A Successful Raptor Quest

by Darcy Thomas The first day of November brought overcast skies to the Flathead Valley making the 30 degree outside temperature feel even colder. But that was not daunting enough to stop 11 birders intent on looking for raptors around Creston. And we were well rewarded. The first bird seen was a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying…

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Spring 2023 Migration in Glacier National Park

by Kathy Ross May 20: A good day for birds and butterflies in Glacier National Park with Steve Gnaidek and Kathy Ross.  Birders local and from around the country joined in this field trip, exploring favorite birding haunts in the park. Warblers abounded, as mating Rufous hummingbirds delighted, fliting among willows and dogwood of the…

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Surrounding NW Montana CBC 2022 Results

Upper Swan CBC December 15 Upper Swan held its annual Christmas Bird Count on Thursday, December 15, with nine field observers. We had decent weather with temperatures ranging from 19 to 27, cloudy skies, and wind at 7 mph.  Most still water was frozen and moving water was partly open. Snow depths ranged from six…

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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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Earth Day 2022 Celebration Field Trip at Creston Fish Hatchery

by Darcy Thomas Everybody had a bird they wanted to see and I think everyone got their wish today at the Creston Fish Hatchery. Ten birders watched an Osprey  at its’ nest and later watched as the same Osprey dove at a Bald Eagle in another tree a couple of times before the later flew…

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February 27th, 2022 Field Trip Report: Creston Fish Hatchery

by Margaret Parodi and Kathy Ross The day dawned cloudy and cold (22 degrees) and fortunately there was little wind. We had a good turnout of birders. Some open water helped our observation and hearing of 26 different species. Two American Dippers were jumping around in the creek and singing near the hatchery building. Six…

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Glacier National Park CBC 2021 Results

by Lisa Bate Glacier National Park (GNP) held its annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Twenty-two participants contributed to this event by covering 10 different routes in Glacier. Participants spent the day counting all bird species and individuals detected. The weather was overcast with light winds, and temperatures ranged between 29…

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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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