Sharp-shinned Hawk (photo by L. Harris)

MARCH RAPTOR TRIP

Join us on Saturday, March 3rd for a morning searching for raptors, along the roads of the northern Gallatin Valley.  On this early spring trip the focus will be on finding raptors, but there should be some other interesting birds along this route.  The trip ends early in the afternoon at Central Park Pond.  We will meet at the Museum of the Rockies at 8:30 am, and leave at 8:45.  Be sure to dress for the weather and bring any necessary drinks or snacks for this 4-5 hour trip.  If you have a spotting scope that you can bring, that would be helpful.  For more information call John Parker at 586-5863.

Photo by Beth Johns

Its been an exciting winter with record setting Christmas Bird Counts, the Snowy Owl invasion, and odd birds wintering in Montana like the Great-tailed Grackle at the Gallatin Valley Mall.  Its time to do our late winter bird survey on the Madison Valley IBA and it will be interesting to see if we turn up some different birds with the mild winter we have had this year.

The next IBA survey will be on Sunday, March 4th.  We will meet at the Ennis Pharmacy Cafe in Ennis at 7:15 if you want to eat breakfast there or a little later if you don't need breakfast.  We will try to leave the cafe for our bird counts by 8am.  We should be done and ready to leave by noon.

For more information, please email Paulette Epple at bigskyepplesATmsn.com or call at 406-580-6186.

Katy Duffy is the current interpretive planner for Yellowstone National Park. She previously worked as Yellowstone's south district interpretive ranger and as a interpretive ranger in Grand Teton National Park. She has studied and banded raptors in Wyoming, Montana, New Jersey, Alaska and Israel. She has an M.S. in ecology from Rutgers University.

The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips, which are listed here on the chapter's website.

Great-tailed Grackle (Photo by Nate Kohler)

A large blackbird has been causing quite a stir among the Montana birding community.  First sighted Feb. 2nd, this Great-tailed Grackle has been frequenting a local Mexican fast-food establishment over the past 2 weeks.  More likely to be seen in Texas or Arizona than Bozeman, this grackle is only the 3rd reported sighting in the state.  What would bring such a bird to Montana in February?  Well, the Great-tailed Grackle, once rarely seen north of Mexico, has seen a rapid expansion of its North American range.  By the end of the 20th century, it had nested in at least 14 states and was reported in 21 states and 3 Canadian provinces.  This coincided with habitat changes such as irrigation and urbanization.

The male is glossy black with purple iridescence, a long keel-shaped tail, large bill and yellow eyes.  In its normal inland habitat, it forages in open grasslands, pastures and lawns.  It has adapted to find food in dumpsters, lawns and trees in urban areas.  The grackle's diet includes insects, small vertebrates, plant matter and garbage.  Thanks to Nate Kohler for providing us with a great photo!

David Varricchio is a professor of paleontology at Montana State University. In college he studied both geology and paleontology. Working with Jack Horner, he earned his doctorate at Montana State University. His research combines geologic fieldwork with anatomy to address questions on dinosaur paleobiology. Ongoing work includes reproduction in theropod dinosaurs and its significance for bird evolution, burrowing in small herbivorous dinosaurs, and dinosaur social behavior. He has participated in fieldwork in the Sahara, Argentina, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and throughout the American West.

The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips, listed on the chapter's website at www.sacajaweaaudubon.org/.

Gyrfalcon - Photo by Lou Ann Harris

This adult Gyrfalcon was spotted recently in the Gallatin Valley.  A relatively rare winter visitor to Montana, Gyrs are the most northern diurnal raptor.  They inhabit circumpolar arctic and subarctic regions, but some birds will move south during fall and winter.  The Gyrfalcon is our largest falcon, and extremely variable in plumage, ranging from nearly pure white to almost uniform dark gray-brown.  The most common coloration we see in North America is an intermediate "gray" plumage.  It primarily feeds on birds, mostly ptarmigan in the far north, but also will take passerines, seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and some mammals such as hares.

Gyrfalcons show pronounced reverse sexual size dimorphism, with males weighing 65% less than females.

This particular bird seemed unfazed by interstate traffic, ambulance sirens and a passing train.

SAS January 2012 Newsletter

Steve Hoffman, Executive Director of Montana Audubon, will provide an update on "Bird Conservation and Monitoring Efforts in Montana" at the January 9, 2012 meeting of the Sacajawea Audubon Society. This illustrated program will feature the latest information on priority birds and bird habitat conservation efforts in Montana, including recent research findings. New program initiatives are underway by Montana Audubon and its many partners.  Hoffman will discuss grassland, wetland and riparian habitats, and the Important Bird Area Program, as well as provide species-specific updates for the Long-billed Curlew, Greater Sage-Grouse, Golden Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and various waterbirds of special concern.

A specialist in wildlife conservation, Steve Hoffman has been Executive Director of Montana Audubon since 2006. He earned an M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from Utah State University. He began his career as a Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in southern Arizona, and later worked as an Endangered Species Specialist for the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Albuquerque. After 10 years of government service, he launched HawkWatch International, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research and conservation of hawks, eagles and other birds of prey. After 12 years with HawkWatch, Steve returned to his birth state to become the Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Pennsylvania. In 2004 Steve moved to Bozeman to serve as Executive Director of Predator Conservation Alliance. Steve has written more than 30 scientific papers on raptor biology, conservation, endangered species management, and coyote ecology. He has given hundreds of presentations on various wildlife conservation and bird identification topics to varied audiences across the U.S. Hoffman is a member of the Sacajawea Audubon Society in Bozeman.

The Sacajawea Audubon Society meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., at the Hope Lutheran Church, 2152 W. Graf Street (off of South 19th), Bozeman. Audubon invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its field trips.

Photo by Ed Harper

Ennis Christmas Bird Count Smashes Previous Record

On Wednesday Dec 14, 2011 twenty-six intrepid souls gathered at Yesterday's Cafe prior to scouring the countryside for the  Ennis CBC.  The participants came from Ennis, Stevensville, Helena, Livingston, Deer Lodge, Sacramento and Bozeman.  The Ennis CBC was established in 1958 by Dr P. D. Skaar and, as luck would have it, his son Don was on hand to contribute to this year's stunning new record high count of 73 species.  Ed Harper was around way back in 1977 when an earlier record of 55 species was set and was also on hand for last year's new high count of 61.

Among the celebrated highlights of the count were Northern Goshawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Virginia Rail, Northern Pygmy Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker (2), Marsh Wren, Gray Catbird, Western Meadowlark and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.  In addition, a Blue Jay and 6 Evening Grosbeaks were seen today for count week.  But the bird of the count was certainly the Barn Owl that Ed Harper observed and photographed.  Clearly the CBC gods were smiling on Ennis on this December 14, 2011, the first day of the Christmas Bird Count season.  To read a recent article about the Ennis count in The Madisonian newspaper go here:  http://www.madisoniannews.com/2011/12/new-record-set-for-ennis-christmas-bird-count/

Photo by Ed Harper

Warm Temps and New Species Highlight Bozeman CBC

The Bozeman CBC was held Saturday December 17th, with near ideal conditions, sunny skies, calm, with highs in the forties. Thirty-nine participants from around Gallatin Valley covered 13 different routes within the Bozeman count circle.   A total of 59 species were seen this year, including three new species:  Snow Goose (8), Ross' Goose and Hermit Thrush.  Other unusual birds for the Bozeman count included Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Coot, Marsh Wren (only the second time on the count, with 4 wrens seen at two locations) and White-throated Sparrow. Also, there were lots of Bohemian Waxwings, and record numbers of Cedar Waxwings.  Because of an extra effort to cover the foothills of Gallatin Valley, there were new high counts of Red-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee and Townsend's Solitaire.

An extra special "thank you" goes out to Jean Perkins, who has hosted our after count gathering for many years.  She greets each person at the front door with a mug of hot cider and a smile, and of course, we all look forward to her delicious cookies!  Thank you, Jean!

Jean greets Joel Evers with a cup of cider.

The Keefer daughters select their cookie.

Ed Harper about to sample one of Jean's cookies.

30TH ANNUAL THREE FORKS CBC

The thirtieth Three Forks CBC took place on December 26.  Weather was pleasant and mild, with temperatures ranging from 25-39 degrees.  The wind came up later in the day, but probably did not exceed 10 mph.

Twenty observers participated, and recorded 6,568 individual birds of 59 species, not a record, but still a very impressive count.

Three species new to the Three Forks count were recorded, including one Sora, one American Dipper, and 3 Chipping Sparrows.  A high count was recorded for 8 species, including Trumpeter Swan (30), Canada Goose (1971), Sharp-shinned Hawk (4),Prairie Falcon (6), Eurasian Collared Dove (273), Black-billed Magpie (343), Canyon Wren (2), and Lapland Longspur (200).

Virginia Rail

Following the count, the group gathered at Joan Ryshavy's house to consolidate totals from the various teams.  Joan hosted the group for chili and crackers.  Thanks, Joan!

Come join the fun in one of our area’s Christmas Bird Counts.  The Christmas counts, started in 1900, are an opportunity for beginning and expert birders to get together and enjoy this holiday tradition.

Ennis -  Wednesday,  December 14th

Compiler:   Robin Wolcott   582-0070
Meet at Yesterdays Café in the Ennis Pharmacy, Ennis
at 7:30 AM

Bozeman -  Saturday, December 17th
Compiler:  John Parker  586-5863
Meet at Perkins Restaurant,  2505 West Main, Bozeman
between 7:00-7:30AM

West Yellowstone -  Sunday,  December 18th
Compiler:  John Heinie (w) 646-7001 (h) (406)640-0124
Meet at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
West Yellowstone at 8:30 AM

Livingston -   Sunday, December 18th  (NEW MEETING LOCATION)
Compiler:  Sally MacDonald 222-5752 or 223-9167
Meet at the Northern Pacific Beanery at 108 W. Park in
Livingston between 7:00-7:30 AM,
smacbirder@msn.com

Three Forks -  Monday,  December 26th
Compiler:  Dennis Flath 406-539-1145
Meet at Bair’s Truck Stop (Flying J at the
South side of the Belgrade Interchange)
at 7:00 AM

For more information, contact the count compilers. Please Contact the area compiler before the count, as this will give them the opportunity to plan and organize the count before the count day.  There is a $5.00 (kids are free) participation fee.  This money is sent to the National Audubon Society to pay for compiling and publishing the results of all of the Christmas Bird Counts.