Migratory Bird Day
May 17, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., at the Milwaukee County Zoo
Free activities
Free Zoo admission for Zoological Society members with ID
Milwaukee County Parking Fee: $10
For more information, call (414) 771-3040
Migratory birds travel thousands of miles to breeding sites each year. The success of their long journeys depends on viable habitats and conservation-minded people. That’s the theme of this year’s Migratory Bird Day (an international event begun in 1993). On May 17, the Milwaukee County Zoo, in conjunction with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM), will hold free, fun activities highlighting the importance of migratory birds. Kids and adults can play bird-themed games, visit bird-information booths in the Main Mall and the Peck Welcome Center, and discover many easy ways to help protect migratory birds. Conservation outreach booths will offer information about nature, conservation and birds.
Other activities include:
- Bird banding: Watch bird-banding from 9 a.m. to noon and talk with zookeepers at a station behind the Small Mammals Building. You may even have a chance to release a bird.
- The Migration Game: Children can “fly” like migratory birds through the Zoo! In the Zoo’s Main Mall, ZSM staff and Zoo Pride volunteers will give kids band-like bracelets to wear and explain how scientists band birds for research. Kids can then pretend to be birds on a migration across the Zoo and visit stopover sites to learn about problems that birds face as they migrate, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Temporary tattoos: Get a temporary tattoo of your favorite migratory bird in the Peck Welcome Center, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Bird woodcarving demonstrations by a Milwaukee-area woodcarving club will be in the Peck Welcome Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
