Winnebago County Conservation Board

06/12/2026

Are you looking for a fun summer activity to enjoy with the kids? Try the Iowa Young Birders' Summer Birding Program! Just scan the QR code for more information.

06/12/2026

We're happy to announce that our new baby skunk has officially been named Daisy Fleabane (or Daisy, for short)! That name was chosen by 123 Facebook voters, while Sunflower (Sunny) received 89 votes, and Lily received 77. Thank you to all who voted and participated in her naming! We invite everyone to come say "hi" to Daisy the next time you're in the area!

06/05/2026

Don't forget that this is Iowa's Free Fishing Weekend, so Iowa residents don't need a fishing license to fish in the state this weekend! If you've never fished before and would like to try it, or maybe you just haven't fished in a while, this is your weekend to head to the lake!

If you don't have a pole, though, no worries! The WCCB will help you out! We'll be at the Lake Catherine boat ramp at Thorpe Park this evening from 7:00-9:00 PM with poles, tackle, bait, and instruction (if needed). You can come out to the park any time and borrow whatever you need. There will also be some handouts available.

We hope to see you there!

06/05/2026

(Please read the whole post before choosing a reaction.)

Meet the newest resident of the Hanson Nature Center--a baby striped skunk! We got her from a licensed breeder, so she was not orphaned and we did not take her from the wild. She was born on April 24th, so she is 6 weeks old today! And, yes, she has been de-scented!

Currently, she can be seen in a temporary pen near the woodland display on the main floor of the nature center. But, we are building an exhibit in the classroom that will be her permanent home. We are excited to be adding her to our collection of education animals here at the center!

You may have noticed one thing, though...She doesn't have a name. Although we've narrowed the choices down to three names (all wildflower names), we'd like you, our Facebook followers, to choose her official name! So, if you'd like to participate, please choose the following reaction emoji for the name you think is best for her.

Daisy Fleabane (Daisy)--the "Like" emoji
Lily--the "Love" emoji
Sunflower (Sunny)--the "Care" emoji

You'll be able to follow along over the next week to see which name is winning. Next Friday, June 12th, at noon, we will record the final tally and announce the winner! Then, we can officially welcome her with her very own name!

06/03/2026

For the 2nd year in a row, Hooded Mergansers have nested in the south wetland at the Hanson Nature Center! Mergansers are cavity-nesting birds and we know that they nested in our wood duck box last year; so we're assuming they did the same this year.

Mergansers are fish-eating birds who dive underwater and catch fish, crayfish, and other food with their long, slender, serrated beaks. The birds also have a nictitating membrane, which is basically a clear eyelid, that they can use to see underwater, much like using a pair of goggles.

We shot the video below at the nature center. You can see the young birds searching for food underwater, then actually catching a couple minnows! We encourage people to stop out at the Hanson Nature Center and observe these and other birds that can be seen in Iowa's prairies and wetlands!

05/25/2026

The Hanson Nature Center is closed today in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

05/22/2026

The Hanson Nature Center will be open tomorrow, Saturday, May 23rd, from 1:00-4:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to come visit the center, walk the trails, and search for the two geocaches!

Other weekend dates that the center will be open this summer are (Sunday) July 5th, (Saturday) August 1st, and (Saturday) September 5th. The center is also open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 AM-1:00 PM and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00-4:00 PM. But, the center is actually open whenever someone is working there, which is usually most business hours.

So, we hope you can visit us this summer!

05/20/2026

Last summer, someone brought in some cecropia moth eggs. 40 of those eggs hatched out into caterpillars. Out of 40, only one was successful in making a cocoon and the other day, it hatched out! The lifespan of these moths is only 2 weeks long. They mate, lay eggs, and die shortly after.

Fun facts:

🦋Since their sole purpose is to reproduce, they have no mouths.

🦋They are the largest native moths in North America!

🦋Only 3-5% of wild caterpillars survive to become adults.

05/14/2026

Our Motus Tower detected its first migrating bird! On Tuesday, a Harris's Sparrow flew within range of our tower at about 5:20 AM. It had been tagged on May 3rd in southeastern Kansas and, by Tuesday, it had made its way to Madison County, IA. That day, it was detected by 5 different towers (including ours) and eventually ended up in St. Cloud, MN, only a few hours later! We'll keep you posted on any other birds that our tower picks up!

P.S.--The link below is to our tower page where you can see the bird that was detected.

Explore the tracks of all the animals in our database using this tool.

05/11/2026

Great news! Remember our Blandings Turtle that got hit by a car? The rehabber was able to fix his shell (as well as the other minor injuries) and determined that he would not need months of rehabilitation after all. So, we were able to pick him up and, last week, we released him near where we found him at Ambroson Park!

The rehabber said that he was a "he" and that he was at the maximum size for a Blandings Turtle in Iowa. She estimated his age to be somewhere between 30 and 50 years. We've included before and after photos of his shell here, as well as a few photos and videos of his release back into the wild. Since Blandings Turtles are officially considered a "Threatened Species" in Iowa, we hope that this big guy continues to live a long life and will, hopefully, help repopulate northern Iowa!