Hard as it is to believe, but the Flathead Audubon Society elections for 2024 are quickly approaching. May will be here before you know it. This year we will elect a Secretary and a Treasurer, each for a two-year term. Anyone is welcome to run for those positions. And there are other ways to be…
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by Darcy Thomas Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday rich with love, peace, and joy. May this coming year give you happiness, health, and wondrous outdoor adventures! May it also be a great year for birds! I have great news to tell you. After many years of hard work, keeping fingers…
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by Pam Willison Perisoreus canadensis was originally named Canada Jay, so it seems appropriate that after being Gray Jay from 1956-2018, the American Ornithological Society changed it back to Canada Jay. They have several popular nicknames: Camp Robber, Venison Hawk, Whiskey Jack, or Lumberjack. Whiskey Jack is said to be a variation of “Wisakedjak”, the…
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by Dan Casey Rare and Notables – November/December 2023 Winter was slow to arrive, and our avifauna did not change much from the previous month. Scoters continued at Foy’s Lake; all three of our largest falcon species made appearances. Steller’s Jays, Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls were widespread, but Bohemian Waxwing numbers did not build…
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Co-presented by Jami Belt and Jess Garby Glacier National Park (GNP) hosts a large diversity of birds, and few are as charismatic as two of our top level predators – the Common Loon and Golden Eagle. While these birds inhabit very different haunts, both come to GNP as summer breeding residents and exist in very…
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At our December 2023 General Meeting, Sara Lamar, Education Director of Swan Valley Connections, shared lessons learned from over a decade of monitoring elusive forest carnivores such as the Canada Lynx and Wolverine. Using bait stations to collect hair and tracking, they have learned a lot more on these species where little was known before….
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by Denny Olson The Value of “Our Place” in Education In Montana, we are lucky in that education has always had a tradition of local control. Unfortunately, it has seldom had a tradition of local emphasis. In fact, the primary key to living well politically, economically, ecologically, spiritually and as a community member (on all…
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by Darcy Thomas The first day of November brought overcast skies to the Flathead Valley making the 30 degree outside temperature feel even colder. But that was not daunting enough to stop 11 birders intent on looking for raptors around Creston. And we were well rewarded. The first bird seen was a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying…
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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…
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