Missoula Birding

2019 Field Trip Schedule

birders at Lee Metcalf NWR – photo by Jean Duncan

Preliminary field trip schedule for 2019 – see our calendar for up-to-date details

Feb 2 Deer Lodge Valley
Feb 23 Mission Valley
Mar 23 Metcalf NWR
Apr 6 Ninepipes (Short-eared Owls)
Apr 27 Brown’s Lake
May 19 (Sun) Bandy Ranch
May 25 & 26 Freezout & Benton Lakes
Jun 7-9 M A Bird Festival (Glasgow)
Jun 16 (Sun) Open Cross Ranch
Jun 21-23 Bowdoin NWR
Jul 4-7 Glacier
Aug 24 Canyon Ferry
Sep 14 Pablo, Kicking Horse, & Ninepipes Reservoirs
Oct 5 Roger’s Pass (Raptor banding)
Oct 27 (Sun) Brown’s Lake
Nov 2 Metcalf NWR
Dec 8 (Sun) Mission Valley

Free birding software

Pete Thayer offers free bird ID and life history software for Birds of North America for young birders As of September 21, 2018 any young birder in pre-K, grade school, middle school or high school will be able to download the new version … Continue reading →

Gadwall natural history

Duck enthusiasts, if you want to know a bunch about the Gadwall the you may be interested in a new e-book on the Natural History of the Gadwall by Tom Reaune. Happy reading!

Identifying Juvenile Sparrows

Even as adults, these “LBJs” can be tricky. To identify the juveniles, pay special attention to the flight feathers and subtle facial patterns. Here is an article from Birding magazine that gives some useful tips from experts. … Continue reading →

A Field Guide to a Warmer Future

Audubon’s Christmas Bird Counts, conducted for over 100 years, have shown changes in bird distribution as our climate changes. Read about birds and a warmer future on Audubon’s website. You can also download their report as a pdf. … Continue reading →

Comparison of Harlan’s with Western and Eastern Red-tailed Hawks

Telling the difference between a Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk and a “regular” Redtail can be a challenge. Here is a detailed review of the differences, published by the ABA. … Continue reading →

Wings Over Water – an Osprey middle-school curriculum

Dr. Erick Greene, Professor of Biology at the University of Montana, has been studying Ospreys for many years. He runs the Montana Osprey Project, with its two webcams, here in Missoula, and a worldwide audience. Last year Erick approached Five … Continue reading →

Festival Awards for Local Members

Longtime Chapter member Larry Weeks was recognized as Environmental Educator of the Year, for his outstanding commitment as our Community Naturalist for the past 13 years. Larry is a retired pulp and paper technology engineer, who worked at the Smurfit-Stone … Continue reading →

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