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FEBRUARY |
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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.
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JANUARY |
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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.
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2011 |
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DECEMBER |
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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.
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NOVEMBER |
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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.
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OCTOBER |
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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.
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SEPTEMBER |
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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. >
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MAY |
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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! >
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APRIL |
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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. >
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MARCH |
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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.
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FEBRUARY |
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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.
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JANUARY |
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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.
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