by Linda de Kort It seems like yesterday, when our grandkids were still toddlers that we stood on the bridge overlooking the Whitefish River. It was a bright fall day and the flock of ducks that had gathered on the south side of the bridge fascinated the youngsters. The males were in their fresh breeding…
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by Lewis Young The 27th annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday December 14 in moderate weather that ranged from 28°F to 32°F. Koocanusa Reservoir was unfrozen as were the streams but smaller lakes and ponds were frozen. Foggy weather in the morning confronted the 25 people that went to the field as…
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The 26th annual Eureka Christmas bird count was held on Saturday, December 15 in mild weather that ranged from 31˚F to 41˚F. A record 33 field observers and 16 feeder watchers recorded 61 species and 4953 individual birds. The 61 species tied the fifth highest total in our history and the number of individuals was…
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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…
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by Lewis Young The 23nd annual Eureka Christmas bird count was held on Sunday December 20 in mild weather. We are one of about 30 counts in Montana that are part of National Audubon Society’s long running citizen science Christmas Bird Counts. Twenty people went to the field and 19 people counted at their feeders. …
Read MoreBy Linda DeKort One of the most significant changes for birders in the 2004 supplement of the American Ornithologist Union checklist, according to Sibley, was the split of Canada Goose into two species. “The former broad Canada Goose species has been divided into a large-bodied, interior- and southern-breeding species, and a small-bodied tundra-breeding subspecies. The…
Read MoreBy Gael Bissell Each spring, just after the ice melts and the bulk of the Northern Pintails and American Wigeon pass through our waters, I quickly look for the brightly colored Redheads (Aythya americana). I am not sure why I like these particular waterfowl; perhaps it’s because when I see them in the Flathead Valley,…
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By Ben Long All wild ducks are beautiful but for my money, the most beautiful is the Northern Pintail. They have a combination of aerial grace, striking plumage, heft and old-fashioned class. They are ducks with elan. There are some 35 species of ducks in North America, many of which find their way to the…
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