St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds and is one of the oldest refuges in the country. It includes coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers, and is home to a diverse community of plant and animal life. The refuge also has strong ties to a rich cultural past, and is home to the St. Marks Lighthouse, which was built in 1832 and is still in use today.

Photo: Viktor Posner

This Great Horned Owl has found a great place to nest in a Saguaro in Saguaro National Park.

Photo: Drew Jackson

Hundreds of Bald Eagles make the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge their home during winter months. The eagles congregate near open water snatching fish with their talons and soaring to to the treetops to eat their prey.

The National Elk Refuge in Wyoming works to provide, preserve, restore, and manage winter habitat for the nationally significant Jackson Elk Herd and habitat for endangered species, birds, fish, and other big game animals (like these Bison pictured above), and provide compatible human uses associated with the wildlife and wildlands.

Photo: USFWS 

Watchful eyes - two great horned owl fledglings take a peek at photographer Donna Torres, who snapped this photo at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington.

Most of Oregon’s 1.2 million seabirds nest in the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, a 320-mile-long sweep of 1,400 islands, rocks, and reefs along the Oregon coast from Tillamook Head to the California border. The rocks, islands and all but one headland are classified as wilderness and are closed to the public as sanctuaries for nesting birds. Beach-goers can explore the tide pools teeming with sea life below the high tide line on the refuge’s protected rocks and islands. 

Photo: Roy W. Lowe/USFWS  

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Shenandoah National Park uses its angelic-like wings to hover as it searches for the perfect flower to draw nectar from. Enjoy them while they’re around; by early fall they’re bound for Central America, with many crossing the Gulf of Mexico in a single flight!

Here is a great shot of an endangered California Condor in flight. Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge provides an essential habitat for California condors. The Refuge hosts a variety of habitats which support diverse groups of plant and animal species: 900 acres of grassland which is part of historic condor foraging range, 1049 acres of chaparral and coastal sage scrub, 350 acres of oak and walnut woodland, 110 acres of riparian habitat and 3 acres of fresh water marsh.

Photo: Kim Valverde, USFWS 

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge lies in northern Utah, where the Bear River flows into the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake. The Refuge protects the marshes found at the mouth of the Bear River; these marshes are the largest freshwater component of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. Since these marshes are in turn surrounded by arid desert lands, it is little wonder that they have always been an oasis for waterfowl.

Photo: Sandy Mitchell, USFWS 

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, where more than 47,000 acres of southern New Jersey coastal habitats are actively protected and managed for migratory birds. Forsythe is one of more than 500 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat and represents the most comprehensive wildlife resource management program in the world. Units of the system stretch across the United States from northern Alaska to the Florida Keys, and include small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The character of the Refuges is as diverse as the nation itself.

Photo: Eric Reuter, USFWS