Last weekend, on a short 36-hour break, I had the opportunity to return to one of the most impressive wildlife refuges I've ever seen, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. In Brigham City, this facility has an extensive and exceptionally lovely visitor center, and the 12-mile auto tour loop is a dozen miles of fantastic habitat and even more fantastic birds. While my husband and I weren't in the area strictly for birding, I couldn't resist, and even just a couple hours of driving amounted to a right pretty list of birds, among them...
- Eared Grebe
- Clark's Grebe
- Ruddy Duck
- Northern Harrier
- Ring-Necked Pheasant
- Killdeer
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Marsh Wren
- American Pipit
- Western Meadowlark
Perhaps the best of the birds was one of those I've seen most infrequently - the great horned owl. But it was a bittersweet sighting; I'd been hoping its roosting spot at the start of the auto tour loop would instead be occupied by a barn owl, a raptor long missing from my life list. But just because we don't always see the birds we hope for, doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy the birds we do see. That's something that in the hustle of daily life and the stress of everyday that we too often forget.
I need to remember to get out more, no matter how short the break, and not to forget the birds.
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