By Shannon Donaldson On April 15, five participants joined Shannon and Bridger Donaldson at Herron Park for a morning of birding. The group tallied a total of 28 species of birds and several wildflowers. The Serviceberry and Ninebark were just beginning to leaf out and vibrant larch buds were being consumed by several species. After hearing…
Read MoreTag: Bald Eagle
Eureka CBC 2023 Results
by Ellen Sullivan and Lauren Michelsen The 31st annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 16, on a mild day that ranged from 27 degrees to 33 degrees. Koocanusa Reservoir was open as were parts of the streams, but smaller lakes and ponds were mostly frozen. Eighteen people went to the field…
Read MoreConservation Educator’s Niche – February 2024
by Denny Olson It’s been a busy winter of Christmas Bird Counts, Flathead and Mission Valley raptor surveys and Short-eared Owl roosting research. Birds are everywhere, all-the-time on this Planet. The winter, and the surveys, are not done with me yet. That’s why it seems counterintuitive to be sitting here thinking about breeding birds just…
Read MoreJewel Basin Hawk Watch Mid-Season Update 2023
by Dan Casey With another 21 surveys conducted since the last update in the Pileated Post, the 16th season of raptor surveys in the Jewel Basin has continued to result in above-average numbers for many species. We had tallied 2,586 raptors of 17 species as of October 15th. These included record numbers of Broad-winged Hawks,…
Read MoreMorning at Smith Lake Field Trip
by Darcy Thomas Clear skies and cool air greeted a group of six in Kila the morning of September 16th. We got off to a shaky start with crows, starlings, house sparrows, coots, robins, magpies, and mallards on our list. It was worth a chuckle. We kept birding and were rewarded at the fishing access…
Read MoreJewel Basin Hawk Watch 2023 Early Results
by Dan Casey The 16th fall monitoring season at Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (JBHW) kicked off August 25th, and as of September 15th we had conducted 18 surveys. It has been an interesting and rewarding early season, with high species diversity and higher than average counts. We suspect that the extensive fires in British Columbia…
Read MoreFlathead Lake Biological Station Tour Report – May 2023
by Darcy Thomas On a drizzly day in May, a group of twelve from Flathead and Mission Audubon met at the University of Montana’s field station in Yellow Bay to learn about ecology and research of the Flathead Watershed, hear the famous food web disaster of Mysis shrimp, and enjoy a quick picnic before tromping…
Read MoreTracking Raptors from Home
At our May meeting and potluck, Rob Domenech of Raptor View Research Institute told story after story of Ospreys in migration using amazing tracking data. During the presentation, he mentioned ways that we can track those raptors too! Below is a list of resources Rob mentioned (plus a couple bonus resources). MPG Ranch’s Raptor Tracker…
Read MoreConservation Corner – April 2023
Latest on Avian Influenza A(H5) and A(H7) by Carole Jorgensen Local media sources have mentioned the continued spread of avian flu and implicated wild birds as major vectors in the state. Waterfowl, particularly dabbling ducks, are thought to be a reservoir of influenza A(H5) and A(H7). The March 2023 USDA update of avian influenza detections…
Read MoreSurrounding NW Montana CBC 2022 Results
Upper Swan CBC December 15 Upper Swan held its annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 15, with nine field observers. We had decent weather with temperatures ranging from 19 to 27, cloudy skies, and wind at 7 mph. Most still water was frozen and moving water was partly open. Snow depths ranged from six…
Read More