Panorama | Spring 2026

panorama

Spring 2026

Trilliums Page 4

Barred Owl Monitoring Page 5

Little Artists Page 8

WELCOME HELEN BOOMSMA Executive Director

As the landscape reawakens around us, this season of fresh beginnings invites us outdoors. With longer days and warming breezes, the woods brighten, wildflowers unfurl, and signs of new life appear with each passing week.

In this issue of Panorama, delve into the delights of spring bird migration, from Great Blue Herons wading through Mystery Lake to sunshine hued warblers flitting between trees. The subtle yet unmistakable beauty of trilliums draws our attention to the forest floor. Gain new insight into the three species found here at the Center and what they tell us about ecosystem health.

Spring also brings another nesting season for Betty and Maverick, wild owls we have been observing since 2021 through our Barred Owl Monitoring Project. Read about the initiative’s history and what we have learned about their nesting behaviors along the way. Join us for a free public discussion with Raptor Program Director Lindsay Focht on Thursday, May 12 to debrief the 2026 nesting season—visit our website to register for free!

In this issue you will also discover how beloved local artist Mary Nohl inspired our Nature School’s latest art projects and April Art Gallery Exhibit, offering enriching and joyful creation and connection for our youngest learners. Plus, read about the tremendous impact of our volunteers and how you can get involved in rewarding stewardship of our cherished 185-acre property.

As the Center’s forests, prairies, wetlands, and shoreline fill with winged travelers, make the most of spring migration with tools from our Birding Resource Center! Just across our Great Hall, watch birds in our beautiful Feeder Grover observation area, with the option to dive deeper through our educational kiosk. The Birding Academy’s spring offerings include the Introduction to the Birds of Schlitz Audubon certificate, back by popular demand, as well as a Horicon Marsh boat tour field adventure and an exciting new seminar, Field Illustration for Birders.

We also look forward to the first ever May Market on Sunday, May 3, which will feature over a dozen small and local vendors from across our community offering a wide variety of high-quality goods. This free event includes complimentary access to our trails, providing an excellent opportunity to both shop for Mother’s Day and bask in the pleasant May weather.

Finally, please save the date for our upcoming gala taking place on Friday, June 5. This year’s theme is Nature’s Palette, celebrating the many ways art and nature intersect at Schlitz Audubon to inspire our community.

From the first blossoms beneath the trees to the rhythms of wings overhead, spring offers enchanting moments at every turn. Come wander the trails, observe the changes happening day by day, and join us for the events and learning opportunities that make this season special.

Early Birding Hours

Gates open at 7am Saturday, April 18 — Sunday, May 31 Front cover: Chestnut-sided Warbler

Admission

FREE admission to Members Adult: $10 | Youth: $7 (ages 3 — 17) 2 and Under: Free | Military: $7

Officers Evan Kirkstein President Joseph A. Camilli Treasurer Carrie Nichols Secretary John Schaub VP-Governance Barbie Brennan Nelson VP-Development Directors Thomas Bausch Jane Bell Alexandra Stankiewicz Krems Jonathan T. Luljak Benjamin T. Pavlik Jeff Rusinow Past Presidents John H. Kopmeier, Jr. Philip R. Smith Dennis L. Fisher Terrence K. Knudsen Thomas J. McCutcheon Thomas B. Fitzgerald Randolph H. Dean Stephen F. Geimer Thomas J. Drought David K. Hoover John S. McGregor Margarete R. Harvey Timothy J. Gerend John Grunau Aliah Berman Shane Delsman Director Emeritus Dorothy K. Vallier (1910-2013)

CREDITS FOR PANORAMA Director of Marketing & Visitor Experience Nancy Quinn Creative Lead Zoe Finney Marketing & Communications Specialist Anna Ostermeier

Hours

Monday-Sunday | 8:30am-5:00pm Schlitz Audubon is an independent, locally supported partner of the National Audubon Society.

1111 East Brown Deer Road | Milwaukee, WI 414-352-2880 | www.schlitzaudubon.org 2

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

SEASONAL SIGHTINGS

The Traveling Wings of Spring Male Red-winged Blackbird

LAINE COTTELEER Environmental Educator Spring is coming alive at the Center! As the days get longer, the increase in daylight prompts American Robins, Northern Cardinals, and other year-round residents of Wisconsin to begin singing. It’s an exciting time to be a bird, driven largely by the need to establish territory and start reproducing. Migration is upon us as our skies fill with feathered travelers.

Lake Michigan is a bustling avian corridor, its shoreline a wayfinding landmark visible from above. Waterfowl that spent their winters along the lake’s coast, such as Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes, retreat up to Canada’s thawed water bodies. As bright green plants sprout and glimmering insects emerge, so too do key raptor prey species like rabbits and chipmunks. Sharp-shinned and Broad-winged Hawks arrive from South America, flying overhead in search of their next meal.

The sprouting Skunk Cabbage isn’t the only sign of life around the Center’s ponds in early spring. The male Red-winged Blackbird is one of the first birds to arrive back to Wisconsin in early March. He stakes out thawing wetlands, loudly singing his “conk-ler-reee” song to establish his territory for when the females arrive. Late March and early to mid April see the return of other pond-loving birds. Great Blue Herons wade the shallows of Mystery Lake and Tree Swallows glean bugs midair at Dragonfly Pond.

Explore the prairies of the Gateway Trail and Western Meadows during the warming days of April to hear the Song Spar-

row’s intricate melody and catch a glimpse of the American Woodcock’s unique courtship display. Performing mostly at dawn and dusk, males draw in females with a nasally “peent” call before taking off. He makes grand, sweeping circles in the sky until he reaches a height of over 300 feet in the air! Then, he plummets to the ground, catching himself just before he crashes— an astounding spring spectacle!

With each passing week, the Center’s forests return to their greenest glory. In May, they fill with the songs of warblers, a brief splash of color in Wisconsin’s ever-changing landscape while they stopover on their way north. With dozens of species passing through, it can be challenging to tell them apart, but knowing the forest type can help! While coniferous woods are preferred by many, like the Pine Warbler, others, like the Chestnut-sided Warbler, prefer deciduous woods. Some species, like the Blackburnian Warbler, prefer mixed woods. You can find these avian wonders in the trees surrounding the Center’s Observation Tower and along our North Ravine.

By the time June rolls around, spring migration is slowing down. Tanagers, orioles, and thrushes, some of the longest distance travelers, are settling in and constructing their nests.

Insects, plants, and access to open water are all abundant, and the days are long and warm. Wisconsin’s birds can now focus on breeding until fall signals their time to return south. Visit us at the Center and experience the ephemeral delights of spring migration for yourself!

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

3

EDUCATION

TRILLIUMS: Treasures of Spring

ANNA OSTERMEIER Marketing & Communications Specialist

As Wisconsin’s forests wake up, trilliums quietly emerge in April through May as some of the most beloved and easy-to-recognize spring ephemerals. Their beauty is subtle but unmistakable, and their name offers a clue for identification: “Tri” means three.

Each plant sends up a single stem topped with three green leaf-like bracts, supporting a flower with three petals and three sepals underneath.

TRILLIUMS OF WISCONSIN

Six of the United States’ 38 trillium species are native to Wisconsin: the giant white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), nodding trillium (T. cernuum), snow trillium (T. nivale), prairie trillium (T. recurvatum), red trillium (T. erectum), and nodding wakerobin (T. flexipes).

Botanists divide trilliums into two main groups. Pedicellate trilliums have flowers held above the bracts on a short stalk called a pedicel, while in sessile trilliums the flower rests directly on top of the bracts.

Schlitz Audubon is home to three species: great white trillium, nodding trillium, and prairie trillium. The great white trillium is the most familiar and widespread, boasting the largest flowers at about two to three inches across. Interestingly, its stark white blossom fades to pale pink in its final days.

Nodding trilliums live up to their name, with a smaller white flower that droops downward on a curved stalk (the pedicel), sometimes hiding beneath the bracts. Unlike the others, the prairie trillium is sessile with a deep 4

wine-red flower sat atop mottled green bracts. The Center’s trilliums thrive in the high-quality forest habitats of our bluffs and ravines near the Pavilion and along the Lake Terrace Loop. Our Land Stewardship Team regularly removes invasive species like buckthorn to maintain their population and open new areas for potential growth.

REPRODUCTION

Trilliums reproduce both asexually through rhizomes and sexually through seeds. Underground rhizomes, which resemble knobby brown stems, spread from the parent plant to put down roots and send up new shoots.

Reproduction through seeds requires help from pollinators such as bumblebees, flies, and wasps. Some species, including red trillium, emit an unpleasant odor compared to rotting flesh, which attracts pollinating flies.

Once seeds are produced, ants play a crucial role in dispersal. Each seed carries a fatty appendage called an elaiosome that ants collect for food, later discarding the seed in their colony’s nutrient-rich dump. Germination can take two to three years, and it may take seven to ten years before a trillium produces its first flower!

WHY TRILLIUMS MATTER

These plants have long held significance among Native American medicine women, who used them to support reproductive health and ease childbirth. Ecologically, Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

they are powerful indicators of ecosystem health with their slow life cycle and reliance on specific site conditions.

As you wander the spring forest, keep an eye out for the showy blooms of great white trilliums, the smaller maroon flash of prairie trilliums, and the easily overlooked nodding trilliums. When you consider the years of growth, hard work of insects, and careful stewardship by humans, a single trillium bloom feels like the triumph of a healthy ecosystem.

FEATURE

BETT Y & MAVERICK The Barred Owl Monitoring Project

LINDSAY FOCHT Raptor Program Director

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

55

FEATURE

I

n 2025, we launched our Barred Owl nest box livestream, and the public fell in love with the wild owl family on their screens. A camera mounted in the box provided an up-close glimpse into their story—from egg laying to first flights. We watched as the owl couple successfully raised two male owlets: one who was very brave and left the nest quickly and the other who needed more coaxing. Both young owls were observed in the area after leaving the nest and were last seen in August when they set off to explore the world independently.

We received comments that classrooms, libraries, and workplaces were streaming the box! We were elated at the opportunity to interact with livestream viewers on our social media pages, answering questions about what people were seeing and celebrating collectively when the two owlets took flight. This wasn’t the owl couple’s first successful mating season—in fact, the project started years ago.

PROJECT HISTORY

In the fall of 2021, two Barred Owls moved onto a private property in the Milwaukee area— an opportunity to gain new insights into these feathered forest-dwellers! I, the Raptor Program Director, contacted Dr. Bill Stout, a licensed raptor bander and biologist who studies Cooper's Hawk, Great Horned Owl, and Red-tailed Hawk populations in the Greater Milwaukee area. Together we sought to address gaps in existing research on land use and dispersal patterns of Barred Owls in urban settings. The goal of our new monitoring project was to answer these questions: Can Barred Owls adapt to human activities? How will their presence affect other raptor species’ land use in the area? What habitats and territory sizes are preferred during breeding and non-breeding seasons?

Joined by volunteers, our research team trapped and banded both owls. With the use of a black light on their flight (wing) feathers, we determined that both were approximately two years old. We named the male ‘Maverick’, as the young owl brazenly flew close over buildings and through the forest. ‘Betty’, 6

the female, received her title after the passing of Betty White, a successful Hollywood star and strong advocate for animals and wildlife.

Next, our team installed a nest box on the property, and to our delight, Betty immediately flew into the box during mating season. The early stages of nest box monitoring involved a generously donated night vision camera, pointed at the box, which would record for only a few hours at a time. I then reviewed the footage daily and reset the camera for the next night. I watched excitedly as the tiny hatchlings developed flight feathers. When the owlets neared fledging, the process of a young bird learning to fly and leaving the nest, it was time to band them!

Dr. Stout carefully retrieved the young owls from the box and took measurements of wing length, weight, and collected other essential data. Like their parents, each one received two colored bands on their legs: one silver federal ID band and one purple project ID band. They were quickly returned to the box within minutes and Betty was soon back inside with them. ID numbers on the bands can be reported to the Bird Banding Lab with USGS and the location is shared with the bander. Any Barred Owl sporting a purple band in the Milwaukee area came from Betty and Maverick, and we encourage everyone to report these sightings. With this information, we can learn how far their offspring travel!

Since the first successful nesting season in 2023, Betty and Maverick have successfully produced two to three offspring every year!

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

NESTING SEASON

Betty and Maverick begin their annual courtship and nesting behaviors around December/January. This includes increased vocalizations between the two as well as routine checks of the nest box to ensure everything is in order. Betty begins ‘begging’ vocalizations (a higher pitched single note) to encourage Maverick to hunt for more food. She stops by the nest box, jumps in, and kicks up the substrate to create a small bowl to lay in.

As spring approaches, Betty visits the box more frequently and stays longer. On average, she lays the first eggs in mid-March.

Eggs are laid in intervals, with two to four days between each egg. Incubation lasts for 28-32 days and the owlets often hatch in the order their eggs were laid in. As hatching approaches, Betty is often observed making quiet ‘clucking’ sounds to the eggs and, in response, the chicks can be heard chirping back to her (and to each other) from inside of their eggs!

Egg hatching starts with the ‘pip’: a small hole that appears on the egg which the young chick inside uses to take its first breaths. The new babies are covered in fluffy white down feathers and cannot thermoregulate (control their body temperatures) until approximately three weeks old. Until then, Betty must in-

cubate them to keep them warm. Once they can stay warm on their own, Betty spends much more time outside of the box, coming in to feed the owlets and for occasional incubation.

After hatching, there are more hungry mouths to feed, and Maverick does most, if not all, of the hunting. He brings various prey to his family: small rodents, birds, fish, crayfish, and he has even snagged a few dragonflies. Maverick occasionally brings food directly to the box for Betty and the chicks, but also stays outside nearby and calls for her to come out to get it. Once the food has been delivered, Betty tears it into manageable pieces for the owlets. As they approach the four-week-old mark, she leaves the prey whole for them to swallow.

It’s also around this time when the research team carefully retrieves the owlets for measurements and banding. The data collected is essential for understanding the birds and their population over time. Each chick’s weight can inform the team if it’s a male or female (males are smaller while their sisters are bigger). Each receives its silver and purple bands, and then they are gently placed back into the box.

Fledging happens when the young owls are approximately five weeks old and often falls around Mother’s Day. Betty will stay outside the box during this time, enSpring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

ticing her babies to come out to join her.

These first flights are very clumsy and often include a lot of falling, but the young ones climb up the trunks and branches of trees to get back up to mom. Both parents continue watching over their offspring, feeding them and encouraging them to fly greater distances. The babies also practice pouncing and other hunting skills so they can capture their own food. Barred Owl babies grow up quickly and, unlike Great Horned Owls whose young stay around into the fall, Barred Owls disperse from their parents’ home range by mid-tolate summer. Betty and Maverick then get approximately five months to rest before starting again.

Through our Barred Owl Monitoring Project, we are learning about preferred habitat usage of urban owls, their diet, and nesting behavior and patterns. It enables us to collect a library of different vocalizations, study interspecies interactions with other neighborhood raptors, and bring the nest box livestream to our community, both local and more distant. Visit our website to learn about the project's current status and tune in March through May to see the owls for yourself! We look forward to deepening our understanding and connection to these amazing birds through this project for each nesting season to come.

7

EDUCATION

Inspired by Mary Nohl's Legacy ANNA OSTERMEIER

Marketing & Communications Specialist In early childhood education, art is far more than a finished product to hang on a wall. It’s a way of thinking, observing, experimenting, and expressing. At our Nature School, art making is woven into the rhythm of each week. Through painting, weaving, sculpting, and printmaking, young learners deepen their relationship with the natural world around them, developing key skills along the way.

Nature serves as both inspiration and material. Children might paint the forest’s dynamic hues, document pond life through nature journaling, or explore texture using elements gathered with intention and reverence. Repurposed wood slices from fallen ash trees, beach stones selected sparingly, and other carefully sourced items teach children that creativity and care for the land can coexist. With such a strong emphasis on place, process, and purposeful use of materials, drawing inspiration for Nature School projects from beloved local artist Mary Nohl was a natural fit.

The idea took shape through Abbey Finn, now in her second year as the Nature School’s Artist in Residence. Art has long been part of the program, with teachers regularly offering open-ended invitations to create. Finn’s background in art education has allowed the school to take art making a step further, designing more comprehensive projects with broader exploration of different mediums for all 11 classes.

Finn’s own connection to Mary Nohl began in childhood, when she heard stories about the lakefront property which was then 8

referred to as the “witch’s house.” Those narratives, shaped by misconceptions and rumors, lingered in community memory.

As she grew older and learned more about Nohl’s life and work, a deeper understanding emerged. Nohl was an extraordinarily inventive, self-possessed, and social artist who mastered a wide range of materials. She filled her home and yard with astounding artworks, creating an immersive and ever-changing space from her own imagination. Her full-time residence from the 1960s to her passing in 2001, the Mary Nohl House featured 59 fantastical concrete sculptures, many incorporating sand and stone gathered from the nearby Lake Michigan beach. She built them herself, relying on her own two hands and driven by a tireless curiosity about how things could be made.

Inspired by a tour of the site led by Alex Gartelmann, Mary Nohl Program Director and Site Steward, Finn recognized how seamlessly Nohl’s artwork and approach connect with the Nature School. Both are rooted in the same landscape. Nohl lived and worked on the lake; Nature School children hike its trails, listen to its waves, and feel it's changing moods. Moreover, many Nature School families live in the North Shore, making that sense of place even more personal. Nohl often used found materials, recycling and reimagining what others overlooked. That spirit of resourcefulness and imagination mirrors the school’s values.

The Nature School’s second annual Art Show displays various projects inspired by Nohl in the Center's Art Gallery this April.

Some pieces respond to the same surroundings that influenced

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

her. Students created Lake Michigan-inspired wet-felted pieces and weavings, translating the water’s movement and color into fiber. After pausing to consider its waves, children also created process paintings to capture the lake’s personality, whether it was calm and glassy or big and crashing. Other projects drew more directly from Nohl’s forms and materials. Children crafted cement stepping stones embedded with beach treasures, emulating Nohl’s shoreline sculptures. They also sculpted imaginative mini creatures with varied textures, incorporating stones, driftwood, and sand. Finn carefully planned each project to ensure it was age-appropriate, fun, and enriching for young children.

The benefits of these projects extend beyond creativity. The tactile experiences strengthen fine motor skills, developing the small muscles in chil-

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

dren’s hands that are essential for learning to write. Weaving, pressing, sculpting, and embedding objects builds dexterity and coordination. At the same time, learning about Nohl’s story offers important social-emotional lessons. The outdated “witch” narrative surrounding her home became an opportunity to discuss curiosity and empathy— a reminder not to judge someone without truly knowing them.

Every student is exhibiting a piece, filling the Center’s Art Gallery with an array of colors, textures, and interpretations. As children proudly guided family and friends through their work on opening night, they echoed Mary Nohl’s own love of sharing what she made. In doing so, they remind us that art is not only about what we create, but about the connections we build— to the land, to one another, and to the stories that shape our community.

9

DEVELOPMENT

Our Volunteers: A Community Rooted in Service ANNA OSTERMEIER

Marketing & Communications Specialist Every year, volunteers offer their time, energy, and care to help us deliver on our mission of connecting people to nature and fostering conservation across the Center’s 185 acres. In 2025 alone, nearly 800 individuals generously gave 18,131 hours of service! Whether they contribute two hours or 1,000, these dedicated community members make everything we do possible.

Volunteer opportunities at the Center are as diverse as our ecosystems. Individuals can improve habitats as Land Stewards; welcome guests at the Visitor Information Desk; support teachers and children in our nationally recognized Nature School; serve as Nature Ambassadors on the trails or in the Great Hall; assist with our Raptor Program; lend their skills to facilities projects with the Ray Team; or create meaningful experiences through our SPARK! program for individuals experiencing cognitive changes. Special Events volunteers also play a vital role throughout the seasons, ensuring our largest programs run smoothly. For groups — from corporate teams to school organizations — outdoor stewardship projects offer a rewarding way to give back together.

With milder temperatures and our trails coming alive with new life, spring’s arrival is an invitation to enjoy the outdoors while restoring and conserving our beautiful prairies, forests, wetlands, and Lake Michigan shoreline. Land stewardship work is hands-on, approachable, and designed for all experience and commitment levels — no prior training required! Workday activities vary by season and may include removing invasive species, planting habitat-appropriate native species, and trail maintenance. Our Restoration Ecologists share their knowledge as you work, answer ques10

tions, and can even take you on a plant walk if you need a break. If weather turns unpleasant, there are indoor options too, like seed sorting. You can always choose your own pace and mood that suits you best, whether that means lively social time with others or the serenity of working independently. Either way, seeing the immediate impact of your efforts (and knowing they make a difference in the long-term) can be extremely rewarding.

Beyond the measurable impact, volunteering builds community, grows knowledge, and supports well-being. Individuals form friendships rooted in shared purpose, gain new insights into the natural world, and many appreciate the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outdoors being active. For groups, volunteering fosters teamwork, strengthens relationships, and encourages authentic connection between colleagues or classmates.

To our current and past volunteers: Thank You! Your generosity sustains the trails, habitats, programs, and warm atmosphere that define Schlitz Audubon. For those considering getting involved, we would love to welcome you into our volunteer community!

Simply visit our website and fill out a volunteer application to get started. Individuals can then join our existing land stewardship volunteer sessions offered at 9 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday mornings, and groups can schedule a private stewardship experience. If you are interested in other opportunities, we will work with you to find the right fit for your interests and schedule. Together, we can continue caring for this extraordinary place and providing meaningful experiences for all who visit.

Spring 2026 | www.schlitzaudubon.org

DEVELOPMENT In Memory Of John Stephen Anderson Jane Bryan-Jones Susan and Michael Burnett Tim Gilroy and Jill Matesic Monica and Jim Hart David and Diane Knox II F. William and Peggy Russo Sally and Justin Schuler Twin Trees Foundation

Bill Pickering and Joy Tapper Anne and Rick Reinders John Roth Bob Slobig John and Julia Syburg Jay and Madonna Williams

Barbie Brennan Nelson and Chad Nelson Marcel De Ridder and Sandra Heim Maggie Hopkins Rhiannon Mapes Bill Stout

Joseph Camilli Theresa and Peter Camilli

Andrea Carroll Jack Carroll

Rob DeRosia and Katherine

Freyja – American Kestrel Charlotte Ball Jennifer Behnke Sarah Stefaniak Bill Stout

Mary Cofta Katherine and Thomas Ingrassia Jim Jahnke and Margee Claudon Plastic Ingenuity, Inc. Chuck Cruse Penny Cruse The Diggs Family Anonymous Laurie Good George Lange and Marlene Melzer Lange Grace Haraway Jean Farrell Jim Stein and Ellen Schneiderman Paul M. Hauer Mark Hauer Matson Brumder Holbrook Timothy and Kathleen Carr Daniel and Susan Minahan Norman Huth Saints Andrew and Mark Charitable Gift Trust Jean Johnstad Ann Lederman Patricia Kilian Frank and Wendy Schober Jim LaRose Kevin Beyer and Lisa Gedes Sara Kornetzke Faith Miller Richard Miller Jean Pagel Henry and Judy Eckstein Family Helen Patton Mary Ann and Charles LaBahn William Schulte EMC Insurance Robertson Ryan Insurance Patty Schuyler Al and Kathy Krug Dorothy K. Singer Catherine Singer

Schmitz Zachary Hepner Diane Howard Eileen Schwalbach Terrence Knudsen Kay Esposito Bob Larsen Jean Woodmansee-Poklasny Anne Ravanelli and Ben Dehne Robert Ravanelli John Schaub Anonymous Eileen Schwalbach Diane Howard

Raptor & Animal Sponsorships Eddie – Ornate Box Turtle Jennifer Martell Emerson – Common Snapping Turtle In Honor of Emmy Lalor Leah Lalor In Honor of Geoffrey Vitiello Laura Braza In Honor of Tali Becca Hay Harley – Spiny Softshell Turtle In Honor of Erin Wathen Emma Wathen Athena – Barn Owl Lucy Bisenius Erin Cram Maggie Hopkins Paul Stillmank and Maggie Cain Bill Stout Atlas – Red-shouldered Hawk Laura Braza and Geoffrey Vitiello Taylor Kirby and William Huth Molly and Michael Stephans Bill Stout

Jackie Zachar James and Aaron Zachar

Baron von Screech – Eastern Screech Owl In honor of Merlin Abler Joanne, Susan, and Karen

In Honor Of

In honor of Wynne Treco Brian Brandstatt

Jessica, Jay, Zach, and Zoey Bitter Penny Cruse

Connie Beckham Christopher Bisenius Rhiannon Mapes Sarah Stefaniak Bill Stout Amanda and Christopher Zarder

Boomerfest Jeff and Anne Ballentine Daniel and Nancy Conway Andy and Julie Gusho Jill and Rick Hart Dayton Hoell

Darwin – Turkey Vulture Anonymous Jennifer Behnke

Gimli – Eastern Screech Owl Kurt and Kim Rebarchek Sarah Stefaniak Bill Stout Emma Towne Glory – Bald Eagle In Memory of Cathreen Clare Clark Marjolein Iedema and Alvin Stroyny Paul Stillmank and Maggie Cain Bill Stout Jim and Cathy Toohey Sharon Zalewski Loki – American Crow Anonymous Barbie Brennan Nelson and Chad Nelson Maggie Hopkins Jeffrey Klug Bill Stout Nicco – Broad-winged Hawk Jennifer Behnke Paul Stillmank and Maggie Cain Bill Stout Otis – Peregrine Falcon In Honor of Hugh Bruns Zach and Jessica Bruns William Abbott Max Bisenius Downtown Montessori Room 2 Taylor Hughes and Carolyn Smith Hughes Jerald and Laura Skoff Bill Stout Perseus – Barred Owl In Honor of Carol Roddy Heather, Steve, Nikki, Andy and all the kids

Valkyrie – Bald Eagle In Honor of Cassi Scaife April Scaife Connie Beckham Bill Stout Sharon Zalewski Willow – Northern Saw-whet Owl In Honor of Ben Christensen Kelly Christensen Willow Aarestad Richard Albert Lisa Greco Jeff Rizner Sarah Stefaniak Suzanne and Christopher Stone Bill Stout Amanda and Christopher Zarder Zari – Great Horned Owl In Honor of Patti Benson Andrew Benson In Honor of Nikolai Gardner Peter Gardner Heather Arena Leah Sleger Chris Stein Bill Stout Amanda and Christopher Zarder

Wedding Ceremony Trees Anastasia Konsoer and Issac Rhodes

Honorary Trees In Honor of the Nichols Family Faith and Timothy Nichols

The Barbara Stover & Susan Bell Birding Academy In Honor of Sara and Tyler Edgren Joni Bell In Honor of Katie Rames Joni Bell Kate and Scott Stubenvoll

Connie Beckham Tracy Bisenius Jacey Bonavia Murray and Kyle Murray Taylor Hughes and Carolyn Smith Hughes Chad and Krista Pankop Leah Sleger Paul Stillmank and Maggie Cain Bill Stout Saxon – American Kestrel Anonymous Charlotte Ball Michelle and William Buerger Sarah Stefaniak Bill Stout Amanda and Christopher Zarder Sky Walker – Red-tailed Hawk Marcel De Ridder and Sandra Heim Rhiannon Mapes Alexander and Sarah Starrett Bill Stout

Gifts were received: 10/1/2025 – 12/31/2025 11

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

U.S. Postage

1111 East Brown Deer Road Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53217

PAID

Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 4168

SPRING 2026 PANORAMA

Join us for Our Annual Gala

Friday, June 5, 2026 at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center www.schlitzaudubon.org

’