Winter
Moose, bighorn sheep, bison, and mule deer are common winter residents. Wolves, coyotes, badgers, and Uinta ground squirrels are can also be seen. Other common wildlife species include muskrat, beaver, porcupine, long-tailed weasel, and voles or meadow mice.
A great place to view bighorn sheep is on Miller Butte seen from the Refuge Road and accessed from east Jackson.
Bald eagles, ravens, and magpies are common winter birds, and like the coyotes, are scavengers of elk carcasses. Hawks include the American kestrel, northern harrier, red-tailed hawk, Swainson's hawk, and rough-legged hawk. You may even catch a glimpse of a bald or golden eagle.
Spring
Waterfowl commonly seen on ponds and in marshes include mallards, northern pintails, gadwalls, Barrow's golden- eyes, buffleheads, green-winged and cinnamon teal, and Canada geese. For a birding highlight, look for trumpeter swans at Flat Creek Marsh along U.S. Highway 26 north of the visitor center.
Summer
During summer months, the marsh edges attract marsh wrens, yellow-headed blackbirds, and common yellowthroats, while sandhill cranes and long-billed curlews are found in open marshes and meadows.
Canada geese, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes and a myriad of songbirds breed on the refuge wetlands throughout the summer. By late summer young geese, cygnets and other birds can be seen along Flat Creek.
National Elk Refuge
PO Box 510
Jackson, Wyoming 83002
307.733.9212
Fax 307.733.9729 (Fax)
Email: nationalelkrefuge@fws.gov
National Wildlife Refuge System
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While elk are the primary reason the refuge was established, 47 mammal species and 147 bird species are observed on the National Elk Refuge during some portion of the year. |
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