by Bridger Donaldson Anyone who spends time birdwatching in high or low elevations of coniferous forests in the Western United States and Canada are likely to see the bold and inquisitive Steller’s Jay. They do well in forests disturbed by humans, such as thinned areas and campgrounds. Maybe you have heard the Steller’s Jay as…
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by Pete Fisher The 21st Kalispell Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 29, 2019. Milder than usual weather (28-32 degrees F) and minimal snow cover (1 inch) made for an interesting count. The “Flathead Gull Sanctuary” (The Dump) was fruitful this year, providing five gull species. These included the count’s first ever Lesser…
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by Lisa Bate Glacier National Park (GNP) held its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday, December 15, 2019. Twenty-nine participants contributed to this event by covering 10 different routes in Glacier, and 1 bird feeder in West Glacier. Participants spent the day counting all bird species and individuals detected. The weather was unusually mild…
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by Lewis Young The 27th annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday December 14 in moderate weather that ranged from 28°F to 32°F. Koocanusa Reservoir was unfrozen as were the streams but smaller lakes and ponds were frozen. Foggy weather in the morning confronted the 25 people that went to the field as…
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The 26th annual Eureka Christmas bird count was held on Saturday, December 15 in mild weather that ranged from 31˚F to 41˚F. A record 33 field observers and 16 feeder watchers recorded 61 species and 4953 individual birds. The 61 species tied the fifth highest total in our history and the number of individuals was…
Read MoreThe 20th Kalispell Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 30. Milder than usual weather (28-35˚ F) and minimal snow cover (2 inches) made for an interesting count. This count could be dubbed “The Year of the Goose”. We encountered astounding numbers of Canada Geese, which were taking full advantage of the exposed farm…
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Highlights from November 5th, 2018 Board Meeting Laura Katzman and Paul Travis of Flathead Land Trust gave a presentation about the Flathead River Conservation Project. They are working on fundraising to match large grants to fund their project. The area provides habitat for about 150 bird species. The Education Committee met in Whitefish at the…
Read Moreby Lewis Young, compiler The 25th annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 16 in mild weather that ranged from 22F to 35F. Twenty-two field observers and 15 feeder watchers recorded 69 species and 2779 individual birds. The 69 species were the second highest total in our history. Three new species were…
Read MoreBlue Jays in Montana—A Wake Up Call By Kathy Ross The piercing call of the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) fills the crisp winter morning landscape, startling every creature around. If you were not awake before, you will be now. I grew up in the Midwest, and Blue Jays were a constant part of life. After…
Read MoreEAST MEETS WEST By Jeannie Marcure One cold, overcast day last fall when our feeders were mostly filled with the brown and gray winter birds common to the Flathead, we were treated to the arrival of a couple of new birds whose bright feathers and noisy calls were reminiscent of the more tropical birds of…
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