by Mitch Linne, and Gail Linne In late March, 2018 I took the initial steps toward establishing a bluebird trail at Lost Prairie, west of Marion, Montana. I built seven bluebird-specific boxes from a design provided by Dennis Olson. The original design came from Marty Fregerio. The houses were mounted on existing posts along the…
Read MoreNew West Valley Bird Viewing Area is Open!
About 150 people gathered Saturday evening, October 6, to celebrate the completion of Flathead Land Trust’s West Valley Wetlands Conservation Project, and the Grand Opening of the Project’s new West Valley Bird Viewing Area. The Project has placed conservation easements on 400 acres in the West Valley Ponds Complex, which is a critical staging area…
Read MoreAccess to Owen Sowerwine Natural Area Is Now Year-round
by Denny Olson, Conservation Educator In years past, there has been a conundrum regarding the field trip access to OSNA. The best birding is always in May and June, and that’s when flooding keeps everyone except the ducks, frogs and fish out. When combined with the parking access limited to about 2 cars, school field…
Read MoreConservation Educator’s Niche – October 2018
by Denny Olson Well, it appears that the Birds of Prey Festival is getting to be a “thing”. It’s an odd colloquialism, because I always thought that things were, well, things. But, as I understand it, the modern meaning has an implied “significant” adjective before the word itself. (Don’t get me started on the erosion…
Read MoreOctober 2018 Chirps and Squawks
The September 4 board meeting was held on Bob Lopp’s deck. Kathy Ross, Bob Lee, Mike Fanning, Bob Lopp, Gail Linne, and Gael Bissell were all approved for one year terms. Sadly, Barb Summer has resigned from the board but will continue to be involved. Currently Flathead Audubon has about 400 members. The upcoming Birds…
Read MoreLaura Katzman Flathead – Flathead Land Trust – receives Conservation Achievement Recognition
by Gael Bissell For years, I have been hearing from birders about the West Valley ponds, located about five miles northwest of Kalispell, which consist of a variety of pothole wetlands that support an amazing diversity of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other bird species. Thirty years ago, they were identified as potential mitigation wetlands for Kerr…
Read MorePublic Invited to Participate in Glacier Park Fall Raptor Migration Study
In celebration of the Year of the Bird, Glacier National Park has launched a new Hawk Watch Program. Volunteers can choose specific dates in September and October to hike approximately 4.5 miles up the Mount Brown trail (roughly 4,000 feet in elevation gain) to collect data from 10 AM to 4 PM. A second site…
Read MoreWest Valley Bird Viewing Area—Grand Opening
Join Flathead Land Trust, Montana FWP, and Flathead Audubon to celebrate the completion of the West Valley Wetlands conservation project and grand opening of the bird viewing area for the public. Saturday, Oct. 6 from 5-7:30 PM. The celebration will include food, a program to thank supporters, and viewing of the sandhill cranes as they…
Read MoreCordilleran Flycatcher
by Gail Cleveland Oh, no! The Bird of the Month is one of those small, gray-green flycatchers that no one can tell apart but the experts. Yes, it is one of the genus Empidonax, Empidonax occidentalis to be specific, but read on. You may be able to find the joy in identifying a Cordilleran Flycatcher…
Read MoreOctober 2018 Program
Backyard Bird Feeder Success! Presented by Jake Bramante Join us Monday, October 8, 7-9 PM at the Gateway West Community Room, US Highway 2 West, Kalispell to hear Flathead Audubon board member Jake Bramante discuss strategies to increase your backyard birds. While getting out into nature to discover birds is extremely rewarding (and healthy), sometimes…
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