“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.”
~ naturalist John Burroughs

Photo of an American white pelican in flight at Oregon’s Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/28MWRMc) by Jim Leonard

The wood stork is the only stork species that breeds in the United States. Georgia’s Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge manages habitats that create ideal conditions for these birds to live and raise their young (http://1.usa.gov/1JFC5Lt). Photo by Mary Ellen Urbanski

Happy 75th anniversary to Alaska’s Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge! The 1.9 million-acre refuge, established on Aug. 19, 1941, is home to an estimated 3,000 brown bears, including this mother and her two cubs. Check out this nice 2-minute video: http://bit.ly/2bkZzzw. Photo by Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Hope you enjoy a summer swim with a hawksbill turtle, courtesy of Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex (http://bit.ly/2bqYLYF).

Today is the birthday of Margaret “Mardy” Murie (Aug. 18, 1902-Oct. 19, 2003), “the grandmother of the conservation movement.” She and her husband, Olaus, were instrumental in the establishment of USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (above) in Alaska. The Muries were featured on “The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor” this morning on NPR: http://writersalmanac.org/

A male roseate skimmer dragonfly, up close and personal via a long lens, at Delaware’s Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/28McqWB). The 10,144-acre refuge about 25 miles southeast of the state capital, Dover, offers many outdoor recreational opportunities, including canoeing and kayaking, hiking, wildlife observation, fishing and hunting. Photo by Bryan Arroyo (copyright)

“Will one of you please pass the floss? I got some fish stuck in my upper lip.”
Thanks, Johnny Walker, for this week’s winning caption. It was fun, folks. Thanks to all. Scenic and rugged Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/1SYyn6p) includes 1,853 rocks, reefs, and islands and stretches from Tillamook Head near Seaside south to the California border.

Driving Interstate 95 doesn’t need to be mind-numbing. Along the way from Maine to Florida, you can take in nature at national wildlife refuges. “Refuge Road Trip: See America Wild” (http://bit.ly/2bDuckd) shows you how. This road trip, a story map, is one in series of weekly online stories on our home page, www.fws.gov/refuges. Look for a new story each Wednesday.

Grizzly bear family makes its way across a meadow at National Elk Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/1qSjfxy). The 24,700-acre refuge is near Jackson Hole in northwestern Wyoming just south of Grand Teton National Park. Photo by Ture Schultz/National Elk Refuge volunteer

The Migratory Bird Treaty, which is 100 years old today, is vital to the National Wildlife Refuge System (https://www.fws.gov/refuges/) -- and vice versa. Similarly, conservation in Canada is vital to conservation in the United States -- and vice versa. Here's to another hundred years of cooperation. ‪#‎birdyear‬

CAPTION CALL! What can we say about this trio of brown pelicans on rocks along Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/1SYyn6p)? Jot your thoughts below. We’ll pick a winner tomorrow. Photo by Roy W. Lowe

National wildlife refuges do a lot to conserve bald eagles and osprey. So, as National Audubon Society says, this video from Hog Island in Maine is bittersweet. But it shows nature at its rawest -- and at its most amazing.

Ducks all in a row. A redhead hen and chicks navigate waters at Montana’s Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge (http://1.usa.gov/28NbEHN). Photo by Neil Mishler / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Aren't we lucky to get a peek! Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge shares great photography and video on its Facebook page.

Make the most of the summer that’s left. Pictured here is a loggerhead hatchling. They emerge at night through October. http://bit.ly/2acBJAd

What bird are you most like? Cornell Lab has a quiz to help you decide. http://bit.ly/2bpMB2w
Find a national wildlife refuge where you can see that bird: https://www.fws.gov/refuges/

Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is celebrating its 75th anniversary next weekend. You can't be in Alaska? Then celebrate now with this great video.

Ingrid Taylar photographed this great blue heron doing a little personal hygiene at Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Vermont. The refuge is one of the largest wetland ecosystems on Lake Champlain. National Audubon Society named it an Important Bird Area because of the number of endangered, threatened and priority bird species you can find on the refuge.
See this video: http://www.vpt.org/clip?1021
About Missisquoi Refuge: http://bit.ly/28NuGA9

Visit a national wildlife refuge near you to see these birds and hundreds more species: http://bit.ly/2aP5Tvp