Why would people from California and other far-away places come to North Dakota at the conclusion of a long winter?

For these people, the answer is in the air and on the ground and in the water birds! MSU-Bottineau is hosting its 6th annual Turtle Mountain Birding Festival this weekend.

And today, the visitors spent time nosing around the J-Clark Salyer Wildlife Refuge.

Three people from the San Francisco area say the attraction of bird species that are unfamiliar to them brought them to our state.

(Meryl Sundove, Bird Watcher) "We had never experienced the prairie habitat and we like to go where there are remnants of native habitat and see that." (Susan Kelly, Bird Watcher) "I've already seen quite a few new birds I've never seen before. I'm loving the yellow-headed blackbirds which I know everyone here thinks are so common but we don't have them unless we go into the central valley of California." (Roger Harris, Bird Watcher) "Mainly to see the prairie pothole region. It's a habitat we don't have at home and we just wanted to see it."


The bird watchers have two more days of touring the region planned as part of the festival - and some say they'll spend more time in North Dakota on their own. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list