by Gail Shay Linne, Education Chair
Winter is a wonderful time for birding. Part of my morning routine is to enjoy a cup of coffee and watch chickadees, nuthatches, and our resident two bluejays eat seeds and nuts from our feeders. They are followed by a stream of gulls which fly over our property on their daily route to Whitefish Lake.
My thoughts wander back many winters ago when my boys were young and sat in my lap to watch the same bird varieties eat the sunflower seeds we offered at our window box feeder. Bird-watching, filling the feeders, and reading about birds were popular wintertime activities. Now my grandchildren are bird-watching with my son, and will receive bird books and a feeder from their grandmother for Christmas.
Flathead Valley children, youth and adults are fortunate to have Flathead Audubon Society’s members and conservation educator Denny Olson to provide winter-time birding activities.
The education committee will meet on December 4 at 4 PM at Sykes Market. We will review the fall programs that have been completed and discuss events planned for winter. We will consider re-introducing the popular ‘Bird Books for Schools’ program and adopting Peregrines as a theme for these books. We will also consider developing outreach programs for Flathead Valley’s elders. Audubon members set out nine blue bird boxes at the Springs of Whitefish last spring, and cleaned the bird boxes this fall. Copies of the Pileated Post have been given to residents. Certainly elders are looking out their windows to enjoy winter birds too.
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