Birds and Glass: Reducing Avian Window Strikes by Grant Pegram On the nights of October 4th and 5th 2023, thousands of migrating warblers, thrushes, grosbeaks – and a host of other songbirds died due to window strikes in Chicago and all around the Midwest. Bird migration monitoring program BirdCast, run by the Cornell Lab of…
Read MoreCategory: Conservation
Michele Tohtz Awarded Conservation Award – Volunteer of the Year 2023
By Jill Carlberg Sometimes seemingly small steps lead to big things. When Michele, already an active member at Hawk Watch and at Owen Somerwine work days, was asked if she would take on the simple task of picking up the Flathead Audubon Society’s (FAS) mail once a week, she agreed. Luckily for Flathead Audubon, Michele…
Read MoreWork Day In A Beautiful Place
by Pam Willison, Work Day Coordinator After a chilly morning, the sun warmed the air and highlighted the beauty of the colorful leaves and the rippling Stillwater River. It really was a great day to enjoy the exceptional autumn sights offered in the Owen Sowerwine area. Fourteen volunteers worked a total of 41 hours on…
Read MoreRachel Potter Awarded Lifetime Conservation Achievement Recognition
by Linda de Kort and Rosemary McKinnon Rachel Potter was presented with Flathead Audubon’s Lifetime Conservation Achievement Recognition (CAR) at the October 9 FAS general meeting. Rachel grew up in Berkeley, California, where her parents took the trouble to introduce her to the “great outdoors.” She migrated to Montana with her partner, Jack, in the…
Read MoreLead Bullets and Wildlife – 2023 Hunting Season
By Kate Stone and the late Lewis Young With big game rifle hunting season approaching, you can help wildlife by switching to non-lead bullets if you are a hunter. Lead bullets, even copper jacketed lead bullets, fired from high velocity guns fragment on impact losing 20-40 percent of their mass when they hit an object….
Read MoreFall OSNA Work Day 2023
by Pam Willison Save the Date!! The Owen Sowerwine Fall Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 7, 2023. We will meet in the parking lot of Kalispell Montessori (on Willow Glen Drive) at 9:00 a.m., and spend about three hours doing some weed and trail maintenance. Dress for the weather, wear sturdy footwear, and…
Read MoreOne Woman’s Dedication To Saving Swifts
by Rosemary McKinnon A few summers ago, I had an unusual set of visitors to my bedroom. This bedroom has a fireplace, rarely used, with a chimney. Swifts arrived to nest there. Accustomed to silence, I was not aware of their presence until the chicks hatched. From then on, for weeks, I could barely sleep….
Read MoreHelp Mitigate Human-Bear Conflict This Fall, Keep Fruit Picked – Flathead Food Gleaning Group can help!
by Kathy Ross Need help picking fruit on your property? Want to donate to local Food Banks or the Yellowstone Wolf and Bear Discovery Center? Check out the Flathead Food Gleaning Group Facebook page to connect with folks that can help pick and/or those who might be looking for fruit for winter. It will help…
Read MoreWe met the match!
by Gael Bissell Great news! Thanks to 150 of you amazing FAS donors, plus hundreds of other supportive community members, we met the $100,000 Spring Challenge Match for the proposed Owen Sowerwine Conservation Easement! Many, many thanks to all of you who gave so generously! And our sincere thanks to Molly Miller and Mark Jungerman,…
Read MoreOSNA 2023 Spring Work Days / Buckthorn Removal
by Pam Willison, Grateful Head Wrangler Many hands, many hours, MANY THANKS!! In early April volunteers participated in four work days at the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area, to help cut, treat and stack Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), which is invasive and is very good at outcompeting native vegetation and toxifying the soil. Crews consisted of…
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