by Denny Olson Invasive plant species have been described as a slow-motion nuclear bomb going off. While this sounds like hyperbole, we have to remember that the this “bomb” can affect entire bioregions, and invasives can reduce tree cover, cause increased erosion and reduce water quality, increase fire risk, have noxious effects on humans and…
Read MoreSurvival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink
National Audubon Society 2019 Climate Report by Lewis Young, Conservation Committee In 2014, National Audubon Society published a report documenting the effects of climate change on birds. This 2019 report revisits the same subject. It utilizes peer-reviewed data to look at the vulnerability of birds across North America to climate change based on a new,…
Read MoreGray Partridge
Hurrah for the Humble Hun by Ben Long There is an idea among birders of a “spark bird,” that is the species of bird that sparked a person’s greater interest in birds and, thus, the natural world. For me, the spark bird was a humble little buff-colored, pear-shaped partridge that we called a “hun,” but…
Read MoreDecline of the North American Avifauna
a September 2019 publication in Science Magazine by Carole Jorgensen, Conservation Committee A paper was recently published in peer-reviewed Science magazine by experienced and reputable authors. Decline of the North American Avifauna by Rosenberg et al. 2019 is available on FAS website at: https://www.flatheadaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Rosenberg-et-al-Science-Sept-2019.pdf. The short four pages of text (plus many more pages of…
Read MoreNovember 2019 Chirps and Squawks
Highlights from the October 7th Board Meeting Cory Davis is working to complete a list of the FAS Committees with an explanation of what they do and how FAS members can volunteer to help. The people who organized the Birds of Prey Festival held a debriefing session and made a list of changes, improvements, and…
Read MoreFlathead Valley Bird Report – November 2019
by Joshua Covill Rare and Notables – October 2019 10/4 – Harris’s Sparrow along Riverside Road in Creston (Craig H.) 10/4 – Boreal Chickadee in flock of other chickadees near Upper Whitefish Lake (Joshua C.) 10/8 – 2 Surf Scoters on Lake McDonald in Glacier NP – seen from road and from Apgar (Matthew S.)…
Read MoreNovember 2019 Program
Saving ‘Alae ‘Ula, Hawai’i’s Endangered Swamp Chicken presented by Dr. Charles van Rees Dr. Charles van Rees, a naturalist and conservation biologist at the Flathead Lake Biological Station will be the guest speaker at the Flathead Audubon meeting Monday, November 11 from 7-9 PM in the Gateway West Community Meeting Room in Kalispell. ‘Alae ‘Ula,…
Read MoreWhen It’s Okay (or Not) to Feed Birds
Conservation Educator’s Niche – October 2019
By Denny Olson We are social animals, and our ‘kind’ – the pack (or village) animals (wolves, chimpanzees, gorillas, orcas, etc.) — are almost desperate to know where they fit in their social environment. Of course, social animals receive conformity messages from the pack or herd or club. But in most cases, there is still…
Read MoreBirds of Prey Festival Report
by Denny Olson On September 14th, our crew did it again! The weather was great, as always, Lone Pine staff had the venue set, and from the time I led 12 rookie birders on a how-to-use-binoculars-and-spot-birds-field trip at 7:30 AM until our 1 PM closing, another 800 citizens had walked into our venue and learned,…
Read More