Wild birds are big business in Wisconsin as well as the entire United States.
According to a survey done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 1996, 1.651 million residents of Wisconsin over the age of 16 participated actively in various aspects of wildlife watching. This included observing wildlife, photographing wildlife, feeding wild birds, and maintaining natural areas for wildlife. Most of this activity was directed towards birds. Birding is reported to be second only to gardening as the most rapidly growing leisure interest in the United States. The number of bird-watchers grew by 155 percent between 1983 and 1995.