One of the best places close to Chicago to witness changing autumn colors amid thousands of migratory waterfowl is the 33,000-acre Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin.
“The magic of Horicon is the biodiversity,” says Chelsy Herring, executive director of the Friends of Horicon Marsh. “At Horicon Marsh, people know they’ll have an outdoor experience that leaves a lasting impression.”
A two-hour drive from northern Illinois, Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area encompasses the southern third of the marsh and is owned and managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service owns and manages the northern two-thirds, known as the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.
“I sometimes sit and ponder about how it makes you feel when you’re immersed in nature at the marsh,” says Herring, who lives in and grew up in nearby Horicon. “It’s just like you can never have too many sunset pictures, because each sunset picture is unique. At the marsh, you never know what you’re going to see. One day you might be surrounded by a chorus of crickets. The next day, sandhill cranes will fly over.”
Today, visitors see a thriving wetland, but Horicon Marsh wasn’t always this way. Rather, the area has a storied past, having been drained and burned decades ago, becoming a vast wasteland before being restored.
“It’s been through a lot over the years,” says Elizabeth Herzmann, wildlife conservation educator at the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. But today, it provides homes for wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities for nearly every interest.
“You can paddle. You can hike. You can watch wildlife and birds. You can go on a driving tour,” Herzmann explains. “You can go on boardwalks or park at a lookout and have a picnic overlooking beautiful scenery.” Visitors also have the chance to see one of the world’s rarest birds, the whooping crane, which began nesting at Horicon Marsh in 2020.
Thirteen miles long and 5 miles across at its widest point, Horicon Marsh formed nearly 10,000 years ago after glaciers scoured out many basins, including Green Bay and Lake Winnebago. As the climate warmed, the basins filled to create shallow lakes and wetlands teeming with vegetation for roosting, nesting and foraging wildlife. “Roaming the area back then were Ice Age creatures like mammoths partaking in the bounty,” Herzmann says. “We also can piece together thousands of years of Indigenous cultures living here.”
STORIED PAST
In the 1840s, European settlers installed a dam to create an artificial lake on the marsh, destroying the wetlands to use water power for sawmills. The lake, however, flooded surrounding farm fields, which led to the removal of the dam and the return of the marsh, as well as more waterfowl and hunters.
“There were private hunting clubs and market hunting in the early 1900s, with no rules and regulations, no hunting limit, and within 25 years, most of the duck population had been completely decimated,” Herzmann relays.
Soon thereafter, a 14-mile ditch was dug down the entire length of the marsh to drain it for farming of onions, potatoes and carrots. “It didn’t go very well,” Herzmann says. The peaty substrate dried out, fires ignited and the peat burned down to bare mineral soil.
“It was a true absolute wasteland,” Herzmann says.
In the early 1920s, local conservation groups fought for the restoration of the marsh. The state started buying land and creating a wildlife area, and in the 1940s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bought the rest.
Today, nearly 1 million visitors come to the marsh annually. Three visitor centers welcome guests. The Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center is run by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of Horicon Marsh. It features an Explorium, which includes hands-on experiences such as a simulated airboat ride through the marsh.
The Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the Marsh Haven Nature Center is a volunteer-run nonprofit. All three offer exhibits, educational programs and trails.
“We all have the same goal,” Herring says. “We want to preserve the wetlands, not only for human use but also for the wildlife.”
Horicon Marsh, encompassing 50 square miles, is dotted with islands. Small woodlands and grasslands grow on the outskirts. “That’s really important because it offers different habitats for different species, including at least 300 species of birds that visit the marsh at various times of the year,” Herzmann says. Also living within the marsh are turtles, frogs, bats and a host of other common and rare species. Wildflowers bloom spring through fall in the woodlands and prairies.
MIGRATORY WATERFOWL ABOUND IN AUTUMN
“Fall is an iconic time to come to the marsh,” Herzmann says. That’s when the colors change and abundant duck species, sandhill cranes and Canada geese rest and feed before flying farther south for winter.
“It comes in waves,” Herzmann says. Early ducks, such as blue-winged teal, come through in September, followed by the first migratory Canada geese and other duck species, such as gadwall and northern pintail.
Geese populations peak from late October to mid-November, and they often depart by mid-December, though some linger. The number of geese has dropped, risen and dropped again as managers work to maintain a population that keeps the ecosystem in balance and provides water and food for other migratory waterfowl.
Sandhill cranes, once threatened in Wisconsin, have made a comeback and now stop at Horicon Marsh, with peak time from mid-October to mid-November, depending on the weather and food availability.
The best time to view cranes and geese in large numbers is either at sunrise or an hour before sunset, when the birds are congregated in the marsh.
“During the day, they are out in farm fields to feed,” Herzmann says. Many trails are open, giving visitors a chance to experience hundreds to thousands of cranes sounding their trumpet-like calls as they descend into the marsh at sunset or leave at sunrise.
To view cranes and geese in autumn, Herzmann recommends driving the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge’s 3-mile auto loop. About two-thirds of the way, there’s parking for a floating boardwalk where visitors can see ducks, geese and cranes.
“On the northeast side of the Horicon Marsh is the Bud Cook Hiking Area, which has been a great location for the sandhill cranes,” Herzmann continues. “You can see a couple thousand of them coming over during peak times.”
Visitors are also coming to the marsh now for a chance to see whooping cranes, and the boardwalk is the best place to search for them. The International Crane Foundation sponsors free whooping crane hikes monthly through October (SavingCranes.org/events/guided-whooping-crane-walks-horicon-necedah).
OVERLOOK AND FALL COLORS
Perched atop a glacial drumlin, the Palmatory Street Overlook provides a picnic shelter and a platform with a sweeping view of the marsh, where visitors can watch birds come to roost for the evening.
“It also has a beautiful sunset, and you can see some lovely fall colors there,” Herzmann says. The upland woodlots along Highway 49 feature oaks, maples and hickories, which change colors beginning in September, glowing in shades of red and yellow.
To see more autumn hues, Herzmann suggests driving 2.6 miles from the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center to Ledge Park, in Dodge County (co.Dodge.wi.gov/lrp-parks/ledge-park). “It has good forested habitat and can get some beautiful fall colors, with mostly maples and some oaks,” she says.
In September and October, prairies on the trails are teeming with goldenrods and New England asters, a combination of yellow and purple. Various butterflies and bees visit these plants, adding to the cornucopia of colors.
Another way to see waterfowl and colors is via boat. Visitors can take a narrated boat tour or rent canoes and kayaks (HoriconMarsh.com/index.php) to get into the heart of the wetland before the season ends in late October. Visitors also can bring their own kayaks and canoes.
Whatever way visitors wish to explore Horicon Marsh, “we need to have people come here, fall in love with the wildlife and then hopefully they’ll help take care of it,” Herring says.
Sheryl DeVore has written six books on science, health and nature, as well as nature, health and environment stories for national and regional publications. She is co-author of an upcoming book, Birds of the Midwest, to be published by Timber Press. Learn more at SherylDeVore.WordPress.com.
