By Dan Casey Selected Rare and Notables – May-August 2024 Spring migration did not provide many surprises, but as we moved into summer, some interesting trends developed. Yellow-breasted Chats, typically rare here, were reported from the south edge of the county, Somers, Creston, Columbia Falls and Glacier NP. Individual Common Grackles were reported regularly, and…
Read MoreBy Dan Casey Rare and Notables – MAR/APR 2024 In typical fashion, late March and early April provided a variety of migrant waterfowl at Flathead Valley hotspots. Eurasian Wigeon were seen at multiple sites, and a hybrid wigeon was photographed at Church Slough. Greater White-fronted Goose and the Siberian form of Tundra Swan made appearances…
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Flathead Land Trust is working to conserve a 400-acre portion of the Sandhill Crane staging area in West Valley. Laura Katzman of the Land Trust reported on this project at our October meeting. Here is a short summary for those who missed her presentation. Large numbers of Sandhill Cranes, at times more than 400 birds, gather…
Read MoreBy March Mahr The Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is the largest waterfowl in North America and the largest swan in the world. Yet there’s more than their size to blow a horn about—Trumpeter Swans are making a comeback. Once abundant and widespread within a wide band extending from Alaska along the Pacific Coast to the…
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