Fort Fred Steele State Historic Site

07/21/2022

Join us this Saturday for summer stories 🎉 📚

10/14/2021

Do you have some favorite photographs from Fort Steele? Share them with us in the comments for fun and on wikimedia for a chance to win prizes!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2021_in_the_United_States

06/25/2020

We at Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails value you as customers, followers, and friends. In order to make our social media accounts friendly and useful for everyone, we're sharing a Social Media Code of Conduct so you know what to expect from other people and the Division.

Please be mindful of your responses to our posts and how our visitors interact on our social media pages. We appreciate that you count on us for information and we want to ensure that visitors to our pages have the best possible experience.

We're more than happy to answer your questions, address your concerns, or just to shoot the breeze, so send us a DM if you have something you'd like to talk about!

Thanks for your attention and cooperation!

04/27/2020

Wyoming State Bird

Name: Meadowlark

Binomial Name: Sturnella neglecta

Adopted: Legislation of 1927
The Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized blackbird, similar in appearance to the Eastern Meadowlark, that breeds in grasslands, prairie, pastures and abandoned fields, across western and central North America and into northern Mexico.

Adults of the species have yellow underparts with a black V on the breast and white flanks with black streaks. The upperparts are mostly brown with black streaks. Their head is striped with light brown and black and they have a long pointed bill.

How many States have the Meadowlark as their State Bird?

Photo taken from allaboutbirds.org

04/20/2020

It is the time of the year that we are start seeing the naked red head of the Turkey Vulture.
The naked red heads of the adult turkey vultures resemble those of turkeys, hence the name.
What they look like : The Turkey Vulture is a large soaring bird that feeds on carrion (the dead and rotting body of an animal). It's recognized by the featherless red head, white bill, large brown-black body and yellow feet. They can be easily spotted along roadways displaying their long wingspan and smooth soaring flight. While soaring it holds the wings slightly up in a V-shape. The wingspan extends to 170-178 cm (67-70 in) Interesting facts about Turkey Vultures: The Turkey Vulture does not build a nest - they lay eggs directly on the ground.
They can fly low to the ground to pick up the scent of dead animals.
A Turkey Vulture live up to 20 years in the wild. Their method of self-defense is to vomit on their food, which they can send sailing 10 feet.

04/17/2020

04/15/2020

Nighthawks are very interesting little birds! They mostly forage near dusk or dawn, but it’s not unusual for them to be seen during the day. They also seem to be especially active during moonlit nights. They forage in flight, scooping up insects such as beetles, moths, and grasshoppers, in their wide, gaping mouths. They especially love winged ants and termites! In the bird world, the males have to charm their potential female mates and the courtship displays happen in flight. Wingbeats become stiff and choppy as the male circles and hovers high in the air, calling out to his potential mate; diving steeply, his wings make a rushing or “booming” sound when the air passes through his feathers at the bottom of the dive. As he lands near the female, he spreads his tail, rocking back and forth, as he calls to her. Nesting sites are generally on the ground on bare soil, often in a sandy place. Night hawks also like gravel roofs, and have nested on top of a stump or another raised object, when ground conditions are lacking.

04/14/2020

Sandhill cranes are migratory birds that often migrate through Wyoming and Nebraska on their way to their Alaskan and Siberian breeding grounds. With a wingspan of six to seven feet, a standing height of three to four feet, and bright red crowns on elegant gray bodies, sandhills make an extraordinary sight. They are among the world’s oldest birds, with a fossil record dating back 2.5 million years, and there is significant evidence that portions of the Platte River basin have been key stopover points for the crane’s annual migrations since the river’s birth ten to twelve thousand years ago. Glendo State Park is home to at least one rookery for sandhill cranes, and is a regular stopover point for other groups headed to their northern breeding grounds. We look forward to this time of year, when we often wake up to the sound of their eerie call as they pass overhead.

04/13/2020

04/10/2020

04/10/2020

It must be quite a show to watch blue birds nest! The male arrives on breeding grounds first, defending their nest from interlopers by singing loudly to chase them off. The male has to win over the affection of the female and does so by singing for her, fluttering around her, and showing her his spread tail feathers and wings. The female builds most of the nest, usually in a cavity, such as a natural hollow forked tree branches, old woodpecker holes, a birdhouse in someone’s yard, and even in a hole in the side of a building! Most nests are built in a loose cup formation using twigs and weeds, then lined with finer grass for the eggs to lay on. It would be rare to see a nest above 50 feet from the ground, so if you see a blue birds hanging around, look for a nest!

06/07/2019

This picture was taken by Laura T., and she also donated a framed print to the site. Thanks, Laura.