Seasons at Peninsula State Park

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

Spring

Green Bay, still frozen, acts like a giant ice cube. It keeps the Door peninsula cool well past April. By Mother's Day in May, warblers are journeying north. Many stop over at Weborg Point. Trilliums and Sarsaparilla bloom along Eagle Trail in late spring. Memorial Day Weekend is terrific for wildflowers. Yellow Lady's-slippers are usually blooming. Welcker's Campground boasts the park's only Mayapple colony. A wildflower checklist is available for $2 at Park Headquarters.

Average May Precipitation (Green Bay, WI) =2.82 inches.
Sunrise (May 15) = 5:57 a.m. Sunset (May 15) =: 8:15 p.m.

Yellow Lady's-slipper (above) blooms in late May.
DNR Photo

Trillium blooms blooms abundantly along Eagle Trail.
DNR Photo

• March 19 Sandhill cranes return.
• March 23 Wood frogs calling. Woodcocks peenting.
• March 30 First robin. First red-winged blackbird.
• April 7 Golden-crowned kinglets, killdeer [exit DNR] at Weborg Point.
• April 12 Spring peepers calling. Ruffed grouse drumming.
• April 14 Bats return. Bufflehead [exit DNR], goldeneye [exit DNR] ducks.
• April 16 Hepatica. Canada geese on the nest.
• April 20 Bloodroot.
• April 24 Winter wren [exit DNR] singing.
• April 28 Red admiral [exit DNR] butterfly.
• April 30 Black-throated green warbler singing.
• May 1 American toads trilling.
• May 3 Bellwort [exit DNR]. Ravens [exit DNR] are on the nest.
• May 5 Chestnut-sided, Cape May and yellow-rumped [exit DNR] warblers and rose-brested grosbeaks [exit DNR] at Weborg Point.
• May 7 Wood anemone.
• May 10 Black and white and palm warblers at Weborg Point. dwarf lake iris.
• May 11 Eastern garter snake sunning in woodyard. Trillium. Forget-me-not.
• May 21 Jack-in-the-pulpit [exit DNR], Solomon's seal.
• May 25 Yellow lady's-slipper. Fawns born.
• June 1 Herb Robert.
• June 8 Canada anemone, tall-flowered buttercup.
• June 10 Thimbleberry [exit DNR], wild rose.
• June 15 Silverweed., Downy woodpeckers on the nest.

Summer

By the end of June, Peninsula meadows begin to bloom. Birds, nesting and feeding young, ar less visible. Bulblet and marginal wood fern cascade down the bluff along Eagle and Hemlock trails. Orange jewelweed is prolific in wet years. You are sure to see at least a few waterfowl species, particularly mergansers, along the shore. In recent years, visitors have spotted white pelicans and bald eagles. Listen for the "Teacher! Teacher!" call of the ovenbird. Watch for bank swallows [exit DNR] that nest along the bluff face.

This monarch buttefly has flown all the way from the Gulf of Mexico.
DNR Photo

Average June Precipitation (Green Bay, Wisconsin) = 3.39 inches.
June 15 Sunrise = 5:53 a.m. June 15 Sunset = 8:37 p.m.

Average July Precipitation (Green Bay, Wisconsin) = 3.10 inches.
July 15 Sunrise = 5:56 a.m. July 15 Sunset = 8:34 p.m.

Average August Precipitation (Green Bay, Wisconsin) = 3.77 inches.
August 15 Sunrise = 5:55 a.m. August 15 Sunset = 7:57 p.m.

Hikers may still spy Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers in early summer.
DNR Photo

• June 25 Common yarrow [exit DNR], harebell, Four-flowered Loosestrife.
• June 30 Common Milkweed.
• July 1 Heal-all.
• July 12 Brown-eyed Susan, Queen Anne's Lace.
• July 20 Bergamot, Joe-Pye weed, cinquefoil.
• July 30 Kalm's lobelia. Turkey chicks roaming.
• August 9 Barred owls hooting. Bucks in heavy velvet.
• August 20 Swamp thistle, evening primrose.
• September 5 Great lobelia, fringed gentian. white-faced meadowhawk dragonflies.

Autumn

Fall migration begins in August; be sure to scan Weborg Marsh for sandhill cranes and great blue herons, who use it as a resting stop on their way south. The shore still offers showy blooms, while woodland trails display showy fruits. By mid-September, Peninsula forests are turning gold and red; colors peak about October 5.

Average September Precipitation (Green Bay, Wisconsin) = 3.11 inches.
September 15 Sunrise = 6:31 a.m. September 15 Sunset = 7:02 p.m.

Average October Percipitation (Green Bay, Wisconsin) = 2.17 inches.
Ocober 15 Sunrise = 7:08 a.m. October 15 Sunset = 6:07 p.m.

• September 6 Zig-zag goldenrod.
• September 10 Highbush cranberries fully ripe.
• September 15 New England aster [exit DNR].
• September 29 Juncos arrive.
• October 2 Witch hazel blooming.

Winter

Visitors must look a little harder to see wildlife when the snow flies. The White Cedar Nature Center is a good place to stop, with its stocked bird feeders. Bring black oil sunflower seeds and try your luck at having chickadees land on your hand to feed.

A black-capped chickadee eats seeds from naturalist Kathleen Harris's hand.
DNR Photo by Kathleen Hutter

The large pileated woodpecker is an occassional diner at the suet feeders, too, though "Woody" is much too shy to feed fly in close.

For more information, ask Kathleen Harris, (920) 854-5976.