by Dan Casey Rare and Notables – November/December 2023 Winter was slow to arrive, and our avifauna did not change much from the previous month. Scoters continued at Foy’s Lake; all three of our largest falcon species made appearances. Steller’s Jays, Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls were widespread, but Bohemian Waxwing numbers did not build…
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by Shannon Donaldson The 25th annual Kalispell CBC will take place on New Year’s Eve, Sunday, December 31. The Kalispell count area is a large circle, 15 miles in diameter, centered at the junction of Highway 93 and West Reserve Drive by Home Depot. From Happy Valley to the north and Herron Park to the south,…
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I am assuming all regional (local) leaders will be doing the Bigfork CBC once again. If you were a regional (local) leader last year, and are not participating in the Bigfork CBC this year, please let me know. I will be sending out the Bigfork CBC packets with bird checklists and maps of your respective…
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Highlights from the November 6, 2023, Board of Directors Meeting Great Fish Community Challenge Donor Thank You It’s cold outside, but inside, we’re feeling warmth toward all of you who donated so generously to Flathead Audubon through the Great Fish Community Challenge! These gifts allow us to provide the Flathead with field trips, programs, this…
Read MoreUpper 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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by Lisa Bate Glacier National Park (GNP) held its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Sixteen 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 dramatic with strong, gusty winds, heavy snow, and temperatures…
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by Jim Oates We had good weather for the 30th Annual Ninepipe Count on December 18, with temperatures 27 to 33, calm winds, mostly cloudy skies, and morning flurries. Most still water was frozen. Twenty-five participants counted about 80 species (up a little) and about 12,000 birds (down a little). About 3,000 of those were mostly…
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by Craig Hohenberger The 49th annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday, December 17, under cloudy skies and mild SE winds. Temperatures varied from 19 to 28. Snow depths were about 4 to 6 inches in the valley, and at the eastern edges of the count circle there was up to a foot of…
Read MoreRare and Notables – DEC 2022/JAN 2023 Mid-December through mid-January was a period with mostly gray skies, periodic snows, and one period of deep cold. As the snow and lakes iced over, raptor numbers declined, but several species of owls were among the notables. “Winter finches” were scarce, with few reports of redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks…
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