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2008
Archives >> 2007
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2006
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2005
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2009 |
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DECEMBER |
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NORTHERN FLICKER - UNSUNG HERO OF THE CAVITY -
NESTING WORLD
By Lisa Bate
See a flash
of red-orange from a flying bird, hear the familiar
“flicka, flicka, flicka” call and I know that one of my
favorite birds has just landed. It is the Northern
Flicker (Colaptes auratus)! This species is unmistakable
in the field because the lower surface of its wings and
tail are a bright salmon color. Yet it is not just the
color of the flicker that makes it one of my favorite
birds.
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NOVEMBER |
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COMMON RAVEN - PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE BIRD WORLD
By Gail Cleveland
The acrobatic aerial display of two jet black
birds soaring, wheeling and tumbling with wingtips
touching --- inverted commas in the sky. This spring
scene is the mating display of the Common Raven, the
largest of the passerines (perching birds) that has
“become the most widely naturally disturbed bird in the
world, inhabiting the same continents as humans and at
home in as many diverse habitats.”
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OCTOBER |
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THE
GREAT GRAY GHOSTS OF THE NORTH
By Melissa Sladek
One dark, cloudy, fall morning I took a stroll
through the forest. My dog and I favor a piece
of state land that, other than taking some
effort to get to, is full of trails and woods, a
perfect place for a pair of explorers like us.
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SEPTEMBER |
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SUMMER VISITORS
Article and Photos by Jeannie Marcure
Because we live in such a desirable tourist
destination, many of us have frequent visitors during
our beautiful short summers. In fact, a common joke
around the Flathead describes our climate as nine
months of winter and three months of relatives!
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JULY - AUGUST |
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YOUNG HUMMERS
PREPARE FOR TAKE-OFF
By
Linda de Kort
The whir of young hummingbirds is in the air as
they buff up and prepare for their southern
journey. Their parents arrived here last spring
from as far away as Mexico. Most adults have
already started their return to their wintering
grounds and the young will be leaving by the end
of this month.
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MAY - JUNE |
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BEAK-TO-BEAK WOODIES VS. HARLEYS
Article and Photos
By John Ashley
There are only two serious contenders for the most
dazzling duck in western Montana. The male Wood Duck and
male Harlequin Duck are easily our most decked-out
waterfowl. But other than looking outrageously handsome,
there are surprisingly few similarities between these
two Montana natives.
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APRIL |
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A MONTANA SANDPIPER
By Jeannie Marcure
Now that spring is officially here, it seems appropriate
to write about one of my favorite spring arrivals— the
Spotted Sandpiper. Before I became serious about
birding, the word sandpiper evoked an image of sunny
tropical beaches filled with small unidentifiable birds
playing happily in the surf. However, as I became more
knowledgeable, I learned that one of these fascinating
little birds actually spends the summer and raises young
in the Flathead.
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MARCH |
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TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES -
SUGGESTION OF SPRING
By Gail Cleveland
It is late February; the snow is still covering
the backyard with deep, crusty snow. I am looking for a
harbinger of spring. The mountain ash berries are nearly
gone, eaten by the resident winter flock of Pine
grosbeaks and an occasional flock of waxwings. But there
are still a few berries at the ends of the branches.
When I look out the window, I see not one, but two
heralds of Spring taking advantage of the last of the
berries, one common, an American robin, and the other a
rare treat at our house from February through April, a
Townsend’s solitaire.
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FEBRUARY |
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THE BIRDS IN BACKWARDS
TUXEDOS
By Linda DeKort
The first time I spotted a flock of Evening
Grosbeaks at a feeder adjacent to Owen Sowerwine Natural
Area, I thought I was witnessing escapees from a
tropical bird aviary. The plumage of these stocky
robin-sized birds is stunning and unmistakable.
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JANUARY |
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SPECIES AT
RISK: CLARK'S NUTCRACKER
By Mary Nelesen
The Clark’s nutcracker, named after the famed
Lewis and Clark explorer, Captain William Clark,
was mistaken for a woodpecker when first sighted
by The Corps of Discovery while they camped with
the Shoshone Indians near Idaho’s Lemhi River,
on August 22, 1805.>
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