Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Some of the more than 260 species of birds include mallards, blue-winged teals, coots,
ruddyducks,cormorants,herons,andterns.Themarshisthelargestnestingareaeastofthe
Mississippi River for redhead ducks, almost 3,000 of which show up each year. Birds are
most often spotted during spring and fall migrations. Rookeries—particularly one on
Cot-
ton Island
—attract egrets, herons, and cormorants. In 1998, for the first time in more than
100 years, trumpeter swans returned to the marsh. No state has spent more time or money
tobringtrumpeterswansbacktonativeareas,andafteryearsofpreparation,adozenswans
were released. The goal is to have 20 nesting pairs eventually.
What of those honking geese? They come from the watery tundra near Hudson Bay in
northern Canada. Some begin arriving by mid-September, with a gradual increase through
October and sometimes into November. Upon arrival, they establish a feeding pattern in
surrounding fields, eating waste corn and grass. Picture-perfect mass takeoffs occur right
around sundown. The geese remain until dwindling temperatures freeze their water supply.
Marsh Haven Visitors Center
Three miles east of Waupun along WIS 49 is the marsh's
visitors center
(920/342-5818,
10am-4pm Mon.-Fri., 9am-5pm Sat.-Sun., $2). It has a theater, art displays, exhibits on the
natural history of the marsh—including a live display of birds—and trail access from the
parking lot.
Marsh Headquarters
The
Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area Headquarters
(920/387-7860) is along WIS 28, open
weekdays. The
National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters
(920/387-2658) is open week-
days and is housed in a $5 million education center, with nearby hiking trails and wildlife-
viewing area. Plans for development include a 6,500-square-foot education center between
Horicon and Mayville.
Waupun
Even with a maximum-security prison casting a shadow over the town, Waupun somehow
manages to maintain an attractive, if somewhat subdued, downtown. (It was described by
theoldWPAWisconsinguidebookas“almostoppressivelypleasant.”)Oneoffivelife-size
bronze statues in town, on Madison Street, is the first casting of James Earl Fraser's
End of
the Trail,
part of a series commemorating the genocidal expansion of the frontier.
Waupun has an access trail leading east to the
Wild Goose State Trail.
