stop by the Nature Center any time from 9 a.m. to Noon to bead an Earth Day keychain or necklace. Donation appreciated. Nelson’s Point to Weborg 1 – 2 p.m. Park at Nelson’s Point. We’ll scan the shore for migrating waterfowl, investigate a less-traveled birding spot, and learn park history along the way. About one mile. Bring binoculars if you have them.

Tuesday April 24 Weed Warriors – Earth Stewards 9 – 10:30 a.m. Help pull garlic mustard along the Niagara Escarpment. Bring gloves if you can. Park on Shore Road, at pull-off with tan naturalist’s truck.

Thursday April 26 Warbler Watch at Weborg 1 – 2 p.m. Park at day use lot next to Weborg Campground. Warbler identification featured. Geared for all birders – let’s learn together! Bring binoculars.

Friday April 27 Earth Work Play Day 1 – 3 p.m. Nature Center. Please lend a hand getting the Nature Center ready for summer! Jobs for all ages and abilities: raking, cleaning eyeballs, pricing merchandise and much more. Light snack provided.

Saturday April 28 Mapping Peninsula 11 – 11:45 a.m. Nature Center. Whether it’s your first Peninsula visit or your hundredth, come discover fascinating park trivia – the people and places that have made this state park Wisconsin’s favorite! 

Join WI DNR staff this Friday the Thirteenth at a program where technology meets nature – a bat monitoring adventure.

Meet at Park Headquarters at the Peninsula State Park’s Fish Creek entrance at 7 p.m. Dress for the field and be ready to walk Weborg Shore, then visit the shop area (an area normally closed to the public) to see if bats have returned to their summer roosting sites. We’ll use a hand-held anabat too to find out.

This workshop is free and open to the public. Since this is a volunteer effort, a state park vehicle sticker is not required for those attending the workshop.

Peninsula is looking for volunteers to use the anabat at other locations to monitor bats this summer. Call 920-854-5976 or email Kathleen.harris@wisconsin.gov if you need additional information.

Programs are free and open to the public, but a state park vehicle sticker is required.

Saturday March 3 Nature Center open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Lead to Read: Star Stories 11 – 11:30 a.m. Nature Center. Winter night skies are a-twinkle. Find out about stars and constellations through a read-aloud activity featuring Zoo in the Sky. Make a glittery paper swan to keep.

Sunday March 4 Nature Center open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Saturday March 10 Nature Center open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Lead to Read: Star Stories See March 3 program description. Up and Around the Nipissing Shore 2 – 3 p.m. Meet at the Nature Center, then hike along a 5,000-year-old shoreline. Discover Peninsula geology, tree lore on a route that includes part of Hemlock Road. Counts as a Like to Hike activity. About one mile.

LUCK 0’ THE IRISH DAY – MARCH 17

• Nature Center open 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Legend of the Wild Swans 11 – 11:30 a.m. Nature Center. Can Colleen break the spell that keeps her brothers swans by day but boys by night? Find out in this Celtic folk tale, then learn about Wisconsin swans. Continue with the Irish theme hiking the meadow walk to look for “snakes,” banished from Ireland.
• St. Paddy’s Campfire 12 Noon – 1 p.m. Nature Center. Cook up some traditional Irish Colcannon (Bubble & Squeak) using pudgy pie irons. Food, pie irons provided. Donations appreciated. If there is rain, the campfire will be canceled.