By Karen Nichols
Birders in Northwestern Montana enjoy a rich tradition of Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs), dating back nearly 100 years and encompassing eight communities.
Today, there are about 30 consistent CBC count circles in Montana, engaging hundreds of hardy winter bird
enthusiasts. Locally, these include Bigfork, Kalispell, Ninepipe, Upper Swan, Glacier National Park, Eureka, Libby, and Troy. Just as the national CBC has provided a continent-wide picture of changing bird ecology, Montana CBCs also reveal trends over many decades.
The Christmas Bird Count began in 1900 in response to the Christmas “side hunts,” during which participants
would compete to kill as many birds and other animals as possible. Ornithologist Frank Chapman of the American Museum of Natural History was appalled by this wasteful slaughter and proposed censusing birds instead of killing them. That first CBC included 25 locations across the continent. The tradition spread to become one of the longest-running citizen science efforts in the world.
The first CBC in northwestern Montana was conducted near Libby in 1925 by Winton Weydemeyer. The Fortine tree farmer was a pioneering Montana naturalist, forester, and state legislator, who also wrote many scientific
papers about Montana birds. Although Weydemeyer’s CBCs were short lived, the Libby count has run consistently from 1980 to 2025, according to Libby educator Gene Reckin, who has participated for more than 40 years.
The Libby counts reflect the area’s changes. For example, Weydemeyer did not record a single Bald Eagle or Common Raven near Libby in 1926. By comparison, in 2023 Libby counters tallied 249 Bald Eagles and similar numbers of ravens, likely reflecting habitat changes that provided new food sources, most notably the creation
of Libby Dam and Lake Kookanusa in the 1970s. “Open water attracts so many more birds than Winton observed pre-dam. He saw very few waterfowl,” said Reckin, who often canoes down the Kootenai River to access habitat for the count.
Flathead Audubon leader and bird biologist Dan Casey has participated in Christmas Bird Counts nearly every year since 1967 (when he was a pre-teen in New Jersey). In 1999, Casey started the Kalispell count, locating the count circle to include Smith and Foy’s Lakes, Owen Sowerwine, and the landfill. He said Montana CBC data has helped inform conservation grants to protect and restore important wetlands. The counts have also illuminated trends, such as steadily increasing numbers of House Finches and Eurasian Collared-Doves in the
Flathead Valley and fewer raptors, like Snowy Owls and Prairie Falcons, in the Lower Valley due to habitat loss.
Those birds depend on prey species like voles, who rely on a diminishing supply of agricultural lands. Casey anticipates that species like Anna’s Hummingbird, Spotted Towhee, Mountain Bluebird, Gray Catbird, and Ruby crowned Kinglet will be seen more frequently as many birds shift their ranges northward due to climate change.
The Bigfork CBC is closely linked to the Flathead Audubon Society, as pioneers of the Bigfork count established the Flathead Audubon chapter in 1977. At 98 species, the Bigfork CBC hosts the greatest species diversity seen on a single Montana CBC. “Bigfork has far and away been the most frequent count with the highest species total,” said Casey, longtime compiler of both the Bigfork and Kalispell counts. Bigfork also regularly has the greatest variety of waterfowl species of all Montana counts. Casey, who has censused the same section of the Bigfork count for nearly 40 years, says the Flathead and Swan Rivers, Flathead Lake, and varied habitat contribute to the high tallies.
In the 1970s, Bill Hammer and Harry Smith started the Troy count. Harry Smith’s daughters still participate in the
event. Around 2000, Hammer and Smith recruited Troy wildlife photographer Don Jones to lead the count for “just one season.” “I’m still doing it to this day, and I love it,” Jones said. “I put down the cameras and head out with binos around the neck, much like I did as a child growing up and attending CBCs in the Chicago area.”
The Ninepipe count, initiated in 1978, is known for abundant raptors, said longtime organizer Jim Rogers.
According to National Audubon data, the count held the record nationwide for 17 years for the greatest number of Rough-legged Hawks. Another year, Dan and Susannah Casey saw all five North American falcon species while assisting with the Ninepipes count. Jim Oates, current compiler at Ninepipes, said several rarities were noted in 2024, including Common Loon, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Canyon Wren, and Snow Goose.
Glacier National Park CBCs began in 1962. Former Glacier Park biologist Dr. Riley McClelland and his wife,
Pat, took over the counts in 1965. McClelland, now retired, lives within the 15-mile diameter circle and counts
birds from his feeders with his daughter. Last year, they reported a Ring-necked Pheasant, rare for the Glacier
count. Park biologist Steve Gniadek and his wife, Susan Sindt, both led the count at different times. Lisa Bate, another park biologist, has led the Glacier count since 2009 and says many of the 20-25 participants have been involved for decades. Last year’s count yielded several unusual species, including a Yellow-billed Loon, a Northern Hawk Owl, and a Greater Scaup. Bate says she values the community of the CBC; many participants are friends she only sees that one day a year. Some families who’ve been doing the count for decades have become deeply attached to their segment of the circle.
Swan Valley conservationists and Flathead Audubon volunteers Rod and June Ash started the Upper Swan
Valley CBC in 1993. Longtime participants Steve and Sharon Lamar of Condon said that bird counts are a valued source of social connection in the remote Swan Valley, with the small group of 10 to 12 gathering for potlucks after the counts.
Longtime Audubon leader and Kootenai National Forest biologist Lewis Young started the Eureka CBC in 1993.
Young’s colleague Ellen Sullivan helped Young with the count until Young died unexpectedly in 2023. Sullivan
then took over compiling. Sullivan said Young had an encyclopedic memory of when and where birds were seen. “I really miss him,” she said. “His passion was birds, and he shared that with me.”
Sullivan remembers seeing a Snowy Owl during the very snowy year of 1996 and again in 2015. Other
highlights include a Curve billed Thrasher in 2006 and 2013. She noted the steep declines in Evening Grosbeaks in the past decade, reflecting deeply concerning declines seen across their range.
While CBCs do provide a remarkable source of data about bird distribution and abundance, they also provide a deeply cherished winter tradition and foster a sense of community.