By Dan Casey
Rare and Notables – August/ September 2025
See also: https://ebird.org/region/US-MT-029?yr=all
As might be expected in late August and early September, shorebirds and raptors comprised the bulk of the notable finds. The reservoirs and refuges of the Mission Valley produced repeated sightings of Short-billed Dowitchers, American Golden-Plovers, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and Hudsonian Godwits. Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks showed up in the Jewel Basin and elsewhere, and it was a good season for rare warblers, with both the Palm Warbler and the Black-and-white Warbler reported.
08/19– Short-billed Dowitcher (7) Pablo Reservoir (Braydon L.) through 08/24 (m.ob.)
08/20 – Swainson’s Hawk (1) Bigfork (Jake B.); 08/21 West Valley (Craig H.)
08/22– American Golden-Plover (1) Pablo Reservoir (Will M.) through 08/29 (m. ob.)
08/24 – Buff-breasted Sandpiper (1) Pablo Reservoir (Jill L.)
08/25 – Broad-winged Hawk (1, first of season) Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (Jake B.)
09/02 – Broad-winged Hawk (1, dark morph) Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (Dan C.)
09/03 – Hudsonian Godwit (1) Ninepipe NWR (Stanley S.)
09/03 – Swainson’s Hawk (2) Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (Josh C.)
09/05 – Palm Warbler (1) Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (Josh C.)
09/06 – Black-and-white Warbler (1) Flathead Lake WPA (Roy M.)
09/06 – Tundra Swan (1, early) Ninepipe NWR (Sasha R.)
09/12 – White-faced Ibis (1, late) West Valley (Craig H.)
09/12 – Palm Warbler (1) Creston (Craig H.)
What to Expect, September – October 2025
As the raptor migration starts shifting from accipiters to eagles, the first Rough-legged Hawks of the season will also be arriving. Watch for flocks of mixed waterfowl, especially diving ducks (scoters, scaups, Redheads). Check lakes for migrating loons, with both Pacific and Red-throated Loons possible. Bohemian Waxwings should show up and rapidly increase in numbers. Sparrow flocks, now dominated by Savannah and Chipping Sparrows, will start to have more White-crowned, White-throated, Lincoln’s and potentially (in wetland habitats) Swamp Sparrows.