Ucross Hosts Bird Walk, Native American Speakers

On Thursday, May 7, the Bighorn Audubon Society and Ucross, the acclaimed artist residency program in northern Wyoming, hosted a free, guided bird walk, with special guests Bill Yellowtail and Birdie Real Bird.

The large group met in the art gallery to listen to the two speakers before taking part in the bird walk.

Caitlin Addlesperger, Ucross President, welcomed the crowd and talked about Ucross’ designation as an Important Bird Area. (IBA)

She introduced JoAnne Puckett, Big Horn Audubon Society and the speakers, Birdie Real Bird and Bill Yellowtail. She talked about how many of the art works on display by Native American artists have birds as their subjects, symbolizing the connection between the Native Americans and nature.

Yellowtail took the stage and talked about how he and JoAnne Puckett share a passion for Ethno-ornithology, which combines Native traditional and cultural knowledge of birds with Western culture. He and Puckett are working on a book about the subject.

He said this companion volumn will add a different dimension to birds, beyond their scientific names, nesting habits, range and identifying marks and the like.

“We can add a whole level of richness about birds,” he added.

Another speaker was Birdie Real Bird, a retired school counselor who lives at Crow Agency, Montana. She told the story about her name.

She said that many of the Crow were given English names on the census, often having no choice what name they were given, but her great-grandfather refused to give up his name, “Real Bird.”

After her talk, several people stayed inside to listen to more of her stories, while many others attended the bird walk.

JoAnne Puckett, who guided the walk, said, “We observed 38 species during the walk on a beautiful day, enjoying the magnificent Ucross views with a large group of delightful people who all appreciate the great outdoors and the joy of watching and learning about birds.

“The highlights were the American White Pelicans and the White-faced Ibis. Spring migration is in full swing with warblers, shorebirds, sparrows, swallows, ducks, among others migrating through our area or stopping to nest. We hope the American White Pelicans choose Ucross as a nesting site with visions of adorable chicks this summer.”

Feature Photo courtesy of JoAnne Puckett. Thanks