Arco, Idaho –

On International Migratory Bird Day, May 17, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve invites visitors for the ninth annual Bird Day Walk between 8 and 11:30 a.m.

Wildlife biologist Michael Munts escorts this walk during the migration, an ideal time for viewing spring birds including the mountain blue bird, Idaho's state bird. The Bird Day walk is the first in a series of walks that continue from June 13 through September 1. The walks focus on various attractions such as the many varieties of stunning wildflowers. On the Cave Walk, visitors descend into the strange underground world of a lava tube. A History Walk reveals use of the area many years ago by pioneers such as those on the Oregon Trail.

"It's necessary to limit participants to between 12 and 15 if we expect to see much wildlife," advises Munts. Because of that, the staff asks visitors to make advance reservations.

Craters of the Moon is a huge national park, roughly the size of Rhode Island. The relatively young lava flows that cover most of this area can clearly be seen from space. When he established this national monument in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge described Craters of the Moon as "a weird and scenic landscape peculiar to itself." (208-527-1300; www.nps.gov/crmo)