Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge - Pelicans on the Plains

Photo: Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on American Prairie: Rewilding the Plains, a free self-guided tour.

Before the long gravel south, give the birds an hour. Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge was set aside in 1936, in the middle of the Dust Bowl, to protect Lake Bowdoin and the wetlands around it in the Milk River valley. It sits where two great migration routes, the Central and Pacific flyways, overlap.

More than 260 bird species have been recorded here. In summer, look for American white pelicans riding the lake in big white rafts, plus cormorants, herons, white-faced ibis and several kinds of grebes. Spring and fall bring waves of ducks and geese. On the uplands, watch for pronghorn.

The 15-mile self-guided auto tour route loops the lake and is the best way to see it. Pick up a leaflet at the information kiosk, drive slowly, and stop often: a car makes a good bird blind. This refuge is the first chapter of today's theme, which is what happens when land is managed for wildlife instead of only for crops.

Getting here: From the museums, drive east on US 2 for about a mile, turn right onto Old Highway 2 and follow the signs about six miles to refuge headquarters.

Did you know?: When the refuge began protecting them, Bowdoin had only 7 pronghorn; by the 1940s the herd had grown to about 160.

Photo op: Stop on the auto tour where the road runs close to open water and frame a raft of white pelicans with the flat Milk River country behind them.

More on Wikipedia: Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge · American white pelican · Pronghorn

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge - Pelicans on the Plains

Stops on this tour