New Windmill and Pond Invite Birds to Bear Mountain Lodge

Good things are happening for the birds at Bear Mountain Lodge in Silver City! Prompted by noticeable changes in migration over time, owners Linda Brewer and John Rohovec have embarked on a multi-year project to build more bird-friendly spaces on their property. The main feature of this project is an incredible twelve foot tall Big Sky wooden windmill with four foot blades, pumping water from a 460’ well into a former cattle tank. Once completed, the new pond will measure 130’ in circumference by two-three feet deep and be surrounded by native plants chosen to attract birds. In the near future, the owners are looking to install trail cams to “capture” critters that visit this new space.

Silver City Youth Art Mural Project participants played a key role in bringing an aesthetic appeal to the project. Sixth graders from Harrison Schmitt Elementary painted ravens on the windmill blades in Muybridge style (look it up!). Aldo Leopold High School students painted the tail of the windmill. Other youth artists built two concrete benches, one painted as an owl and the other a roadrunner, providing a place for visitors and guests to watch birds come to the pond. Students also created tiles of local birds to cover and protect the windmill mechanism.

Bird Alliance members and WNMU students Michelle-Elyse Lacerda and Devyn Scott are actively involved in this long-term effort to bring the birds to Bear Mountain and to engage guests and the public in bird-watching. Michelle-Elyse is currently engaged in documenting the birds that visit the property; Devyn will be conducting bird walk-and-talk lunches on site in May and in the fall. (Contact Bear Mountain Lodge for details).

Visitors are welcome to bird the area. The owners ask that birders park in the lot near the lodge and then walk to the windmill and pond. To get there, walk .3 mi from the lodge along the flat gravel entrance road; when you see the windmill, turn off on the sandy path, go past the windmill, and then hike over the embankment ahead to access the pond. [The owners are planning to install stairs in the future.] If you do go out and bird, the owners want to know what you’re seeing! So, please stop by the lodge with date, time, and species data. And make every effort not to disturb the guests! Many have dogs, so please try to stay quiet in the early hours especially.