Grand Teton National Park will celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) with a bird-watching caravan on Saturday, May 11. Park ranger naturalist Andrew Langford plans to visit areas throughout the park that provide great opportunities to locate, identify, and record 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 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 the annual bird count and bird-watching excursion. 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.
The 2019 WMBD theme "Protects Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution” highlights plastics as a threat to migratory birds and emphasizes the simple but effective ways that people help to reduce the threat.
Observed each year in May to celebrate and support bird conservation, WMBD 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.
For more information about World 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 WMBD activity are reminded that park entrance stations are open, therefore, park pass are required for travel through these entrance gates.