On Saturday, Sam and I went for an afternoon of birding to Ennis Lake and Harrison Reservoir. With the influx of Sabine’s Gulls in Montana, we were hoping for a glimpse or two of these northern Larids as they pass through our corner of the world.

Scanning from the Meadow Creek campground, there were the usual thousands of American Coots with up to 100 Common Loons feeding beyond them in the deeper portions of the lake. The smattering of Redheads added flashes of color to the rafts of coots. It was unusually calm and hardly any wind, which does not happen at Ennis Lake - ever.

Rounding the outlet end of the lake, we stopped at the turn-out just after the small hill, and there were 2 Sabine’s Gulls that quickly took flight. We were able to watch these birds as they flew tern-like over the water. The original two gulls were joined by a third, and we were able to get a few decent documentation photos of the birds.

After refueling at the Town Pump, we toured on to Harrison Reservoir, where we had Black-bellied Plovers and Long-billed Dowitchers along with the requisite Killdeer in the mudflats.

Leaving Harrison, we find a Ferruginous Hawk and a real nice Pronghorn buck.

Full trip report from WilderTrack.com