The Metamorphosis by Denny Olson This particular Northern Rockies winter demanded a bit of patience and self-reliance. Without proper clothing and an interest in snow-dependent pursuits, winters like this one can make edgy shut-ins from normally well-adjusted people. Uncommon cold and waist-deep snow established this winter near the end of the “temperate” spectrum, and turned…
Read MoreWind Turbine Blades Could Decimate North America’s Most Widespread Bat Species
From Bat Conservation International Thousands of spinning wind turbine blades may be threatening the survival of one of North America’s most widespread migratory bats, says a study published recently in Biological Conservation. While scientists and the wind industry have known for more than a decade that wind turbines kill bats, the research is the first…
Read More40 Years of FAS Newsletters Coming to Website – Newsletter Editors to be Honored in May
by Linda Winnie The Accipiter Express, Vol 1, # 1, March 1977, was the first issue of Flathead Audubon’s newsletter — two sheets of yellow paper, typing on both sides, stapled together. It’s fun to read. Topics include: March 1977 meeting Friday ”at the Bigfork Grade School Cafeteria (Small Log Building)”, 3 field trips (including…
Read MoreAnd the Winner Is … the Sandhill Cranes!
by Kay Mitchell, Flathead Audubon President In a race to the $10,000 finish line, the FAS Flock has met its goal. Our mailbox has been full of donations large and small for one of the most worthy conservation causes the Flathead Valley has seen in many years. We received donations from all over the Flathead…
Read MoreTime To Prepare For The Bears
From MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks Montana’s hibernating black bears and grizzly bears will soon be stirring. Adult males usually emerge first from winter dens in mid-March. When bears emerge from their dens, they are physically depleted and food is a priority. Bears are often tempted to go where raccoons and domestic dogs are getting…
Read MoreApril 2017 Chirps and Squawks
Highlights from March 2017 Board Meeting Heard that the $10,000 fundraising goal has been exceeded for the West Valley Wetlands Project. Heard request from Flathead River Commission for financial support for flood modelling and mapping on the Flathead River. Board decided not to contribute money. Heard that the 2018 calendar project is progressing well and…
Read MoreNorthern Waterthrush
What do you mean it’s not a Thrush? by Gail Cleveland Ornithologist E. H. Forbush’s observation about the Northern Waterthrush, made more than half a century ago, still applies: “It is a large wood-warbler disguised as a thrush and exhibiting an extreme fondness for water,” according to the Boreal Songbird Initiative. The Northern Waterthrush is…
Read MoreApril 2017 Program
Swan Valley Carnivores by Adam Lieberg Adam Lieberg with Swan Valley Connections will provide an update on the Southwestern Crown Collaborative Carnivore Project at the monthly Flathead Audubon Society meeting. His team has been monitoring rare carnivores since 2012 by obtaining more concrete data on their distribution, abundance and genetics. The project combined and developed…
Read MoreMerlin Bird ID
What is Merlin Bird ID? From Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it’s a free app for your phone designed for beginning and intermediate birders that helps identify birds based on your observed details or a photo. Answer five simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin will come up with a list…
Read MoreConservation Education Corner – March 2017
Secrets Under the Snow by Denny Olson It happens with regularity every year. In the early winter, before the winter rains can crust that early puffy snow, I stop to listen to the incredible silence, and then spot something that makes me remember. The snow under my snowshoes is alive. This year it was an…
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