It's been a busy couple of weeks eventhough "In Wisconsin" hasn't been on the air. This week, we return to our regular Thursday at 7:30p time slot.

In Wisconsin Reporter Jo Garrett visits Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center, a downtown oasis for birds migrating north. You will discover how this urban jewel has been reclaimed from drug dealers and criminals by birdwatchers and citizen scientists.

We also have a QUEST report by In Wisconsin Reporter Andy Soth as he looks at Wisconsin's first great scientist. Increase Lapham was a self-taught renaissance man who dabbled in botany, archaeology, forestry and climatology. Discover how his influence is still being felt in the state two hundred years after his birth.

You won't want to miss the teen musicians in the statewide Bolz Young Artist Competition. For several months, they have been auditioning but only four remained standing on the stage of Overture Hall in Madison. This week you'll meet cellist Elliott Yang of New Berlin. With the arrival of spring you can also discover a very urban section of Wisconsin's Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Janesville through the camera lens of videographer Mike Eicher.

In Wisconsin airs 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24 on Wisconsin Public Television. The program also will air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 27 on Milwaukee's MPTV and on WDSE-TV in Duluth at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 27.

Tonight is the premiere of our In Wisconsin special called "Our Birds". For the past 2 years Reporter Jo Garrett and Videographer Frank Boll have been crafting this documentary about Wisconsin's migratory birds. It premieres tonight at 7:00 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television.

We also just found out today that Milwaukee Public Television will air this hour long documentary on May 12, 9:00pm and repeat it May 14, 2:00pm.

Give it a watch and then drop us a line in the comment section below. We'd like to hear your feedback. Emjoy the show.

We've got an interesting repeat coming up on this week's show, "Great Grey Owls". Six years ago, Wisconsin was visited, in large numbers, by these enormous and stunning predators. Their usual range is Canada but an enormous drop in rodents in their home base population precipitated a move southward in search of food. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event. We were very lucky to garner video of these three foot tall grey wonders.

These birds are remarkable. And this story is a wonderful chance to view this very rare visitor. Check it out!

You'll find a lot of critters in this week's episode of In Wisconsin everything from white tail deer to bald eagles and you might even catch a few pine martens.

First, this month the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is launching the largest deer study ever in the State of Wisconsin. There's a growing concern among some hunters that the Wisconsin deer herd is being decimated by predators. In a related move the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently decided to go ahead with plans to remove the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolves were hunted to near extinction in Wisconsin before they returned on their own.

You can find out more about deer research at the WI DNR site. They're also signing up volunteers to do deer research.

Once endangered but not anymore... the dramatic comeback of the American Bald Eagle in Wisconsin is an inspiration for other states. Every winter bald eagles are attracted to the open water and prime fishing on the Wisconsin River below the dam at Prairie du Sac. You can catch a glimpse of these majestic birds in videographer Frank Boll's video essay. If you'd like to see them soar this weekend is prime time. It's the 22nd annual Sauk Prairie Eagle Watching Days. To find out more click on this link http://www.ferrybluffeaglecouncil.org/eagledays/index.html And finally in this week's show they appear to be cute and ready to cuddle but pine martens can be vicious. This pint-sized predator is a member of the weasel family. The animal was driven from the state by excessive trapping around the turn of the century. Wisconsin researchers re-introduced pine martens in the late 1970's but it failed to take a foothold. At the same time martens in Minnesota and Michigan are thriving. In Wisconsin Reporter Jo Garrett gives you an update on the battles in a three year research project to find out why.

It's all this week on In Wisconsin, Thursday night at 7:30 on Wisconsin Public Television. Or catch the encore presentation Sunday night at 10:30. And if neither of those times are convenient you can always watch those reports right here on our website. Let me know what you think of the show.

I'm back at work after taking a 2 week vacation. I must admit it's hard to change gears. I'm picking up where I left off on a story about the Kirtland's Warbler, a bird on the Federal endangered species list.

We finished shooting before my break. Now I'm pulling together the pieces of information to write the edit script. This story poses a philosophical question. "When is it acceptable to take lives in order to save a species from extinction." It's a question wildlife managers take on on a daily basis.

Check out the story this fall on In Wisconsin.

Marcus here, filling in for Liz while she enjoys some time off overseas. Make sure to check back to In Wisconsin frequently this summer because I will be creating a slide show of pictures and adding to it over the next several months. Of what? Turkey Vultures of course. WPT videographer Frank Boll is using a similar set up to what he used to capture the extensive footage of wolves used for our Wolf Series. He has a camera set up and focused in on a turkey vulture nest in Iowa County. With the help of a motion sensor, this camera will be taking pictures all summer long. You will be able to watch as baby turkey vultures first hatch, begin to learn about the world around them, and months from now, fly away.

This man is Craig Thompson. Thompson works as a Regional Land Manager for the Wisconsin DNR. That's his everyday job. In his free time, Thompson organizes birding trips to Central and South America. They are birding trips with a difference however, Thompson has pioneered a model called "conservation birding trips". Every participant on the trip makes a significant donation toward conservation of bird habitat in the countries they visit. His trips have garnered thousands of dollars towards the purchase of lands for birds.

We joined up Thompson on his latest bird watching trip in the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. It was an amazing, arduous, fascinating trip and it will be part of our upcoming hour-long documentary on the plight of migratory songbirds titled "Our Birds". Right now, the plan is for a first broadcast of this special in 2011. I'll be detailing more of this shoot in the upcoming months, look for more stories that are part of this special in the next month on IN WISCONSIN. And next week, more photos, more info on this project.

Well, those fall colors are fading if not gone. Today in Madison it's grey, rainy, and the background is bare branches on the trees. Okay, there are some advantages to the loss of leaves. I spotted two bird nests in the trees as I walked to work. But, if you're like me, that fall display thing hurtles by and I always want to take in more, more, more of the colors and (sigh)work and chores and commitments often seem to edge out leaf looking. I know, I know, get your priorities straight!

Well, there's one more chance to take in fall colors. On Thanksgiving Day, In Wisconsin will repeat a story we produced on turkey vultures in their fall staging at Devil's Lake State Park. Hundreds of turkey vultures gather every fall. Devil's Lake State Park is one of the largest turkey vulture staging areas in the Midwest. Now, about those fall colors... well on this shoot, we hit it at peak. So, tune in on Thanksgiving Day and get a blast of fall colors on the bluffs of Devil's Lake. Add in the soaring vultures and it's a recipe for wonderfulness. Check it out, it's really cool.

Finishing up some editing this week on a two-parter that first airs next week (November 5).

The subject is the problem of bird window collisions. It's a huge problem; researchers estimate that up to a billion songbirds may die every year in North America from collisions with windows. It is very difficult to show "numbers" on television, in any medium really. How do I give you, the viewer, any sense of "up to a billion birds"?

Recently I had to chance to view some of the work of photographer Chris Jordan.

In his book, "Running the Numbers II", Jordan makes the attempt to "show the numbers". It's fascinating.

Check it out and if you have any ideas on how I might illustrate "up to a billion birds", I'd love to hear them.

Many thanks.