by Dan Casey Rare and Notables – Oct/Nov 2022 Well, the unseasonably warm weather came to a rather abrupt halt in mid-October. By mid-November, the Sandhill Cranes had left, Tundra Swans and Snow Geese were passing through, and Rough-legged Hawks were here in good numbers. White-winged and Surf Scoters graced Foy’s Lake and scattered individual…
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by Denny Olson Owen Sowerwine Our Local Outdoor Classroom A couple of days ago, I led a small group of three on a field trip to Owen Sowerwine, that roughly 442-acre parcel of State School Trust land located along the Stillwater and Flathead Rivers just east of Willow Glen near Kalispell. The trip emphasized the…
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by Lisa Bate Glacier National Park (GNP) held its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Twenty-two participants contributed to this event by covering 10 different routes in Glacier. Participants spent the day counting all bird species and individuals detected. The weather was overcast with light winds, and temperatures ranged between 29…
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by Dan Casey Rare and Notables – Oct/Nov Wintery weather was slow to come, but winter migrants and residents began to arrive, including Tundra Swans, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Shrikes, Bohemian Waxwings and Common Redpolls. Rarities included all three scoter species, 2 lingering Anna’s Hummingbirds, and a Lesser Goldfinch in Somers. See https://ebird.org/region/US-MT-029?yr=all for more. 9/28…
Read Moreby Dan Casey Rare and Notables – Aug/Sept Cold fronts were few and far between, and correspondingly, the quantity of fall migrants seemed low. But several rarities were found, including two county firsts (Chestnut-sided Warbler, Ruddy Turnstone). Sandhill Cranes began to gather in the West Valley as the last hummingbirds, swallows and Ospreys moved on…
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Rare and Notables – November 2020 Incredibly, the YELLOW-BILLED LOON (immature) found on Dickey Lake by Nikki M. on July 5th was present until Oct. 21st at the latest (Lewis Y.) Unsure if it is still around. 10/19 – Surf Scoter found at the Creston wetland (Craig H.) 10/23 – Mew Gull spotted at the…
Read Moreby Joshua Covill Rare and Notables – October 2020 Incredibly, the YELLOW-BILLED LOON (immature) found on Dickey Lake by Nikki M. on July 5th is still present! Dan Casey resighted the loon on Oct. 17th 09/18 – Swamp Sparrow found near Creston (Craig H.) 09/21 – 2 White-faced Ibis in the West Valley Ponds…
Read Moreby Joshua Covill Rare and Notables – January 2020 12/24 – the NORTHERN CARDINAL in Marion was seen again at the same private residence that it was initially reported from, meaning it was been around for 1.5 months (Criag H. & Raylene W.) 12/29 – Prairie Falcon along Fairview Cemetery Rd south of Columbia Falls…
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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…
Read Moreby Joshua Covill Rare and Notables – November 2019 10/20 – Barred Owl photographed at Owen Sowerwine Natural Area (Jake B.) 10/25 – Surf Scoter in Somers Bay, Flathead Lake (Craig H.) 10/27 – 8 Greater White-fronted Geese on West Valley Ponds with Canada Geese flocks (Dan C.) 10/27 – Surf Scoter on Foy’s Lake…
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