Bird Enthusiast’s Cross-State Trek Ends In Prairie Du Chien

A 65 year-old man who walked across Wisconsin counting bird species has finished his hike.

Milwaukeean Bill Mueller walked 246 miles over 25 days, going from Port Washington to Prairie du Chien. The veteran birder says along the way he saw or heard 158 bird species, the last one being a bank swallow near the Mississippi River. Mueller mainly walked to raise money for the Natural Resources Foundation and the Great Wisconsin Birdathon, which fund bird conservation efforts.

But Mueller says the walk gave him a new perspective on spring bird migrations.

“A lot of birders simply go to concentration points of birds. That wasn’t the case for me, because I had to travel a predetermined route, and saw different bird species arrive. One of the most interesting parts about that was how birds vary in abundance.”

Mueller says he remains concerned that a third of bird species are in decline. But he says during the walk he did come across three Bell’s vireo, which is a threatened species, and a white-eyed vireo, which isn’t very common in Wisconsin.

Mueller says 20 people joined him for part of the hike, and others provided lodging and wonderful kitchen table conversations.