Amazing numbers of waterfowl, marsh birds and shore birds wing their way over the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, just off Highway 2, seven miles east of Malta.
More than 250 different species make their way through shrublands, grassy marshes and wetlands. Nesting colonies of white pelicans, black-crowned night herons and white-faced ibises lure the best of the country's birdwatchers, who know that late spring, early summer and late fall are the best times to catch a glimpse.
Precipitation is only 12 inches per year. The Milk River, draining the eastern slopes of the Montana and Alberta Rockies, is the source of the precious water for the refuge wetlands.