HARBINGERS OF SPRING By Jeannie Marcure The arrival of the first bluebirds is a welcome sign that spring has returned to the Flathead. This year that event took place for me on March 13 when a Saturday morning drive on Smith Lake Road provided us with the first bluebird sightings of the season. What birder’s…
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Redpoll
Hardy Winter Visitors: Redpolls By Karen Nichols Winter visitors to our forests and feeding stations, Common and Hoary Redpolls are among the hardiest of the songbirds. In fact, Audubon’s Encyclopedia of North American Birds says these small finches can survive colder temperatures than any other songbird. Both the Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) and the Hoary…
Read MoreRed-breasted, White-breasted, & Pygmy Nuthatches
BIRDS WHO CAN REALLY GET A GRIP! By Jeannie Marcure As members of the bird family SITTIDAE, nuthatches are described by this Greek word as birds that peck at the bark of trees. Additionally, the name nuthatch originated in Europe and refers to the foraging technique in which the birds take a seed, fly to…
Read MoreBarn Swallow
AS THE SWALLOWS RETURN TO ….. THE FLATHEAD Compiled by Linda deKort Selections from Cornell University Website Like the legendary cliff swallows who loyally return each year to the mission in Capistrano, California, the swallows of the Flathead are arriving back at their predictable times. We may not greet them with the ringing of church…
Read MoreSpotted Towhee
A TEAPOT OF TOWHEES! By Jeannie Marcure For the past several years we’ve been lucky to have a family of Spotted Towhees make their home in our yard and garden area. Although migratory, Towhees are one of the first spring yard birds to arrive (March 9 this year) and one of the last to leave…
Read MorePygmy Nuthatch
By John Hughes Seeking Pygmy Nuthatch? If you are fortunate enough to have a mature stand of Ponderosa Pine trees nearby or know where a good stand exists, then you are sure to find Pygmy Nuthatch. The Pygmy Nuthatch is considered one of the best indicator species for the overall health of bird communities in…
Read MoreBrown-headed Cowbird
By Ben Young And the winner for the “Most Despised Native Bird of North America” award is . . . the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). “An open solicitation for cowbird recipes.” Such titles as this in a prominent North American birding journal in 1994 illustrate the collective disdain for this native songbird among bird-watchers and…
Read MoreTimberline Sparrow
EVOLUTION IN PROGRESS By Steve Gniadek The Timberline Sparrow (Spizella breweri taverneri) is a subspecies of the Brewer’s Sparrow, but it’s in the process of becoming a separate species. Some scientists have argued it already is a species. As the name implies, the Timberline Sparrow is found near tree line, where it nests in stunted…
Read MoreWilliamson’s Sapsucker
Red-Naped Sapsucker
A DOUBLE KEYSTONE SPECIES By Lisa Bate Have you ever heard what sounds like someone sending a Morse code message through the trees in spring? If so, go take a look and you will likely find that the Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) has returned to Montana for breeding season. Their drum sounds like Morse code…
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