For many years now, my passion for the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has kind of, well, evolved, for lack of a better term I suppose.
It started out as it does for most people with a fascination for the hundreds of bird species that call this particular wildlife refuge home.
In fact, at the time of this writing, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge listing on eBird currently has a running total of 257 species of birds observed and recorded to date on the refuge by other birders.
And just for comparison, if you look at eBird regarding birding hotspots for Utah, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge currently claims the top spot with a total of 293 birds observed and recorded to date with Bear River coming in at an impressive number 5 on that list.
To put those numbers into perspective, Utah as a whole is currently listed with a total of 469 different species of birds observed and recorded statewide throughout the vast array of different habitats this state has to attract and support birds with.
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Spend a warm summer day enjoying a drive around the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route early in the morning and you will see why the bird refuge is listed so high on eBird’s recorded species list, countless numbers of birds seem to be around every corner during summer and both spring and fall migrations.
Even during the frigid months of winter, one of the most unique and interesting times to visit the refuge, migratory species of birds such as the rough-legged hawk, bald eagle, and herring gull, among others, can be found on the Bear River Migratory Bird refuge to watch, photograph, and simply enjoy.
My passion for the bird refuge really ignited, however, when my love for photography finally caught up with and married my love for birdwatching, and both honeymooned on the bird refuge one summer many years ago as I spent every waking hour I could driving around the auto loop with a camera conveniently nestled at the ready in the passenger seat next to me.
But over the past few years, ever since I started Bear River Blogger, in fact, I’ve been encouraged to look at and focus on more subjects than just birds for this website’s content, shown by the images in this blog post and the small photo gallery at the end down below.
Blogging has indeed helped me discover there’s more to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge than just birds alone.
Realizing one day there are monarch butterflies on the refuge auto loop led me to find there are dozens of other butterfly species there as well.
And that discovery opened the door to a whole new world for me, one that has given me an even greater appreciation for the refuge and all of its flora and fauna.
The fact of the matter is the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a vital wetland ecosystem that supports a wide array of interesting wildlife other than just birds, including mule deer, numerous species of butterflies, frogs and toads, dragonflies, long-tailed weasels, and snakes, as just a few of the species off the top of my head that I have found and photographed on the refuge in recent years.
But even with a vast array of wildlife to be had, most of them seem to be greatly overlooked as people drive around the refuge auto loop in search of only birds.
Well, I am here to change that by showing how incredible all forms of nature are through photographing them for this website whenever and wherever I can.
Aside from wildlife, the bird refuge also offers the casual outdoor lover or nature photographer a spectacular landscape scene or a grand sunset to savor on occasion as well.
I believe it really limits our total enjoyment to only think of birds when visiting the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because there is so much more to view, photograph, and appreciate in this 77,000-acre federal wildlife preserve than just our avian friends.
It was even mentioned to me the other day by a longtime blog follower I crossed paths with on the auto loop that beavers can also be found at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge so there is quite an array of wildlife on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge that doesn’t get much notice or attention for some reason.
I’ll be bold and say I actually think the official name given to this particular wildlife sanctuary does it a slight injustice by only referencing it as a “bird refuge” and not a wildlife preserve as a whole because of all the other forms of wildlife that can easily be found on the refuge throughout the year.
As an example of this, last week when I took a drive around the refuge auto tour route to do some birdwatching and photography I started to notice small, orange-colored butterflies that were quite numerous and nectaring on the small vegetation blooms that lined a particular stretch of the gravel road.
Naturally, the photog in me had to investigate and photograph a few images of these tiny but very active butterflies.
So, as a result, me being someone who loves butterflies almost as much as birds, I spent the better part of my trip slowly driving around the auto loop not only looking for birds but scanning the roadside vegetation for butterflies as well.
Truthfully, I am not a butterfly expert by any stretch of the imagination but by using the Google Photos App on my phone I was able to identify these particular butterflies as a Purplish copper butterfly.
Showy milkweed, the host plant for the monarch butterfly, is commonly found on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge so it follows suit that monarch butterflies can be found on the refuge as well while they are looking for milkweed to lay their eggs upon.
I commonly find monarch butterflies during summer and early fall on the refuge auto tour route, especially when the sunflowers are in full bloom and offer migrating monarch butterflies, painted lady butterflies, and even the occasional sphinx moth a place to find nectar to feast on.
(Sphinx Moth Feeding On A Sunflower. For short nature clips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature.)
Mule deer are year-round residents of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge but aren’t commonly seen as they tend to hide in the thick vegetation during the day.
Each spring, chorus frogs can be heard singing their mating song as the water warms up a bit, giving a splendid audible backdrop to the wetland landscape that makes any birding trip more enjoyable.
If you are observant and quick on the draw, finding and photographing long-tailed weasels on the auto loop is always a pleasant surprise.
One summer a few years ago, I came across a particularly interesting scene with a long-tailed weasel as I parked on the auto loop waiting for a great blue heron to come into full view.
The weasel seemed a little distraught by my chosen parking location as it was hoping to use the small concrete bridge I was on to easily bring its meal back home but it successfully found an alternative route, one causing him to swim its meal to the other side of the water outlet on its way home.
It was a most interesting and educational moment for me as I never knew long-tailed weasels would carry large rodents in their mouth like that as they swam over open water.
I never would have seen it, let alone photograph it if my eyes were searching only for birds on that particular day.
If I had the time to search for and find all my related images, I could literally go on and on for weeks or more about my countless interactions on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge with some of the other creatures I find, photograph, and enjoy on my trips around the auto loop.
There are also times when wildlife as a whole takes a backseat for a few moments when an interesting scene is placed before me, oftentimes one where the majesty of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains are being cradled by soft, enticing clouds and both are being reflected back by the glass-smooth water below.
Other times my attention can easily be had with a grand sunset settling down on the Bear River itself and the brilliant colors illuminate the sky and water below for a few minutes as the background chorus of migrating tundra swans punctuate a most serene moment in nature I wish everyone could experience at least once.
There are very few things I think can soothe the soul more after a hard day’s work than a spectacular sunset set to music with migrating tundra swans caroling in the background as they head back to Alaska and Canada for the summer breeding season.
Yes, as you can see, I truly hold the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in high regard, much higher regard now, in fact, as a wildlife refuge than just a “bird refuge” of sorts.
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is and should be regarded as a true nature preserve as it not only hosts hundreds of bird species but supports an entire community of other forms of wildlife we can come view, photograph, and enjoy year-round.
If you like natural places, birds, and the many other kinds of creatures places like the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has to offer, I suggest heading over to my subscribe page and signing up for future blog posts about my excursions in nature, both on and off of the famed bird refuge I photo and write about so much.
Nature as a whole is quite interesting and hopefully, through my writing and photography efforts I can help encourage other people to get out in nature and enjoy some of what the natural world has to offer.
