Tag: Black-billed Magpie

Kalispell CBC 2022 Results
By Categories: Birding Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 24th Kalispell Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, January 1, 2023.   A total of 75 species was recorded, a number which is about average for this count.    Highlights included the 2nd ever Yellow-headed Blackbird (Craig Hohenberger et. al.), the 2nd ever Pied-billed Grebe (Elaine Snyder et al.), the 3rd ever Northern Saw-whet Owl…

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Smith Lake Field Trip Report – September 2021
By Categories: Activities and Field Trips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful September 8 with  eleven birders joining Darcy Thomas around the lake. Two were visiting from out-of-state and the youngest was only 5 years old. It was a bit chilly at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably…

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Smith Lake Field Trip 9-8-21 Report
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by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching September 8 at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful. Eleven birders joined leader Darcy Thomas; two were visiting from out-of-state; the youngest was 5 years old. It was a bit chill at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably later in the morning. A…

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Conservation Educator’s Niche – December 2019
By Categories: Lifelong Learning Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Meta-Threat by Dennis Olson In the last Pileated Post, FAS Board member Carole Jorgensen and Post Editor Lewis Young wrote two wonderful short summaries of two separate “meta-studies” – regarding the 29% decline in North American bird populations in the last 50 years, and, respectively, an Audubon study outlining the 64% of North American…

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Troy Christmas Bird Count 2018 Results
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Troy’s CBC was held on December 15. Weather was mild with Temps ranging between 33˚ and 39˚F. Snow was essentially non-existent except for our higher elevations to the east and west.  Thirteen field observers participated with four feeder watchers. Species total was 51 for count day and 58 for count week. Usually we have our…

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Ninepipes CBC 2016 Report
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by Brian Williams The Ninepipes Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, 18 December 2016.  Sixteen observers braved the single-digit weather and treacherous roads to count birds.  The deep cold made open water scarce and held our total species down a bit from 5 and 10 year averages, but we found some excellent birds.  Short-eared…

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Glacier National Park CBC 2016 Report
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by Lisa Bate This year’s Christmas Bird Count in Glacier was fantastic! We had a number of rare birds, first-time birds, unusual birds for this time of the year, and some new high counts for species. It was also 25 degrees warmer than the morning before (minus 15° F) and we had light, fluffy snow,…

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Kalispell CBC 2016 Report
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by Pete Fisher The 18th annual Kalispell Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held on January 1, 2017.  Twenty-eight intrepid field observers braved wind and drifting snow to count 75 species of bird. Four feeder watchers contributed data as well. Major highlights were an Iceland Gull at the Flathead Dump and a Northern Saw-whet Owl at…

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Black-billed Magpie
By Categories: Bird of the Month Tags: , , , ,

By Denise Hester “WOW! What is that bird?” These are often the words of amazement uttered by a first-time-from-back-east visitor to the Flathead Valley when they first see a Black-billed Magpie. While it is a large eye-catching black and white bird ( 17 1/2 -22″/44-56 cm) with a dark bill, head, breast, and under parts,…

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