By Dan Casey
Late February highlights included continuing Yellow-headed Blackbird and Common Grackle in Creston (Craig H.). Waterfowl and gulls often provide the best birding opportunities in March, and this year is no exception. Typical of the season, up to four Eurasian Wigeon were at Church Slough Mar. 2-11 (Dan C.), including an apparent pair; females are often hard to pick out of the flocks. Tundra Swan and Greater Scaup numbers increased steadily at valley wetlands throughout early March. A few Cackling Geese could be found among the growing flocks of Canada Geese; the most recent being four seen at Apgar Mar. 12 (Dan L.). The first Snow Geese of the season included two in the West Valley Mar. 11 (Patrick B.), and a flock of 65 over Foothills Road Mar. 12 (Pam W.). A second-year Great Black-backed Gull at the Flathead County landfill Mar. 1-4 (Dan C.) was almost certainly the same bird seen in Coeur d’Alene, ID a week earlier. It may also be the same bird seen in Helena in December 2024. It was the first local record, and just the sixth for MT. At least two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were at the landfill Mar. 1 (Dan C.) and at the Flathead Lake WPA; the first of which was seen from Somers Beach SP, Feb. 27 (Elliott R.). A Yellow-billed Loon on Lake McDonald Mar. 6-11 (Steve G.) may have been the same bird seen on the Glacier CBC in December. There may have been a second bird there as well. Two Spotted Towhees at Wayfarer’s SP Mar. 10 (Zackary S.) were a bit early. Single White-throated Sparrows were at Lawrence Park Feb. 28 (Karen N.) and in Columbia Falls Mar. 11 (Shannon D.). The first (3) Western Bluebirds were seen in the West Valley Mar. 1 (Craig H.).
What to Expect: Late March – Early April
The first insect-eaters arrive in earnest in late March (Tree and Violet-green Swallows, Mountain Bluebirds, Western Meadowlarks), and waterfowl flocks increase in both numbers and diversity. Eurasian Wigeon, Greater Scaup, Tundra and Trumpeter Swans, and Northern Pintails are still present in good numbers. They are joined by increasing numbers of Snow Geese, Northern Shovelers, and more. Red-necked Grebes will appear on the more vegetated wetlands (e.g. Smith Lake). Sandhill Cranes will return. Listen also for the first Marsh Wrens and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Yellow-headed Blackbirds will begin staking out their marsh territories, in some cases displacing Red-winged Blackbirds from prime sites. The first hummingbirds may arrive before mid-April.