by Dan Casey

Rare and Notables, Arrivals – March/April 2021

  • 3/18 – White-throated Sparrow – Big Mountain (Shannon and Bridger D.)
  • 3/20 – Ross’s Goose – Egan Slough Rd. (Craig H.)
  • 3/20 – Mew Gull – (present two weeks) Somers Bay (Danny T.)
  • 3/31 – Red-necked Grebe (6) – (first of year) Smith Lake (Derrick R.)
  • 4/1  –  Barred Owl – West Glacier (Dan D.)
  • 4/1  –  Cinnamon Teal (2) – (first of year) Whitefish Lake (Kit P.)
  • 4/5  –  Eurasian Wigeon – (new location) Echo Lake (Dan C.)
  • 4/6  –  Franklin’s Gull – (first of year) N. Shore Flathead L. (Shawn R.)
  • 4/8  –  Say’s Phoebe – (first of year) McWenneger Slough (Pete F.)
  • 4/8  –  Sora – (first of year) Creston Wetland (Craig H.)
  • 4/10 – Peregrine Falcon – Montford Rd. (Tony L.)
  • 4/11 – American White Pelican (8) – McWenneger Slough (Pete F.)

What to Expect – April/May 2021

As the unseasonably warm days of late April continue, hummingbirds will be visiting feeders across the valley, and Vaux’s Swifts will join the swallow flocks. And spring brings a flood of migrants, as warblers (led by Yellow-rumped, Nashville, Yellow and Common Yellowthroat), Vireos (Cassin’s, Warbling), Flycatchers (Hammond’s, Eastern and Western Kingbirds), Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Lazuli Buntings, Gray Catbirds, and more begin to settle into suitable habitats. Given our dry spring, mudflats on local wetlands may host a variety of shorebirds, many of which are on their way to arctic breeding grounds. Our latest migrants do not arrive until the very end of May (Red-eyed Vireo, Willow Flycatcher, Common Nighthawk). To learn more about the timing and abundance of Flathead County birds throughout the year visit eBird at: https://ebird.org/region/US-MT-029?yr=all.