Bill stained with blood and talons sunk deep into the formerly lively body of a ground squirrel, an impressive Bald Eagle stands atop his meal for today. Each spring, a bounty of eagles and hawks flood into the intermountain valleys of the Northern Rockies. After a winter that may have been spent with meager rations, the first flush of life in the spring is not a living bouquet of wildflowers, but rather the emergence of relatively nondescript brown rodents that begin scurrying about the still snow-covered fields. The raptors know that event is about to take place and they have been waiting patiently for the past couple weeks. Each day, a few more arrive and start their solemn perch, waiting for the Gathering of Eagles.
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Sam Koenen and I went out to attend the opening festivities of the Gathering on a beautiful, bluebird day (well, actually we found no bluebirds, but soon). Along the Gallatin River and the nearby Swamp Creek area, there was a great concentration of eagles, in particular Bald Eagles. We had 32 eagles between here and the more upland areas of Springhill, although only 1 more eagle was seen on Springhill. 2 Golden Eagles were seen also along with several Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks. Earlier in the day, I had seen a single Prairie Falcon as well. Among the Red-tailed Hawks, we had a juvenile “Harlan’s-type” at the Central Park Pond. The bird was a dark-morph with heavy white spangling. Sam found a reference image in Wheeler Plate 410-11, page 361. At the pond, the notable waterfowl were several Trumpeter Swans and a few Ring-necked Ducks, and along the irrigation canal beside Swamp Creek Road, we managed to see 8 Green-winged Teals.
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Full trip report at WilderTrack
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