Birding with Elderhostel - a teacher perspective

By Heather Ristow,
Graduate Student

Last Sunday evening in Spur Ridge classroom we were graced with a sunny vista of the Teton Mountains as we gathered to welcome four Elderhostel students to TSS. They had come from Arizona, Nevada, and Indiana to participate in a weeklong ornithology course coordinated by Dr. Dale Gentry. They brought varying degrees of passion for birds and birding, as well as a wide variety of life experiences that they shared with us. They came with many goals for the week: to see a Sage Grouse lek, to add the gray-crowned rosy finch and other birds to their life lists, and to experience the majesty of the Tetons. The first woman to arrive had the amazing luck of seeing three wolves mid-day on the drive from the airport to the Kelly Campus.

The week was off to a positive start, despite the piles of snow that still covered the ground. We were concerned about the ability to see a Sage Grouse lek since the spring has been so slow in coming. We also weren’t sure how good the birding would be this early in April after such a snowy winter. However, we had designed several programs and lectures to complement the birding. I was eager to teach adult-learners; it was to be a new and unique experience. I was one of four lucky graduate students that had the opportunity to work with this group. We had signed up to teach with Dale, and to learn from him and the other students as well. One of my major goals for my year here in the Graduate Program is to become a better birder. I was thrilled to spend the past week with avid birders who shared their bird identification knowledge and skills.

The most exciting bird of the day on Monday was spotted in the evening. Pippi, a fellow graduate student, stopped by our evening program on nocturnal birds to tell us about an interesting bird she was watching nearby. She had been on the path outside and nearly stepped upon a mid-sized bird that was bathing in a large puddle. It showed no fear of her, and continued splashing in the puddle despite her proximity. She described its markings, and we took a guess at what it was. We were about to head outside to look for it when she again spotted it, this time just outside the large, picturesque windows in Spur Ridge classroom. Indeed, there was the gray-crowned rosy finch, a life bird for several people’s lists! Binoculars were handy, as they always are when you are spending time with birders, so we watched the finch for a while; everyone was quite excited by the sighting. Enthusiasm for birds is infectious when one spends time with birders. I went to bed Monday night with bird songs echoing through my head, and when I closed my eyes I saw outlines of wings shapes. I was being steeped in bird culture.

Every morning began with birding trips around the Valley. On Tuesday we drove to the Oxbow, and were a bit dismayed to find it too snowy to explore. So the next day we headed south and explored around the National Elk Refuge. Here we saw trumpeter swans, dippers, a great blue heron, and red-winged blackbirds among other species. By Thursday, the days had been warm enough that sagebrush and bare ground was emerging on the Molten grouse lek. We geared up in the AM, helping the students put on their first pair of snowshoes ever. Then we walked across the deep, crusty snow pack out to signposts near the lek. With our scopes we watched as four or five males strutted and demonstrated for the females. We saw a dozen or so grouse in all, though it was difficult to tell if there were more females hiding in the sage. It was the first lek I had observed, and it was a memorable experience to share it with the Elderhostel group.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to become immersed in the world of birds and to teach adult learners. They were open, friendly people who shared life stories and advice with myself and the other graduate students. On our final evening we reminisced about first life birds, talked about our educational paths, and sang together with a banjo, guitar, and musical saw for backup. We had come together to learn for the week, and had bonded over birds. I am now more aware of bird calls and signs. I am keeping my eyes peeled for new species, especially as spring arrives and migratory birds continue to reappear. I look forward to being an expert birder someday. It will take patience and practice; many hours of slow wandering with binoculars are in my future. But it is a nice change of pace from hiking with a destination in mind. It is a fine example of enjoying the path along the way, and being less concerned with the destination. I have been infected with a passion for birds, and hope to spread it to my elementary-school students in the coming weeks of residential education.