Audubon Goose Pond

State Natural Area (No. 86)

Location: Columbia County. T10N-R9E, Section 25 NE¼. 81 acres.

Access: From Arlington, go south and east on Highways 51 and 60 for 0.5 mile, then south on Goose Pond Road 1.5 miles. The area is on the west side of the causeway.

Description: Goose Pond is a small, isolated, prairie pothole located within a marshy basin in ground moraine. The area was designated a bird species preserve because of the number of bird species that have been sighted on the property (243 species). Waterfowl and shorebirds are the main interests. Twenty-eight species of waterfowl have been observed and about 23 species visit each spring. Eight species of ducks nest at the pond. During migration, tundra swans number in the hundreds some years as they stop to feed on plant tubers. Water levels fluctuate due to runoff conditions, and in years of very high or very low water, shorebirds congregate on exposed mudflats. Thirty-four species of shorebirds have been observed at the pond. In late summer, great blue, green-backed, and black-crowned night herons, along with common egrets, are regular visitors. Other wildlife of interest are marsh birds, raptors, reptiles, and amphibians. Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) reside at the pond, and peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) stop in migration. Arrowhead and river bulrush are the dominant wetland plants. The water is generally turbid and hard with exceptionally high conductance. Goose Pond is owned by the Madison Audubon Society and was designated a State Natural Area in 1970.