by Darcy Thomas 15 enthusiastic birders met at Church Slough on March 21 for a wonderful morning of watching waterfowl of all sorts. After an hour at the slough we followed the river, hopped over to Forest Hill Road, and finished up by walking a portion of Sonny Boon Trail. The rain blessedly kept at…
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by Michell De Leon Tyler Oh, how I love Spring! Not only because warmer weather and sunshine are coming, but also because Spring brings migratory birds back to the Flathead Valley. Every year, I wait in anticipation for the Ospreys to return. Ospreys migrate from South America to North America to breed. On April 7,…
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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…
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by Darcy Thomas On a drizzly day in May, a group of twelve from Flathead and Mission Audubon met at the University of Montana’s field station in Yellow Bay to learn about ecology and research of the Flathead Watershed, hear the famous food web disaster of Mysis shrimp, and enjoy a quick picnic before tromping…
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Latest on Avian Influenza A(H5) and A(H7) by Carole Jorgensen Local media sources have mentioned the continued spread of avian flu and implicated wild birds as major vectors in the state. Waterfowl, particularly dabbling ducks, are thought to be a reservoir of influenza A(H5) and A(H7). The March 2023 USDA update of avian influenza detections…
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Upper Swan CBC December 15 Upper Swan held its annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 15, with nine field observers. We had decent weather with temperatures ranging from 19 to 27, cloudy skies, and wind at 7 mph. Most still water was frozen and moving water was partly open. Snow depths ranged from six…
Read MoreThe 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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by Darcy Thomas Our Bird of the Month authors deserve a wonderful word of praise for their contributions to the newsletter this year. Once again, we had a couple of new authors including Alex Crowley who is a 12-year-old bird lover who wrote about the American Coot and even included his own drawings for 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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The 29th annual Eureka Christmas bird count was held on Saturday December 18 on a snowy day that ranged from 17°F to 27°F. Koocanusa Reservoir was unfrozen as were the streams but smaller lakes and ponds were completely frozen. Sixteen people went to the field and 15 feeders were counted as well. We recorded 55…
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