By Jess Garby
Starting a new year always feels refreshing and exciting to me. Not only do we birders get to start fresh with a clean slate of birds for the year, but we also get to challenge ourselves to become better birders—and better advocates for birds. That is one of my big goals for this year. I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on how you can grow as a birder or supporter of birds in 2026.
If you are feeling inspired to take action, I’m happy to announce that we are hosting another Crafting for Conservation workshop. This project aims to raise awareness about bird-window collisions and teach participants how to make their windows bird-safe. We’ll be crafting birds at the Columbia Falls Library on February 24 from 4pm to 6pm. For more information about the project, visit: https://www.hollygreenberg.com/homepage.
Although winter is often a quieter time of year, my programming has been anything but! We are a month into our Junior Ranger Kits project, in partnership with Montana State Parks and the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Our most recent kit focused on birds of prey. Participants learned the key traits of raptors, tips and tricks for finding them in the field, and how to recognize differences in their flight patterns. These kits are available for pickup at the Polson Library, Columbia Falls Library, Wayfarers State Park, and the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks office in Kalispell.
Thank you to the thirty folks who joined us for the Winter Solstice Celebration! After creating unique birdseed ornaments, we assembled a spiral from a variety of greenery. Poems were shared, wishes were made, and hearts were full.
I hope to see you at the Great Backyard Bird Count at Lone Pine State Park! This event is your chance to join me for a guided bird walk, create a bottle feeder for the birds, and participate in a global community science project.