by Lisa Bate, Wildlife Biologist, Glacier National Park Glacier National Park (GNP) held its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday, December 17, 2023. Thirty participants contributed to this event by covering 10 different routes in Glacier and one bird feeder just outside the park, but within the circle. Participants spent the day counting all…
Read MoreTag: Common Goldeneye
Glacier CBC 2022 Results
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…
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 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 MoreSmith Lake Field Trip Report – September 2021
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…
Read MoreSmith Lake Field Trip 9-8-21 Report
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…
Read MoreFreezout Lake Field Trip
by Cory Davis Duck, Duck, Goose! And goose, and goose, and goose. The annual FAS migration to Freezout Lake, south of Choteau, occurred March 25-26 and included anywhere from 8-17 participants depending on when you checked in with us. Those from the Flathead Valley headed out from Kalispell Saturday morning and enjoyed a thorough day…
Read MoreNinepipes CBC 2016 Report
by Brian Williams The Ninepipes Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, 18 December 2016. Sixteen observers braved the single-digit weather and treacherous roads to count birds. The deep cold made open water scarce and held our total species down a bit from 5 and 10 year averages, but we found some excellent birds. Short-eared…
Read MoreKalispell CBC 2016 Report
by Pete Fisher The 18th annual Kalispell Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held on January 1, 2017. Twenty-eight intrepid field observers braved wind and drifting snow to count 75 species of bird. Four feeder watchers contributed data as well. Major highlights were an Iceland Gull at the Flathead Dump and a Northern Saw-whet Owl at…
Read MoreField Trip Report: Lost Trail NWR
By Margaret Parodi. Seventeen people participated in the Flathead Audubon field trip to the Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge (northwest of Marion) on June 19. Participants met at the refuge headquarters at 8:30 am. The day was cool, breezy, and sunny, with morning temperature in the lower 50’s, later reaching a high of 65 degrees. The…
Read More