From Jackson, it’s just a short drive north off Broadway to the National Elk Refuge, where wetlands are home to migrant and breeding waterfowl including Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes, which nest here and in other wet grassland throughout Jackson Hole. Keep watch for such open-country birds as Prairie Falcon, Long-billed Curlew, and Mountain Bluebird. On US 89/191 just north of town, the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Information Center sits alongside a marsh worth checking for various waterbirds. Farther north, pull-offs along the highway allow scanning of National Elk Refuge wetlands.
Continue northward into Grand Teton National Park. Just after crossing the Gros Ventre River, turn east on the Gros Ventre Road toward the community of Kelly. With luck, you might find Sage Grouse in the sagebrush flats here, along with Mountain Bluebird, Sage Thrasher, Green-tailed Towhee, and Brewer’s and Savannah Sparrows. The national park campground 4 miles [6.4 kilometers] up the road can be productive for species such as Western Wood-Pewee, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Tree and Violet-green Swallows, Black-capped Chickadee, Yellow Warbler, and Bullock’s Oriole. Three miles north of the Gros Ventre Road, turn west off US 89/191 toward the Jackson Hole Airport. The sagebrush north of the entrance road is probably the best place in the area for Sage Grouse. In spring, male grouse gather to “dance” at courtship grounds here. Check with park personnel for viewing information.
In summer, you’ll find Black Rosy-Finch, one of the park’s special birds, by taking the aerial tramway from Teton Village to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, at an elevation of 10,446 feet [3,183.9 meters]. These little finches prefer rocky areas and cliff faces, especially those bordering snowbanks, and it may take some exploring to find them; walk up from the tram to check cirques and snowfields. You can return on the tram, but for a real adventure hike the < B>Granite Canyon Trail back down to the village. It’s a 12.4-mile [20-kilometer] walk with an elevation change of more than 4,000 feet [1,219.2 meters]—but it’s all downhill, and you’ll travel from tundra through coniferous forest to sage country along the way. In winter, rosy-finches gather at feeders in Jackson and elsewhere in the valley.
From the park’s Moose Visitor Center, drive north on the main park road (closed in winter). On trails at popular Jenny and String Lakes and up to Hidden Falls, you’ll have a chance at many of the regular nesting species of western montane forests, such as Northern Goshawk, Blue Grouse, Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, Dusky Flycatcher, Gray and Steller’s Jays, Clark’s Nutcracker, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Dipper (along rocky streams), Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Townsend’s Solitaire, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Tanager, Pine Grosbeak, Cassin’s Finch, and Pine Siskin. Farther north, the Signal Mountain Road can also be productive for the same species.
Just ahead lies some of the park’s best birding. Stop at the Jackson Lake Dam to scan for loons, grebes, and waterfowl. Check the Oxbox Bend Turnout, Willow Flats Overlook, and Christian Pond for wetland and meadow species such as Western Grebe, American White Pelican, American Bittern, Trumpeter Swan, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sora, California Gull, Calliope Hummingbird, Willow Flycatcher, Marsh Wren, MacGillivray’s and Wilson’s Warblers, and Lincoln’s Sparrow.
