It’s that time of year for the largest citizen science project, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. All around the world, people are getting together to get outside and count birds in their areas.
Here in Northwest Montana, we’ve got quite a few Christmas Bird Counts. Check below for locations and dates. To participate in a Christmas Bird Count, contact the listed person.
(For even more Montana Christmas Bird Counts, check out the Montana Audubon Christmas Bird Count page here.)
Bigfork
Saturday, Dec. 17 Craig Hohenberger at asoleado2003@yahoo.com or (406) 890-1629
Upper Swan
Saturday Dec. 17 Adam Lieberg and adam@svconnections.org (406)754-3185
Libby
Saturday Dec. 17 Gene Reckin at gnreckin@gmail.com or home: (406)293-9344 or cell: (406) 291-8482
Eureka
Saturday, Dec. 17 Lewis & Lynda Young at llyoung@interbel.net or (406) 889-3492
Ninepipe
Sunday, Dec. 18 Brian Williams at brianwilliams406@gmail.com or (406) 721-1467
Glacier NP
Sunday, Dec. 18 Lisa Bate at Lisa_Bate@nps.gov or (406) 888-7833
Troy
Saturday, Dec. 31 Donald Jones at gr8gray@frontier.net or (406) 295-4291
Kalispell
Sunday, Jan. 1 Pete Fisher at fisherpete88@yahoo.com or (406) 250-9624
Bigfork CBC details
The 43st annual Bigfork Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, December 17th. First established in 1974, the Bigfork count circle is centered at the “Little Brown Church” north of Bigfork, and includes >30 miles of the Swan and Flathead Rivers, the north end of Flathead Lake, and habitats varying from croplands of the Lower Valley to the spruce-fir and cedar-hemlock forests in the Swan and Crane Mountain foothills. Bigfork became the first count in the state to report 90 species (in 2011), and always finds a diverse and surprising mix of birds, with nearly 150 species over the history of the count. This count typically depends on veteran group leaders to scour their usual areas, and we are always looking for additional participants to join in to help us gain a better understanding of our early winter bird populations. We will begin preparation for the count at the December 12th Audubon meeting, and will finalize groups before the count day. Contact Craig at asoleado2003@yahoo.com or 406-890-1629.
Kalispell CBC details
The 18th annual Kalispell count will be on New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1st. Centered at Reserve and Highway 93, the 15-mi diameter count circle includes Evergreen, much of the Flathead River corridor including the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area, Happy Valley, Herron Park, and the Kuhn’s Wildlife Area. This count has proven to be a popular New Year’s tradition. This count is “young” enough that we still have much to discover. And yet it is “urban” enough to include the homes, bird feeders, and favorite birding spots of many of our members! Our traditional start to this count is a group breakfast at 7:00 am; this year we will meet at Finnegan’s Restaurant at 660 East Idaho in Kalispell. It is here that we will finish assigning circle segments and field teams for the day’s efforts. If you are interested in participating, please sign up and leave your contact information at the December general meeting, or contact Pete Fisher at fisherpete88@yahoo.com or 406-250-9624.
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