Miscellaneous
Thankfully - birders only need one thing to be successful - they need birds. And finding birds is easy - if you know where to look. I live in the United States and here, we have a wonderful National Park System as well as a superb National Wildlife Refuge System where you can find hundreds of different bird species in a given year. No matter where you live, chances are good that you live near a park, a zoo, a bird rescue center or an aviary. All these places are great for birding. I have my own personal favorites and I'd like to share two with you now. My top spot for birding is Alaska. I like to go in late Winter because bald eagles are abundant in the Cook Inlet. Summers there bring the chance to see tens of thousands of kittiwakes in the same location. If you base out of Homer, AK you are nearby some of the best birding in the world. There's a great shorebird festival in Homer the first week of May. My second favorite place for birding is the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, near Socorro, NM. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 to provide a critical stopover for migrating waterfowl. The refuge is well known for the tens of thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks who winter here each year. During spring and fall migration, the 57,331-acre refuge is a spot to rest and refuel for many birds as they follow the Rio Grande through the woodlands which hug the riverbanks, called bosque. And if neither of these places are within your reach, try your own backyard. Properly set up with food, water and cover it can be a great place to bird - year after year. Next week, I'm going to talk about the fastest animal in the world - you won't want to miss it. I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Avian Beauty. Thanks for listening. Be sure to visit avianbeauty.com for more bird inspiration and information and please consider subscribing (for free) to our blog and podcast. I’m Scott Bourne. Happy birding.