Spring has arrived in Wisconsin, bringing with it warmer temperatures, greener grass, blooming flowers and … fat birds.
May 8-15 is Wisconsin’s third annual Fat Bird Week. The online contest is a partnership between the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and SOS Save Our Songbirds, encouraging people to celebrate and learn about native birds by voting on their favorite chubby chirper.
The single-elimination tournament has a new face-off each day between two pictures of round, fluffy birds. The first round kicks off May 8, as a tough race between Chungus Cardinal and Massive Meadowlark. Voters are asked a simple question: “Which bird has the most chonk?”
It’s looking like it might be a tight competition.
The contest is inspired by the more widely known Fat Bear Week, a single-elimination tournament held annually by Katmai National Park and Preserve to recognize fan favorite bears that have packed on winter weight ahead of hibernation.
Fat Bird Week is timed to coordinate with peak spring bird migration in Wisconsin. It aims to bring fun to conservation education, said Lisa Gaumnitz, coordinator of SOS Save Our Songbirds.
“By the end of Fat Bird Week, thousands more people will know you can help fatten up birds by planting native plants in your yard,” Gaumnitz said in a statement.
According to a news release about the competition, plants native to Wisconsin draw more insects than non-native trees, flowers and shrubs. Because 96% of North America’s land-based birds feed insects to their young, adding native plants to yards and gardens helps support birds – which in turn benefit the ecosystem by pollinating plants, dispersing seeds and managing pests in forests and farms, the news release says.
Further, the contest organizers say, birds provide mental health benefits to humans and support Wisconsin’s wildlife watching economy.
A total of eight bird photos are up for the title. Some of the birds appear round from filling up on fat-filled foods providing them fuel for migration; others may just be extra fluffy for wintertime warmth, the news release says.
Voting takes place online at wisconservation.org/fat-bird-week.
SOS Save Our Songbirds is a campaign aimed at teaching Wisconsinites to engage in three primary things to help save Wisconsin’s declining songbird population: planting native plants, reducing window threats and buying sustainably-grown coffee that doesn’t destroy bird habitats.
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that supports the state’s lands, water and wildlife, through programming and funding.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: It’s Fat Bird Week in Wisconsin; Vote for chubbiest chirper
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
