Local Birds Home
Bird of the Month
Bird of the Month Archive
Birds of the Flathead
Bird Songs
Birding Hotspots
Wondering what to do if you find an injured bird?
CLICK HERE
 
   

2010 Archives >>       22009 Archives >>       2008 Archives >>       
2007 Archives >>       2006 Archives >>     2005 Archives >>
2012
 FEBRUARY
THE BLACK TERN - A WINGED SPECTER STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE
By Kathy Ross
Scanning the marshy flats of the Swan River Refuge in June, an ephemeral flash of luminous, sunlit wings catches the eye and intrigues the sense of wonder. Yes, it is live and it is a bird with a buoyant unique flight pattern of graceful swoops and aerial dives.
> MORE
 JANUARY  
THE AMERICAN CROW
By Dennis Hester
Who has not seen a Crow? If a person can identify only a few birds, one of them no doubt will be the Crow. It is well known because it is large, black, ubiquitous and noisy. In fact, the American Crow probably ranks with Turdus migratorus and Sturnus vulgaris (American Robin and European Starling) as the most observed and identifiable birds in North America.
> MORE
 
2011
 DECEMBER  
OSPREY, THE FISH HAWK
By Mary Nelesen
The osprey, like several of my friends and neighbors, has gone south for the winter seeking a warmer climate. And like my snow-bird friends, I know the osprey will return in the spring.
> MORE
 NOVEMBER  
DON’T YOU WISH YOU WERE A REDHEAD?
Life History and Ecology of One of Our Unusual
Local Nesting Waterfowl
By 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, they are in small groups and are a bit less common.
> MORE
 
 OCTOBER  
RUFFED GROUSE: FAVORITE BIRD OF FALL
By Ben Young
Nothing says spring like the first flight of northbound Canada Geese. And to me, no bird is more closely aligned with autumn than the Ruffed Grouse.
Ruffed Grouse are part of the gallinaceous family of birds. That’s fancy-talk meaning they are similar to chickens. Taxonomists lump them with other grouse, partridge, pheasants, ptarmigan and the like.
In Montana, grouse are split between those of the prairie and those of the forest. Sage and Sharptail Grouse are prairie birds. Ruffed Grouse are forest grouse, midsize between the diminutive Spruce Grouse and the husky Dusky (formerly Blue) Grouse.
 
> MORE
 
 SEPTEMBER  
THE MYSTERIOUS BLACK SWIFT
By Ben Young
A“Enigmatic.” “Unknown.” Take a glance at the species account for the Black Swift (Cypseloides niger) in your field guide and you’ll see such descriptors associated with aspects of its life history. How else can one describe a non-perching bird that is seen only as it flies (Sibley 2000) (often foraging high enough in the sky to escape detection with binoculars (Rathbun 1925), nests in dark crevices or on ledges near or behind waterfalls that receive little to no direct sunlight, and for which only 124 nest sites have been confirmed worldwide (Levad 2010)? To add to the intrigue, the wintering range for North American breeding birds remains unknown.
> MORE
 
 MAY
THE TENNESSEE WARBLER: SPRUCE BUDWORM SPECIALIST
Among the breeding wood warblers in Western Montana, the Tennessee Warbler has been the most elusive and difficult to see each summer. For 25 years, my husband Bruce and I have taken an annual May bike ride from the Trego area down Wolf Creek to the Fisher River and on to the Kootenai River. Each year we searched for this small, indistinctly marked warbler with a fine, sharp bill and a short tail with a distinctive three-part song. Finally, in 2010 we hit gold!
> MORE
 
 APRIL  
AMERICAN REDSTART
By Lewis Young
Although a member of the large family of wood-warblers that are sometimes difficult to tell apart, American Redstarts have distinctive color patterns and behavioral traits that make them relatively easy to identify. Adult males are glossy black with bright orange patches on wings, tail and sides. The belly and under the tail are white. Adult females are gray-olive above with white underparts and yellow patches on the tail, wings and sides. The birds are about 5 ¼ inches long with a 7 ¾ inch wingspan.
> MORE
 
 MARCH
SPRUCE GROUSE--A FOREST GUIDE
By Kathy Ross
Imagine the shock of hearing an engine start up in the middle of a beautiful forest a long distance from road or apparent civilization. I know I was truly puzzled and a little disconcerted by this mechanical sound in the quiet of a peaceful woodland setting, only to discover it was an important aspect of the forest ecosystem. The "drumming", as it is referred to, of grouse in our mountain forests is actually the rapid wing beats of male grouse letting the ladies know he is available for the spring mating season.
> MORE
 
 FEBRUARY
TREE SWALLOW
Article By Lisa Bate
It usually happens sometime in March. I am outside working on the farm when I hear what sounds like bubbling water flying overhead. Then I just smile knowing that the tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) have returned from their wintering grounds and with them, have brought the real beginning of spring to northwest Montana.
 
> MORE
 
 JANUARY  
THE SNOW SHOE BIRD, THE WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN
Article By Mary Nelesen
For the past five summers, I have searched in vain for a glimpse of a White-tailed Ptarmigan. This past summer, I was fortunate and saw a flock of them just by chance. My first experience in seeing this elusive bird was while walking along the Highline Trail at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. Two friends and I decided to stop and eat our lunch just below Haystack Butte. As we approached a large flat rock to sit on, we noticed four small speckled-brown birds nearby. Sure enough, there were 3 young and an adult Whitetailed Ptarmigan.  > MORE
 


 
 
TOP OF PAGE
 
 
 COPYRIGHT FLATHEAD AUDUBON SOCIETY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  

web solution by Pixel Solutions