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Germania Marsh (May 28, 2004) (May 28, 2004)

Germania Marsh is a 2334-acre wetlands area owned by the DNR. It includes the 95-acre Germania Wet Prairie State Natural Area, a wet prarie area that was designated as a state natural area in 2002.

There are two roads that go through the marsh, but they are closed except during hunting season in the fall. There are six main access points into the marsh. I usually use the southern access point off of Eagle road on the south side of the marsh. I try to get to this area in early July to see a wide variety of butterflies and skippers.

Many of the dike edges have Swamp Milkweed growing and these are very good nectar sources for many of the butterflies. This is my favorite photo of a Monarch caterpillar on this plant.

This area is very good for Dion and Broad-winged Skippers. My favorite photos of these two species were taken in Germania Marsh. Other butterflies that I see commonly at Germania include the Baltimore Checkerspot, and Meadow Fritillaries. As I become more familiar with this species I see it more often in situations that it is easy to photograph and observe. The Meadow Fritillary (last in the image series) was getting moisture from my dew-soaked jeans.

The Karner Blue, a U.S. endangered species, may be found at several sites withing the marsh where its host plant, Lupine, is present.

The marsh has a wide variety of flora and fauna. In the spring it is one of the few sites in the region that has a sizable population of Indian Paintbrush. Another plant here that is uncommon in other areas in central Wisconsin that I found in the Germania Marsh is the Green-fringed Orchid.

I recently have been trying my hand at “digiscoping", taking photos with a digital camera through a spotting scope. The following photos of a Veery, a Green Heron, and a Great Blue Heron are some of my first attempts at trying to take photos using a spotting scope with my Nikon Coolpix 4500 attached. Germania Marsh is certainly a great place to practice my technique with this setup.