Birds fascinate me; they really do.

I’ve been around birds almost my entire life, starting with raising pigeons when I was about 9 years old, and during that same time, my father took me on my first bird-watching trip to Farmington Bay WMA, a local state-owned wildlife sanctuary.

Learning something new about birds and actually observing this newfound knowledge in the wild is one of my favorite parts of birdwatching.

Yesterday, while visiting the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route, I came across a rough-legged hawk perched on a sign where I was able to do just that: learn something new.

I quickly took a few images before the hawk flew off, but when I came home to edit the pictures, I noticed something about one of the images: the rough-legged hawk was showing its nictitating membrane, commonly referred to as a third eyelid.

This membrane is a clear inner eyelid that helps protect the eye and keep it moist, but still allows the bird to see while it is covering the eye.

Sharp eyesight is extremely critical for raptors; in fact, their very lives depend upon seeing and catching small prey from a distance, such as mice and voles, as in the case of the rough-legged hawk, so it’s no wonder they have the means and reason to protect their eyesight.

A few weeks ago, I witnessed a rough-legged hawk catch a marsh wren which had buried itself in some thick salt grass.

The hawk, also perched on a road sign at that time, needed its very acute eyesight to see the very small bird off in the distance before it launched itself from the post, in hopes of catching a meal for the day.

Finding and observing such things is why I keep watching birds; there is always something new to learn and observe.

Birdwatching is a great hobby for anybody, regardless of age, who wants to get outdoors and enjoy the natural world around them.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is an excellent place to observe birds year-round, and during this particular time of year, what I refer to as the ‘dreads of winter’, the birds, overall, are few and far between, but experiences such as this are always present if we take the time to look for them.

I find winter is the best time to have more in-depth interactions with individual birds, such as this rough-legged hawk.

Winter is also when we can learn a lot about birds by sitting and observing them in challenging conditions when opportunities present themselves.

I hope through this blog others can and do find a fascination with birds and decide to engage in the fun activity of bird watching; it’s easy, inexpensive, and can be started in one’s own backyard with a birdbath and a simple bird feeder.

Trips to wildlife sanctuaries, such as my personal favorite, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, are a way to learn more about birds and their natural environment, as well as to have time to bond and make deeper connections with our friends and family.

Give bird watching a try.

The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of hundreds of federally protected and managed wildlife refuges across the country, and most states have a variety of state-managed wildlife refuges as well.

City parks and walking trails nearby are also a great place to view birds.

In fact, anywhere there are trees and bushes, one can almost always find birds nearby sometime during the year.

If you are interested in visiting the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, start at their website; it has all their contact information, social media outlets, as well as further information about the refuge.

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