Fast horses raced in the Kentucky Derby on May 4. Another recent contest was for some very different animals — fat, feathery fliers. This was Wisconsin’s first Fat Bird Week! Officials announced the winner of the event on April 30. A “hefty” horned lark is now the state’s favorite chubby chirper!
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin (NRF) is a group. It organized the contest. Officials posted eight photos of fat birds online. The birds are all Wisconsin . They gave the critters silly names. That included one “chonky” Canada warbler.
Folks hopped online to pick their favorite fat fliers. They voted from April 19 through April 26. People cast nearly 8,000 votes. In the end, the “hefty” horned lark won!
The big event was inspired by Alaska’s “Fat Bear Week.” About 2,200 brown bears live in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. Every year, park officials post pics of the big bears. Voters pick the fattest of them all!
Fat bears are often healthy bears. The animals need to rest for long periods of time during the winter. So they slurp up salmon to bulk up. This gives them the energy to get through the winter.
Officials at NRF realized that birds bulk up for a similar reason. Most species for winter. They travel long distances for warmer weather. Shelly Torkelson is a leader with the NRF. “A lot of the birds in Wisconsin spend wintertime in central and South America,” she told News-O-Matic. “That is a long way to fly!” Birds will snack a lot ahead of time to have enough energy for those trips. Their menu includes bugs, berries, seeds, and nuts. Just like bears, a fat bird is often a healthy bird!
Torkelson said the contest is “a way to get more people interested in birds.” She explained that kids can even help out their feathery friends. That includes working with adults to plant new plants. “Ask if any of these plants you’re planting are good for birds,” suggested Torkelson.
Torkelson had another suggestion — try birdwatching! Birdwatchers try to spot as many species as they can in their natural . Torkelson said, “It’s kind of like nature-based Pokémon!”
Updated May 6, 2024, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Tyler Burdick
