Birding Montana's NWRs

The morning we left Malta, Ann picked me up and we went birding at Bowdoin Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This seems to be a hot location. When researching it, I noticed a few Audubon clubs from other states have organized trips specifically to this refuge. It’s been very dry, which helps the bug situation, and by the way, it’s so bad in Malta, that a truck spraying a fog of pesticides drives thru the town every THREE days. But for wildlife, the drought is bad news. White alkali flats have replaced the water across most of the refuge. Ann doesn’t recall the water level ever being this low. Despite the dryness, we saw American White Pelicans nesting on a sandbar in the first section where a small amount of water remained. 

We had the delightful experience of finding four Burrowing Owls! Thru the scope, Ann was able to get a good look at their yellow eyes. 

Check her out- digiscoping already!

We saw a few pronghorn antelope and enjoyed watching them bounce across the refuge.

One of my target birds was the Lark Bunting, and we happily found 16 of them, both males and females!

Lark Buntings above, Western Meadowlark below

Once we reached the far side of the refuge, a good portion of water was visible again and the marsh contained a ton of activity! Black-necked Stilts with their pink legs grabbed Ann's attention.

A lone Wilson's Phalarope

And sadly it was time to say goodbye to Ann and continue east. We had so much fun visiting and seeing her hometown. Hopefully she will come visit us soon! 

A week prior, while we were staying in Great Falls, I spent half a day at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. I was excited to read the Sharp-tailed Grouse can be seen from blinds here. When I called to inquire about access, I learned they were only at the blinds during their lek (mating season), and that time had passed. At this point the birds could be anywhere on the refuge. Shoot!

The refuge consists of expansive plains. This is called the pothole prairie. On the entrance road, I startled a bird, and low and behold it was none other than the SHARP-TAILED GROUSE! Not just one! I counted six of them! What luck and a great start to my day! At the visitor center, I asked about a handful of my target birds, one being the Ferruginous Hawk, and was told they used to be in the area, but no more. They have a nice collection of animal skins and skulls I'm sure my children would have liked to see.

I was delighted to find Eared Grebes toting their young on their back!

Along the water, the bugs were SERIOUS! 

I saw actual gray clouds of bugs. Yikes! Fortunately not the biting kind.

I noticed a Marbled Godwit chick in the grass near the marsh.

Then I spotted the parent keeping an eye on its young.

The water level was quite low and distant from the overlook. After this stop it was time to head home. 

On my way out, just before I passed the visitor center, I spotted this beauty standing in the prairie. 

A Ferruginous Hawk!!!

When I stepped out to take a photo, it took flight and a swallow took chase. What an amazing end to my day at the refuge! Of course I made one last stop at the visitor center where the rangers were excited to see my photos of the Ferruginous Hawk!

Back at the Refuge

Desert National Wildlife Refuge, in Nevada, is where my birding life began, so how special for me to take my dear friends there for their first birding experience. Danyell and Ben accompanied me on my first visit back. Danyell already has a fondness of birds, and her husband, Ben, is an excellent photographer (check out his work here) so I figured he'd enjoy the challenge of bird photography.

Shortly after we arrived, we ran into Jeanne, whom led the Audubon walk at Mt Charleston the prior week. Jeanne graciously walked us over to the Cooper's Hawk nest where we watched the mom feeding her young, though nearly full-sized, fledglings. Still in the nest, but preparing for their first flight by flapping their wings and hopping around the nest, means it won't be long now.

Jeanne also pointed out a Black-chinned Hummingbird nest! At chest height and only a couple feet from the trail, it was a great view. We stood back from the nest but in a place we could see with our long lenses and binoculars, and held still. Soon the hummingbird returned to the nest and we were able to get a photo before moving on to let her relax. 

We were amused by a number of Desert Spiny Lizards running across the trails looking like little dinosaurs. 

A week later I went back with my friend, Susan, for her first birding experience. This time I came prepared with my scope. When we reached the orchard, I spotted a Blue Grosbeak. I quickly put the bird in the scope for Susan and received the usual shock and awe response when someone sees their first bird in a scope. We were able to watch him for a bit before his mate showed up, which gave Susan a great example of the sexual dimorphism of birds. We were able to see both nests thru the scope. 

Both days we managed to see a decent variety of birds, despite the 100+ heat and short walk. I still can't get over my friends seeing a Cooper's Hawk nest with young, plus a hummingbird on a nest on their very first birding walk! I've been birding regularly for 6 years now and this week is the first time I've seen a hummingbird nest at all! I hope it was as memorable for my friends as it was for me being with them for such a special experience.

My third and last visit was with my family. Sadly the kids hardly remember when this was our backyard. In 2015 we volunteered here for four months in exchange for a campsite on property. It was an amazing experience, but the kids were only four at the time. (This was our actual campsite, just a short walk to the visitor center and trails!)

Asher is really interested in rocks and fossils, so we drove him out to Fossil Ridge to explore. It's a bumpy drive on the gravel road and much farther than it appears from the visitor center, but it was fun.

Along this steep slope, you can find large nautilus fossils inside the ridge's rock. 

St Marks NWR & fun with family

Nicole is staying only 2 hours away from Tallahassee this summer, so on her "weekend" she picked me up and we spent two days birding St Marks National Wildlife Refuge along the gulf in the panhandle. We arrived at dawn and as soon as we exited the vehicle, the earth-shaking bellowing of alligators began. When one stopped another nearby would start. We followed their calls past eight different alligators! 

 Sunset over the gulf.

Upon entering the park the next morning, we were greeted by a fawn and her parents.

We ate lunch at a place we now refer to as the "Six Tern bench". It's a beautiful spot along the river where we found six species of terns, gulls, skimmers, and even our first ever sighting of baby Clapper Rails! They are the cutest little, black puffballs!

And THOUSANDS of fiddler crabs! We loved watching the males do their synchronized waves as the females walked by. 

 I've heard this frog many times, and finally saw one despite his fantastic camouflage!

 

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A trip to Wakulla Springs was cut short by lightning. The kids had barely gotten their feet wet when the rain began, as we waited in the visitor center, lightning was spotted, so after a bit, we gave up and headed to the buffet.

 A trip to the Orlando Science Center

Before saying goodbye to our family, we had a day of fun with Alecs and Elena. First we introduced the kids to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline place. They loved it!

Next we went to the local pool where Journey actually swam for the first time and Asher went down his first big water slide! He and Alecs went down it over and over so many times we lost count.

Initially the lifeguard was catching Asher at the end and helping him to the side. He asked if he could try doing it all by himself and he did! I'm proud of him trying new things and learning what he is capable of.

Of course I'm including the cute frog we caught at the house.