And my contribution to it.
Many of us have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the new Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay. The planning and construction process has taken more years than I care to think about and in the interim, between the closing of the old inadequate center and the opening of this spectacular new one, countless valuable teaching and wildlife viewing opportunities have been lost forever to young students and to the general public. But all that is about to be behind us because in the next couple of weeks there will be two Grand Openings (one for dignitaries and one for the public) and then the center and its trails will open to the public on September 5, 2018. I’m very excited.
Yesterday morning the center’s new Coordinator Billy Fenimore gave me the grand tour. Billy generously spent 90 minutes with me as we toured this wonderful new facility and talked about his vision for the center and those who use it. I was highly impressed by everything I saw and heard. As a biology teacher in the public schools, as a bird photographer teaching photography classes and when I taught at the Utah Museum of Natural History I’ve used a variety of similar facilities in the past and I believe this new center has been very well designed to fulfill its purpose (they definitely aren’t always). Its design fits well into the natural setting and I think it’s beautiful to boot.
One dilemma I had was probably a selfish one. I had several cameras with me in case it seemed appropriate to take photos for this blog post that I was considering doing but in the end I left them in my pickup without even telling Billy about my original intention. I decided that I shouldn’t steal any thunder from the Grand Openings coming up very soon by taking photos of the center and making them public before the opening.
In some ways the pièce de résistance of the new center is its auditorium. It’s grand, it’s functional and flexible in design and it’s quite large. And it’s lined on most of its walls by many very large and beautiful prints of local birds taken by several photographers including my friends Joe Ford, John Blumenkamp and yours truly. The prints have been strategically and artistically placed and partly because of their quality and their very large size they make quite an impression as you enter the auditorium.
As I said I didn’t take photos of anything while I was there and that included in the auditorium but at the risk of tooting my own horn I thought some readers might be interested in seeing which of my images were chosen to hang on the auditorium walls. There are eight of them and I must say they look very good, as do Joe’s and John’s.
I’ve included my eight photos below. Regular readers will have seen many of them before.
Rufous Hummingbird
Tundra Swans
Juvenile Burrowing Owls
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Cinnamon Teal (actually it’s an unusual Cinnamon Teal/Green-winged Teal hybrid but the Cinnamon Teal characteristics dominate)
Lazuli Bunting
Black-billed Magpie
Imagine what these prints (and Joe’s and John’s) look like in such a grand and appropriate setting and at such large sizes. I’m very happy with how they turned out.
Ok, enough about my photos.
Farmington Bay WMA and eventually the original Nature Center were almost my second home for years so I feel deeply invested in both of them. For me many things that happen out there are personal, warranted or not. Justina Bernstein was the first Director of the Nature Center and she was perfect for that very challenging position. To do it well you need to enjoy working with the public and be highly skilled at it, be knowledgeable about local birds and wildlife, have contagious enthusiasm for what you do and enjoy getting “down and dirty” rather than holing up in an office somewhere on the premises.
And in my opinion someone in state government did their homework (they don’t always) when they offered Billy the position. He fits that bill perfectly. I have every confidence that Billy will perform brilliantly and the new Eccles Wildlife Education Center will be a huge success.
Ron
Notes:
- Obviously this post is likely to be of more interest to locals than to readers elsewhere but some of the same questions and dilemmas with new facilities occur almost everywhere and besides I couldn’t resist sharing the good news about my photos at the center. It’s an overused phrase to use in this situation to say that I’m “highly honored” but I am, especially because it’s Farmington. I cut my photographic teeth at Farmington.
- Joe Ford and I go way back at Farmington. I first met Joe early one cold morning roughly 10 years ago at Farmington when the place was otherwise deserted because of deep snow. At the time I was driving a tiny 2 wheel drive Toyota Matrix and I’d pulled over to the side of the dirt road to photograph a perched harrier and got stuck in a deep snow bank. Joe came up from behind in his full-sized pickup and pulled me out. The downside to this meeting was that Joe cost me a lot of money. For a Montana boy to get stuck in the snow is highly embarrassing and shortly after that experience I bought a brand new pickup of my own. Thanks again, Joe!
- And no, Joe Ford doesn’t drive a Ford…
- Some info for locals who might be interested. Both 90 year old bridges leading to the 4-way at the refuge have been condemned by the state so they won’t even allow ATV’s to drive over them. Temporary steel plates have been ordered but they’re not in place yet, although they expect them to be by the normal time they open up that road after what they call the “nesting season”.
Ron, it was a wonderful experience for me to share, with you, our discovery of the new Nature Center. I believe it is going to significantly add to the wetlands education outreach efforts. It was a thrill to see our images on display. For the record, I am not a portrait photographer, so I beg forgiveness for the unfortunate cropping on your photograph. It probably can be fixed with a little Photoshop attention.
I suspect you know I was only joshin’ you, Joe. I actually butchered the shots I took of you more than you did the ones you took of me. Photoshop to the rescue!
I love the Cinnamon Teal (with a hint of Mint).
“with a hint of Mint”
A good way to put it, Ron. That subtle greenish crescent on the head is the best indicator of this bird’s mixed heritage.
What stunning photos! Really impressive seeing them as a group.!
I’m glad you like them, Joanne. Thanks.
It’s a great post and I enjoyed seeing your spectacular photos!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
WONDERFUL, wonderful news. And photos.
Of course you feel honoured and privileged. I have no doubt that the people who hung your stunning photos ALSO felt honoured and privileged to have them.
Win/win.
Long may this education centre thrive.
I hope it does well for a very long time. Thank you, EC.
How exciting, can’t wait to visit and see your photographs in person!
I hope you like them, Becky.
Congratulations Ron! These photos are beautiful – I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried.
Thanks, Carol.
Being local I can’t wait until the opening. There is so much in our area to spotlight nature and I’m sure this facility will be very important. Your artistry deserves this kind of respect. Thank you for your hard work. We are also very fortunate to have the Eccles family and all the donated investments they make to our community.
Yes, the Eccles family has done wonderful philanthropic work around here for years, Betty. Thank you.
I was a local for three months. 😀 I did get out to the Great Salt Lake (I was hoping to see Floyd, but he was a no-show, darn bird.)
I’ve never seen Floyd myself, Arwen. However I was in an ornithology class at the U uf U years ago when the prof (the legendary Dr. William H. Behle) got word that Floyd had been sighted out on the Great Salt Lake and without a word of explanation he rushed out the door in an effort to locate him. Pretty funny.
Wow what a rush to walk in and see your beautiful pictures super sized ❗️ This place sounds wonderful. As someone else said, vacation destination.
Congratulations
Have a good day
I hope you have the opportunity to visit, Diana. Thanks.
Even though I’m not a local, I’m glad to read about the new center at Farmington. The value I see in such a facility is that if they can get ordinary people interested in the wildlife of the area, those people will value it and treat the whole area better, and there should be less stupidity. I know that at our park, I am always happy when rock climbers come on our pictograph tours, because that allows them to see how much of value there is at the park beyond just climbing on the rocks. And they will take better care of those thousand plus year-old pictographs. Congratulations on having your photos hung at the new center. I definitely recognize most of them, and I’m sure especially that the juvenile Burrowing Owls will draw people in and make them think.
Susan, I figured you might appreciate this new center, even from afar, because of your long experience at Hueco Tanks. You get it.
😊
What a great and well deserved honor to have your photos displayed at this center….now my wife and I have a new vacation destination…and I can’t wait to see it (and those fantastic photos of yours on a grander scale than my computer)….Thank you.
Farmington would be worth the trip, Steve. I hope you make it. Thank you.
Congratulations, Ron! I can’t imagine how spectacular the auditorium must look with full-sized photos of your beautiful birds. I can’t pick a favorite- it wouldn’t be fair to the Magpie- but those Burrowing Owls are just adorable!
That BO shot has been one of the favorites of my viewers for a long time, Diane. Thank you.
I’m THRILLED for you and this wonderful new center–just to think ! Even when you’re gone–may it be many years into into the future—- your work will be delighting,
inspiring, and teaching in your place ! What a grand selection for 1 person to have had chosen………congratulations !
I hadn’t thought of it that way, Kris – but you’re right. Thanks for planting that seed.
Well, I for one am NOT surprised that a well established Nature Center/WMA would have some of your prints enlarged and put on the walls! Congratulations!! The pictures they used are exceptional and enlarged would be superb!
Protecting wildlife land making sure there is enough of it for wildlife is increasingly HARD, but a necessary job! Having qualified and interested people to be the bulwark against human encroachment is paramount. My hat is off to you, and Farmington Bay WMA for striving toward this goal. Best wishes and good luck to all involved.
Thanks for the kind words, Dick. Yes, it’s an uphill battle to save natural resources these days but Farmington is certainly worth the effort!
Wow!!! Wow!!! Wow!!! Incredible photos, Ron. I’ve been thinking I should come to Farmington Bay sometime. Now I”m thinking sometime in the next year. My photos would not challenge the ones you’ve posted today, but the eye candy would be well worth the trip.
It’s always been a great place to visit but now it should be even better, Nancy. Thank you.
Gorgeous photos, Ron. And a great story.
Thank you, Sallie. I do go on and on, don’t I… 🙂
Wonderful news to wake up to Ron–I look forward to returning to the area and visiting the new Center–bravo!!
If you make it out here be sure to let me know, Christine. It would be fun to actually meet you…
All great shots Ron and worthy of hanging. Congratulations and someday when we are on our way to Montana hope to stop by and enjoy!
I hope you get to see the center, Frank. I think it’s both functional and impressive.
Congratulations indeed Ron. It looks like a wonderful facility both for the community and also for all those who will have the opportunity to visit and partake of the educational exhibits. My favorite is the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Enjoyed your story about being stuck in the snow. People here in the west respond well to those of us who overestimated our vehicle’s abilities. When we first moved here we went for hike in the snow and pulled into an area in the snow that we could not get out of. As we struggled to shovel out two men stopped, jumped out and started helping us, and then a utility truck driver pulled over, jumped out and hooked a rope up to our car and pulled us right out. As I thanked them and explained that we were hiking and I didn’t have my wallet with me to offer them something, they all said,”We wouldn’t take anything even if offered.” Now two questions, what is the Kingfisher holding, and why did you not exhibit your spectacular eagle photo?
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Thank you, Everett. Yes, westerners tend to be very helpful in those situations.
1, The kingfisher has an invasive fish called a weather loach in its bill.
2. If you’re talking about my favorite Golden Eagle photo, Golden Eagles aren’t normally found at Farmington and they wanted to use photos of “local” birds. If you’re referring to one of my Bald Eagle photos, I didn’t make the selection. Administrators overseeing the Wildlife Center made that decision. Besides I may not have sent them the photo you’re referring to during the selection process.
Congratulations! Indeed a great honor to have these displayed for everyone to admire! I think I’ve seen three possibly four of them…I can’t imagine what they would look like in a large format. They must be impressive. I honestly find it quite difficult to choose a favorite because as I study each one, I find something unique in it. Suffice to say…excellence. 😍
Thanks very much, Kathy.
For various reasons one of my favorite images of mine is that last magpie. I have what I thought was a “large” print of it hanging over my fireplace and I like that print a lot. But it looks significantly better at the much larger size in the auditorium.
Size DOES matter in some situations… 🙂
Sounds like a REALLY wonderful place Ron and all the magnificent photo’s – yours and the others – will surely draw people in and hopefully make them “want to learn” 🙂 Does sound like it’s been a huge undertaking and, hopefully, will make up for the time lost in it’s construction. I hear you on getting pulled out of the ditch 😉 Congratulations on your part in this wonderful project! 🙂
Judy, it sure was a huge undertaking. I didn’t fully realize to what extent until yesterday.
I figured that as a Montanan you might appreciate what I said about getting stuck in the snow. 🙂
So glad to see they used the brilliant photos we love so much. Even more glad that there is something to educate there. It is so important to have it, and having seen the “harrier” license plate there before I knew who it belonged to, I know how much you have love that land. Now, maybe I can explain to my grandchildren why it is a treasure.
“Now, maybe I can explain to my grandchildren why it is a treasure”
I loved that, Suzanne. Yes, Farmington is a treasure and with all the development building up around it we need to be vigilant and aggressive in protecting it.