Yellow-bellied sapsucker at cavity nest
chiseled into aspen trunk
chiseled into aspen trunk
April 30, 2010
10-23Grand Teton National Park will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) with a bird-watching caravan on Saturday, May 8, 2010. Park ranger naturalist Andrew Langford will visit areas throughout the park that provide excellent opportunities to locate, identify, and count birds as part of the North American Migration Count. The free activity begins at 8 a.m. in the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center at Moose, Wyoming and finishes by 4 p.m. at Christian Pond near Jackson Lake Lodge. Reservations are not required.
Anyone interested in birds is welcome to participate in Grand Teton’s IMBD celebration and annual bird count. Throughout the day, participants will take short walks at various locations, so those attending should wear comfortable shoes and bring a lunch, drinking water, warm clothing and rain gear. Bird field guides, binoculars and spotting scopes are also recommended items.
According to the IMBD Web site, the theme for 2010 is the “Power of Partnerships” in bird conservation. This theme highlights the many partnership organizations and conservation programs initiated to protect vulnerable species of migratory birds. Several avian species that have benefited from conservation programs coordinated by partnership organizations are also seasonal visitors to Grand Teton National Park. These birds include peregrine falcons, Swainson’s hawks, long-billed curlews, rufous hummingbirds, burrowing owls, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers.
Observed each year in May to celebrate and support bird conservation, IMBD serves as the hallmark outreach event for Partners in Flight—an international conservation program whose goal is to reverse declining populations of migratory birds by bringing attention to factors that may contribute to worldwide declines. This year marks the 20th anniversary for Partners in Flight.
For more information about International Migratory Bird Day and the North American Migration Count, please call the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center at 307.739.3399. Participants of the Migratory Bird Day activity are reminded that park entrance stations are open; therefore, they will need to present a park pass to travel through these entrance gates.
