by Jeannie Marcure One of my favorite things about bird watching is that it can be done almost anywhere and can easily be combined with other pastimes. If you’re quietly aware of the natural world around you, great birding moments often happen when you least expect them. One such serendipitous moment occurred for me last…
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Snowy Owl
![Heron](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/heron-for-Bens-article1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Great Blue Heron
By Ben Long The Great Blue Heron is one of those big, glamorous birds that delight both the novice and the expert birder alike. Not everyone appreciates the different phases of the dark-eyed junco, or can distinguish the calls of treetop warblers, but everyone can appreciate the Great Blue Heron. First off, they are big….
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Killdeer
By Jeannie Marcure In an effort to improve my birding skills, I’ve recently been trying to learn to identify birds by their calls. For someone lacking musical training or talent, this is a daunting task, so it makes sense that I’d have a special fondness for any bird that makes this job easier by calling…
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Marsh Wren
By Jeannie Marcure This months’ feature bird might well be described as the “Mighty Mouse” of our local marshes and ponds. My memorable first encounter with this little dynamo occurred one spring day as my husband and I were carrying our kayak through a wet area to reach water. Alerted by a noisy chattering sound,…
Read More![Kinglet](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/kingletlarge1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets
By Linda de Kort Last week, the serviceberry bushes by our home were buzzing with royal activity. Kinglets of both local species were flitting and hovering, gleaning the insects from the leaves of the bush. This gave me a golden and ruby opportunity to compare the field markings of these two diminutive birds. The kinglets…
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Red-necked Grebe
By Jeannie Marcure Webster defines a grebe as: “any of a family (Podicipedidae) of swimming and diving birds closely related to loons but having lobed toes.” In western Montana, six species of grebes are found during breeding season: Western, Clark’s, Eared, Horned, Pied-billed, and the topic of this month’s article, the Red-necked. I became familiar…
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Virginia Rail
![](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/merlinbom11081.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Merlin
By Lewis Young If you have ever watched a large wintertime flock of waxwings around Kalispell and have seen a small dark bird chasing the waxwings and exhibiting an impressive display of speed and agility, then you likely have seen a merlin. Such a sight can be seen with some frequency every winter in Kalispell….
Read More![Rough-Legged Hawk Photo Credit: Jan Wassink](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Rough-legged-Hawk-7599JanWassink.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Rough-legged Hawk Revisited
By Marcy Mahr Like me, you may have had to sit down with a field guide on more than one occasion to sort out the various hawk species that inhabit our area. Particularly challenging is distinguishing the subtle differences in plumages, which are confusingly similar. Birding field guides read, “plumage is extremely variable,… both dark…
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