Yellowstone National Park will celebrate International Migratory Bird Week with a series of lectures and field trips that are open to the public and free of charge. On Thursday May 06, 2004, staff ornithologist Terry McEneaney will present a lecture entitled "Bird Migration-Amazing Feats of Migratory Birds." This talk will begin at 8:00 PM at the Park High School Library in Livingston, Montana, located at 401 View Vista Drive (at the corner of View Vista Drive and Main near Sacagawea Park). On Saturday May 08, 2004, park staff will conduct a thorough bird migration survey. Visitors are invited to participate by surveying in assigned, designated areas or remaining in pre-selected points for one hour in duration. In addition, a Yellowstone National Park bird field trip conducted by Yellowstone's Ornithologist is scheduled for Sunday May 09, 2004. Participants are asked to meet at the Arch House in Gardiner, Montana, at 6:00 AM for this field trip. Suggested items for the field trip include warm clothes, food, water, and binoculars. The field trip will conclude by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

Migratory birds are harbingers of seasons. In some cases they can be indicators of environmental vigor. Approximately 350 species of migratory birds travel between their nesting grounds in the Nearctic (New World temperate zone) to the wintering habitats of the Neotropics (New World tropics). Approximately 650 species of North American birds migrate to some degree. Like clockwork, each spring many migratory birds return to or fly over environments like Yellowstone National Park enroute to their breeding areas.

For further information on lectures, surveys or field trips call or leave a message for Yellowstone's Ornithologist Terry McEneaney at: 307-344-2222.

Information provided by the NPS