Thanks to our 2022-2023 Bird of the Month Authors!

by Darcy Thomas Please give a big shout-out to our fabulous Bird of the Month (BOM) authors who wrote great articles for your reading enjoyment this year. Sneed Collard gave us the Black-backed Woodpecker, Theresa Ciraolo imparted her newfound love of the Common Merganser, Kat Peterson imparted her knowledge of the American Crow, Karen Nichols…

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Kalispell CBC 2022 Results

The 24th Kalispell Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, January 1, 2023.   A total of 75 species was recorded, a number which is about average for this count.    Highlights included the 2nd ever Yellow-headed Blackbird (Craig Hohenberger et. al.), the 2nd ever Pied-billed Grebe (Elaine Snyder et al.), the 3rd ever Northern Saw-whet Owl…

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Smith Lake Field Trip Report – September 2021

by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful September 8 with  eleven birders joining Darcy Thomas around the lake. Two were visiting from out-of-state and the youngest was only 5 years old. It was a bit chilly at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably…

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Smith Lake Field Trip 9-8-21 Report

by Darcy Thomas A morning of bird watching September 8 at Smith Lake in Kila was very successful. Eleven birders joined leader Darcy Thomas; two were visiting from out-of-state; the youngest was 5 years old. It was a bit chill at 41 degrees when we started but warmed up comfortably later in the morning. A…

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February 2018 Chirps and Squawks

Highlights from January 2, 2018 Board Meeting Because FAS made only about $4,000 from the 2018 calendar sales we will not produce another phenology calendar next year. FAS plans to apply for inclusion in the Great Fish Challenge sponsored by the Whitefish Community Foundation. No Birdathon is planned for this year because FAS is hosting…

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Ninepipes CBC 2016 Report

by Brian Williams The Ninepipes Christmas Bird Count was held on Sunday, 18 December 2016.  Sixteen observers braved the single-digit weather and treacherous roads to count birds.  The deep cold made open water scarce and held our total species down a bit from 5 and 10 year averages, but we found some excellent birds.  Short-eared…

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Kalispell CBC 2016 Report

by Pete Fisher The 18th annual Kalispell Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held on January 1, 2017.  Twenty-eight intrepid field observers braved wind and drifting snow to count 75 species of bird. Four feeder watchers contributed data as well. Major highlights were an Iceland Gull at the Flathead Dump and a Northern Saw-whet Owl at…

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Common Raven

Common Raven

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…

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Black-billed Magpie

By Denise Hester “WOW! What is that bird?” These are often the words of amazement uttered by a first-time-from-back-east visitor to the Flathead Valley when they first see a Black-billed Magpie. While it is a large eye-catching black and white bird ( 17 1/2 -22″/44-56 cm) with a dark bill, head, breast, and under parts,…

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