By Ben Young Birders have enjoyed much activity in the world of the wren in recent years, months, and weeks. Over a year ago I found myself chasing a Sinaloa Wren, originally found near Patagonia, AZ, a bird that would later be accepted as a new ABA record. More locally, Montana birders were treated to…
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White-tailed Ptarmigan
By Mary Nelesen For the past five summers, I have searched in vain for a glimpse of a White-tailed Ptarmigan. This past summer, I was fortunate and saw a flock of them just by chance. Myfirst experience in seeing this elusive bird was while walking along the Highline Trail at Logan Pass in Glacier National…
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Tree Swallow
By Lisa Bate It usually happens sometime in March. I am outside working on the farm when I hear what sounds like bubbling water flying overhead. Then I just smile knowing that the tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) have returned from their wintering grounds and with them, have brought the real beginning of spring to northwest…
Read MoreSpruce Grouse
By Kathy Ross Imagine the shock of hearing an engine start up in the middle of a beautiful forest a long distance from road or apparent civilization. I know I was truly puzzled and a little disconcerted by this mechanical sound in the quiet of a peaceful woodland setting, only to discover it was an…
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American Redstart
By Lewis Young Although a member of the large family of wood-warblers that are sometimes difficult to tell apart, American Redstarts have distinctive color patterns and behavioral traits that make them relatively easy to identify. Adult males are glossy black with bright orange patches on wings, tail and sides. The belly and under the tail…
Read MoreTennessee Warbler
By Gail Cleveland Among the breeding wood warblers in Western Montana, the Tennessee Warbler has been the most elusive and difficult to see each summer. For 25 years, my husband Bruce and I have taken an annual May bike ride from the Trego area down Wolf Creek to the Fisher River and on to the…
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Black Swift
By Ben Young A“Enigmatic.” “Unknown.” Take a glance at the species account for the Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) in your field guide and you’ll see such descriptors associated with aspects of its life history. How else can one describe a non-perching bird that is seen only as it flies (Sibley 2000) (often foraging high enough…
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Western Grebe
By Lewis Young The Western Grebe is a striking black and white bird with a long slim neck and a long bill. The largest of our grebes with a length of 25 inches, a wingspan of 24 inches, and weighing just over 3 pounds, they have a long greenish-yellow sharp-pointed bill, and black (or dark…
Read MoreWarbling Vireo
By Gail Cleveland Although vireos are persistent singers during the breeding season, these rather plain birds seem to hide among the foliage of treetops and dense thickets, proving to be difficult to see. Consequently, they are one family that beginning bird watchers often overlook. Of this strictly New World family of birds, Northwest Montana has…
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Black-headed Grosbeak
By Gael Bissell Guess which Flathead Valley summer bird (male) is orange and black, has a thick bill, and eats monarch butterflies in the winter but doesn’t get sick? If you still aren’t sure, the next hint is … the male sounds like a loud robin on caffeine. You guessed it right; it’s the Black-headed…
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