by Craig Hohenberger The 47th annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 19, under cloudy skies, periodic light showers, with mild to moderate SW winds throughout the day. Snow depths were non-existent and/or limited to the higher eastern edges of the count circle; temperatures ranged from 36-46 degrees F. Lakes and ponds were…
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by 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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by Craig Hohenberger The 46th annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 14th, under cloudy skies, periodic “snow bands,” and relatively calm conditions all day. Snow depths were non-existent and/or limited to the higher eastern edges of the count circle; temperatures ranged from 31-39 degrees F. Rivers and lakes were mostly open and…
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by Craig Hohenberger, compiler The 44th annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 16th, under cloudy skies and mild weather conditions; snow depth 1-4 inches, temperatures ranged from 28-34 degrees F with little or no wind. Rivers and lakes were mostly open and there was a little ice on Flathead Lake at the edges….
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by Craig Hohenberger The 42nd annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 19th, under cloudy skies with snow late in the day, and temperatures of 27-35º. Thirty volunteer participants counted 12,911 individual birds of 83 species, plus another three species seen count week but not on count day. While we found no species…
Read MoreBy Ben Young And the winner for the “Most Despised Native Bird of North America” award is . . . the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). “An open solicitation for cowbird recipes.” Such titles as this in a prominent North American birding journal in 1994 illustrate the collective disdain for this native songbird among bird-watchers and…
Read MoreBy Linda DeKort If you ask when Yellow-rumped Warblers will be returning to our valley, Bruce Tannehill, from Flathead Audubon, will tell you immediately, “between April 25th and May 1st”. Bruce and his wife, Gail Cleveland, are avid birders who know their neighborhood birds intimately. Like the rest of us, they look forward to the…
Read MoreBy Gail Cleveland Although vireos are persistent singers during the breeding season, these rather plain birds seem to hide among the foliage of treetops and dense thickets, proving to be difficult to see. Consequently, they are one family that beginning bird watchers often overlook. Of this strictly New World family of birds, Northwest Montana has…
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By Ben Young I’m often asked by my students to name my favorite birds. I can sell them on the kingfishers, hummingbirds, trogons, and owls without much persuasion, but when I mention the Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), many are puzzled. How could such a common and seemingly ordinary bird be among my favorites? Consider the…
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