By Beth Gardner I must admit, the Brown Creeper is one of my favorite birds. What is it about this little drab bird? Is it the humorous behavior? Is it the mystery of the bird? Or is it just the funny name? With a name like that you are left wondering if this is a…
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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 MoreKalispell CBC 2022 Results
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…
Read MoreGolden-crowned Kinglets
Hardly a Life of Royalty by Karen Nichols Golden-crowned Kinglets are a mystery and a marvel of wintertime survival in the north woods. These grey and olive birds weigh only the mass of two pennies — just bigger than a Rufous Hummingbird. This species is Montana’s smallest permanent resident passerine and it eats insects all…
Read MoreGlacier National Park CBC 2021 Results
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…
Read MoreConservation Educator’s Niche – April 2021
by Denny Olson Frustrated with Birding ID by Ear? Help is on the way! There are 270 nesting species of birds in Montana, and 435 species that we know have at least passed through on their travels. They all make some kinds of noises, and those noises are at least slightly different from each other,…
Read MoreEureka CBC 2020 Results
by Ellen Sullivan and Lewis Young The 28th annual Eureka Christmas bird count was held on Friday, December 18 in mild weather that ranged from 34°F to 40°F. The count this year was conducted with appropriate Covid-19 protocols which accounted for a reduced number of field going observers. Sixteen people went to the field and…
Read MoreJanuary 2021 Program
Montana’s Amazing Native Fish: where truth is stranger than fiction presented by Beth Gardner (watch a replay of the presentation over here) Have you ever heard of fish that doesn’t like to swim? Or how about the one so primitive and bizarre that it is surely a ghost from very ancient times? Beth has picked…
Read MoreEureka CBC 2019 Results
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…
Read MoreEureka CBC 2017 Report
by 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…
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