During Wisconsin Fat Bird Week, held from May 2nd through 9th this year, the public votes daily for their favorite bulbous migratory bird in a bracket-style elimination tournament.
The contest is hosted by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and SOS Save Our Songbirds. While people "weigh in" with their votes, the organizations will be sharing fun facts about Wisconsin's native birds and how to keep them fat and healthy.
Fat Bird Week takes a page from, and has the blessing of, organizers of Fat Bear Week, which features bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska competing in an online tournament as the bears bulk up for winter hibernation. While the Alaskan bears gorge on salmon before a long winter’s nap, Wisconsin’s migratory birds eat fat-rich foods to fuel their dangerous, physically-taxing flights. Spring migration is literally survival of the fattest! Our non-migratory chonkers achieve a bulkier appearance by fluffing out their feathers during the winter months to stay warm.
"We host Fat Bird Week during spring migration to raise awareness about how people can help Wisconsin’s birds thrive," says Shelly Torkelson, communications director for the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. "While they're having fun voting, we hope people will also take a minute to learn about window collisions, planting native plants, bird-friendly coffee, and going birding during the Great Wisconsin Birdathon.”
A new set of eight contestants have waddled in for this year’s Wisconsin Fat Bird Week bracket, with names like "Neckless Northern Cardinal," "Spherical White-Throated Sparrow” and "Rotund Ruby-throated Hummingbird.”
