BILLINGS — The Montana Audubon Center (MAC) concluded its guided bird-watching season on Saturday to just one person.
“There’s always something new to learn about (birds). They’re so complex; not just from how they look, but from how they act," said Chase McCafferty, the the programs manager at the MAC in Billings.
For him, the importance of wildlife began with an early memory of a field trip to a nature center.
"It was in fall," said McCafferty, "The trees were, like, golden-yellow, it was, like, the perfect temperature, I was there with all my friends.”
He explained that in the 30% of Montana that is public lands and the niche spaces like the MAC, there are birds unlike those found in other parts of the world.
“It takes a lot to live in an environment that’s covered in snow for five months out of the year," said McCafferty
He said it only takes one person to make a difference, which is why even events like Saturday's continue to make him feel his job is important.
“That is the purpose, I think, of the center: is just to get people to care," said McCafferty.
