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…
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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…
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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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by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful September 8 with eleven birders joining Darcy Thomas around the lake. Two were visiting from out-of-state and the youngest was only 5 years old. It was a bit chilly at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably…
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by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching September 8 at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful. Eleven birders joined leader Darcy Thomas; two were visiting from out-of-state; the youngest was 5 years old. It was a bit chill at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably later in the morning. A…
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