Under chilly but blue skies, students gathered to learn about many local raptor and waterfowl species, both permanent residents and those on their spring migration northward, from instructor Bud Widdowson and his wife Margaret. Both are avid birders who have chased birds around the world – Bud himself has seen half of the world’s bird species.

The class appreciated Bud and Margaret’s keen eyes and ears as we searched out bird activity in a slow-moving caravan across the refuge. Despite dry conditions in the basin, it was a day filled with ample wildlife – we caught a canyon wren’s sweet song echoing off the hillsides, saw harrier hawks flitting over the landscape in search of prey, spotted a coyote slinking past flocks of white-fronted geese resting in a flooded field, dissected owl pellets scattered around roadside roosting spots, and spotted a prairie falcon perched high on the undulating cliffs of Petroglyph Point. Other identified species included mountain bluebirds, American kestrels, killdeer, ring-necked pheasants, and cinnamon teal, to name just a few!