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Waking up on Saturday morning, I went down to the old reliable birding spot. The birds present were the usual cast of characters. You know Canada Geese, Mallards, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon Teals, and American Coots. The hordes of male Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds called from the cattails. The first female Red-winged Blackbirds had also arrived. I had an amazing opportunity to photography a rather cooperative Northern Shoveler drake, a species that I have never gotten a decent image of in the past. What a beautiful morning.

After some lunch, I decided to go a for hike in the sun up Sypes Canyon. This trail was full of first of season flowers and butterflies. In the forest, Ruby-crowned Kinglets sang from the tops of Douglas-firs. Many Dark-eyed juncos were also giving their song. The first Mourning Cloaks and Spring Azures of the season were in flight.

On Sunday evening, I took a short hike in the Triple Tree area. As I was meandering along I heard a vaguely familiar song. There amongst of the black hawthorns was a lone, fearless Fox Sparrow. He was singing at a frantic rate of effort. In the past, I have managed only bad, I stress bad, images of this species in Glacier National Park. He landed on a few different perches, all of which were in the good light. I was like a pig in slop. The hike itself reminiscent of my childhood wanderings. No real destination, just looking at everything…taking it all in with no agenda.

Continue reading »]]> July 4th, Independence Day – so what better time to wade chest deep in the middle of a bunch of grebes? There were plenty of Western and Eared Grebes swimming around – definitely a great experience.

On the way back to Bozeman, I decided to drive up to Fairy Lake and do a little off-trail exploring. The results were a soul fulfilling time in an alpine meadow with spectacular views of the Bridger Range.

Continue reading »]]> Every year (well almost), Sam Koenen and I make a trip to the Pryor Mountains and specifically Bear Canyon for bird species that cannot be found elsewhere in the state or are very difficult to find. These include Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canyon Wren, Blue Grosbeak, and rarities such as Black-throated Gray Warbler. Full trip report at WilderTrack.

Our route took us first to Itch-Kep-Pe Park near Columbus and Barb Jaquith’s house in Red Lodge. The park produced White-breasted Nuthatches and a multitude of songsters. The sunrise was spectacular and Barb’s house kick ass as usual. At Red Lodege, there was lots of interesting variations of plumage coloration among the Red Crossbills. There was also a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird and several Cassin’s Finches among the Pine Siskins.

Leaving Red Lodge, we headed for Bear Canyon. When we arrived the morning was cool and ground was actually damp. Immediately, the Rock Wrens and Dusky Flycatchers were singing. We found many Blue-gray Gnatcatchers as the Sagebrush Lizards scurried in the undergrowth. White-throated Swifts were very active and vocal. Say’s Phoebes were in abundance as well. Besides the birds, we had several great butterflies; Acmon Blue, Melissa Blue, Sagebrush Checkerspot, Nevada Skipper and Juniper Hairstreak.

Leaving the canyon, we headed towards Gyp Spring for Mountain Plovers (hopefully). As we drove to the spring, we turned up Loggerhead Shrikes and Sprague’s Pipit. Arriving at the spot, we started scanning the short vegetation for the plovers, and there it was, a lone Mountain Plover followed by woo-hoos and high fives. After this we decided, to keep driving until we were south of the border – the Wyoming border that is. We had no maps or experience in this area, but we managed to come out at Cowley, Wyoming. We headed back into Montana and stop at the traditional Blue Grosbeak spot, and we could not find any grosbeaks. We did, however, turn up a Northern Mockingbird (my second state record). I managed a few documentation images. From here we headed back to Bozeman.

Full trip report at WilderTrack.

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Singing Veery

In the afternoon, I decided to go for a hike along the new Drinking Horse Mountain Trail, which is a great route for birding and doing a little flower photography. I was treated to great views of Green-tailed Towhees, Rock Wrens, and a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

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Topographic Trail Map

Continue reading »]]> After 3 days and nights  of solid work, I went for a little hike up to Kirk Hill for a little birding, photography, and relaxation. I took the unofficial “very” long loop that goes through several old cuts. The typical birds were singing and calling, and there were a plethora of Sara Orangetips flitting about as well. The hike was about 4 miles total and climbed about 100 feet, so it was a decedent workout also. This time of year the wildflowers are starting to really show off which made for some macro photography opportunities.

Continue reading »]]> Sometimes in birding and life, the weather is going to be dark and miserable, and then you will get a break in that weather. You need to take advantage of these relieving interludes, and that is exactly what we did today. Sam and I went up to the Triple Tree Area, and spotted most of the usual birds, including a First-of-Year Willow Flycatcher, and many new butterflies for the season (Silvery Blue, Variable Checkerspot, and a possible California Tortoiseshell).

Continue reading »]]> On Friday morning, Sam and I went up to Spanish Creek for a little forest birding. We also went to the Little Bear Creek area, which unbelievably neither of us had ever visited. We both had two life butterflies; Green Comma and Western Pine Elfin at Little Bear Creek Road.

Continue reading »]]> This Sunday was the first really hot day of the year. I went up to the Mount Ellis area, and I was graced with wildflowers and sparrows.

Later on in the day, Non-birding Vida and i went up to the Hyalite area. There is still a considerable amount of snow up there, so no hiking to the waterfalls (maybe in a week or so). Along Hyalite Creek, there were many Milbert’s Tortioseshells and Hoary Commas.

Continue reading »]]> We are very pleased to announce the release of WilderTrack 2.0. WilderTrack is the most comprehensive birding and outdoor-focused web application available. If you enjoy watching and studying the natural world, and you need to be able to record, track, and share your outdoor life easily and quickly, WilderTrack is definitely for you.

With WilderTrack you get access to more than 29,000 species in the current database and the ability to record all of your birding, wildlife, hiking, and other outdoor activities in one simple, easy-to-use online package – no downloading or installing software.

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There are a host of new improvements and features to the core software.

• The launch of WilderTrack for iPhone
• Improved performance
• Rare Bird and ID Challenge sighting entry
• Easier sighting entry with new and improved QuickSight

Remember, as a member of WilderTrack.com, you automatically receive access to WilderTrack for iPhone. Just go to wildertrack.com on your iPhone or find the web app at apple.com.

Continue reading »]]> Sam, a gentleman from Georgia named Lloyd Snyder and myself went for a most excellent day of birding around the south-central area of Montana. We started the day off at 4:00 AM with a couple of Sugar-free RockStar energy drinks for this kid. As the luminous dawn twilight progressed, we drove eastward toward Columbus.

Arriving at Columbus, we headed for Itch-Kep-Pe Park. The morning air was cold and thick with spritely songs of Yellow Warblers and American Robins sliced through the humid ether. I was observing a Spotted Sandpiper along the near flood Yellowstone River when Sam hailed me over for the first big surprise of the day. A Black-billed Cuckoo was calling from the thicket region along the north edge of park. Soon another cuckoo joined the chorus from ~50 yards away. Talk about a day fulfilled already.

We continued toward Red Lodge and Barb Jaquith’s amazing backyard. I had called Barb the evening before and she said the Black Rosy-finches were in her yard Sunday, but has with all all rosy-finches, there was no guarantee that they would be there tomorrow. As we pulled up along side the house, we had a few of the target finches, maybe 200! One more lifer for Lloyd, who is approaching 700 for his ABA count, quite a feat. We fired the cameras away as the finches eat seed and occasionally flushed by a domineering Common Grackle. A couple of Pine Siskins and Cassin’s Finches rounded out the yard birds. Many thanks to Barb for the great advise that helped make this trip an uber-success.

Onwards to the Pryor Mountains, the land of gnatcatchers, Mountain Plovers and lizards. This region is unlike anything else in the entire state, an area with a serious Southwest feel to it. Parking the car at the entrance of Bear Canyon, we quickly heard Rock Wrens and observe Mountain Bluebirds and many Lark Sparrows. We soon picked up the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a great bird for Montana. Along the road/trail, we had many butterflies including Juniper Hairstreak and a Skipper of some sort. Nearing the campground, White-throated Swifts were flying at close proximity to us. On the “flats” near Gyp Spring, we found 5 Mountain Plovers and a Horned Lark nest. Also, near the nest there where many mollusk fossils, which were Gryphaea.

After the Pryors, we headed over for the Boulder River and Mission Creek areas. We picked up a few species in the Boulder area and crossed the divide over into the Mission Creek uses Swingley Road. We made several stops on the road without much new being sighted. Near the old gravel pit, we had our biggest surprise of the day. A Yellow-bellied Marmot was standing erect alongside the road and calling rather insistently. Stopping to take pictures of the rodent, Sam exploded with, “There’s a bobcat“. Looking up the little cat was crossing the hillside slowly. It appeared to be hunting a marmot den from on high. This amazing animal allows us to shoot around 200 images each. Totally incredible.

After the bobcat, we stop at a patch of great habitat, and observed American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, MacGillvray’s Warbler and a displaying male Northern Harrier. From here we gassed up at Livingston, and went up the Shields River Valley and a stop at Cottonwood Reservoir. We picked up many waterfowls species, Willet, and Black Tern.

All in all, we finished the day with 125 birds and several great species being observed well. Below you can find a summary of these sightings.

Trip Map

Continue reading »]]> I will explain the but later.

Today I had the good fortune to go with Sacajawea Audubon group on a trip led by Lou Ann Harris. We had a medium sized group of about 15 souls. Our destination was the East Gallatin Recreation Area. We had several spring arrivals and a reacquainting with old friends. We were able to score Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and American Redstart for the warblers. Wilson’s Snipe was visible and calling in a wet pasture to the north. So many birds that were cooperating, I brought the camera and began to…I forgot the battery for the camera.

We continued through the cottonwood-aspen bottomland forest and picked up the first flycatcher of the year…a Least Flycatcher. As we continued to the lake, we were able to find Western Grebes, a lone Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, and Northern Shoveler. We circled the lake and the conversation turned to rare birds and dream birding locations. I meet an awesome couple who had just came from the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. They had a passion for birds and butterflies, and I was had gotten their names – I hope to run into them again. Speaking of Butterflies, we saw many Mourning Cloaks and the first Painted Lady of the year.

At the east end of the lake, a couple of Western Painted Turtles were basking on an exposed log. As we admired the turtles, Andrew Guttenberg (the wunderkind) spotted a Clark’s Grebe in with the Western Grebes. This was my Gallatin County bird…awesome. This is the aforementioned but.

As I stated before, I forgot my camera battery, so I returned to the East Gallatin in the evening. I managed to get images of the grebes and my first herp capture of the year, a Western Terrestrial Garter Snake who managed to stink my hand to a deplorable degree (see goofy self-portrait). 

Trip Report produced by WilderTrack.com