by Darcy Thomas Eleven hardy birders braved the cold, windy morning on April 10th to go bird watching around Smith Lake. We were rewarded for our discomfort by spending a morning in great company and seeing many beautiful birds. We saw a total of 31 species. Our highlights included Sandhill Cranes which we saw at…
Read More
by Pete Fisher The 21st Kalispell Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, December 29, 2019. Milder than usual weather (28-32 degrees F) and minimal snow cover (1 inch) made for an interesting count. The “Flathead Gull Sanctuary” (The Dump) was fruitful this year, providing five gull species. These included the count’s first ever Lesser…
Read More
by Lewis Young, compiler The 25th annual Eureka Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 16 in mild weather that ranged from 22F to 35F. Twenty-two field observers and 15 feeder watchers recorded 69 species and 2779 individual birds. The 69 species were the second highest total in our history. Three new species were…
Read More
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
15 new species have been added to the bird list for Owen Sowerwine Natural Area! Twelve of the added species are the result of some detective work by our new Keeper of the OSNA List, Shawn Richmond. When Shawn took on this new job in November, she began digging into the ebird records for observation…
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,…
Read More