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…
Read More![Black Swift](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/archiveblackswift2.png?resize=138%2C125&ssl=1)
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…
Read More![](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/wgrebe032012b2.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
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…
Read More![Photo Credit: Jan Wassink](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/grosbkoneJanWassink1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
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…
Read More![](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/BBMagpie.png?resize=71%2C71&ssl=1)
Black-billed Magpie
By Denise Hester “WOW! What is that bird?” These are often the words of amazement uttered by a first-time-from-back-east visitor to the Flathead Valley when they first see a Black-billed Magpie. While it is a large eye-catching black and white bird ( 17 1/2 -22″/44-56 cm) with a dark bill, head, breast, and under parts,…
Read More![](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Western-Tanager.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Western Tanager
By Melissa Sladek From my office window, I see him. His stark contrast with the dark and light greens of the surrounding forest catches my eye. Today, he is busy…I’ve now seen him three times flying back and forth across the road. My coworkers and I started to notice this male western tanager at some…
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
By Gail Cleveland During the winter, if you see a large hawk soaring or hovering over grasslands, chances are you have spotted a Rough-legged Hawk. They are the most common winter soaring hawk of the Genus Buteo and the only one that prefers cold climates all year. It nests in the Arctic, mostly in cliffs…
Read More![Ruffed Grouse](https://i0.wp.com/flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ruffedgrouse1.png?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1)
Ruffed Grouse
By Ben Young Nothing says spring like the first flight of northbound Canada Geese. And to me, no bird is more closely aligned with autumn than the Ruffed Grouse. Ruffed Grouse are part of the gallinaceous family of birds. That’s fancy-talk meaning they are similar to chickens. Taxonomists lump them with other grouse, partridge, pheasants,…
Read MoreRedhead
By Gael Bissell Each spring, just after the ice melts and the bulk of the Northern Pintails and American Wigeon pass through our waters, I quickly look for the brightly colored Redheads (Aythya americana). I am not sure why I like these particular waterfowl; perhaps it’s because when I see them in the Flathead Valley,…
Read More