First herp of the 2012: Western Painted Turtle
During a quick drive through visit of Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, I spied a couple of new brown bumps on a log that I have looked at dozens of times. The brown bumps turned out to be a couple of Western Painted Turtles, my fist herps of 2012. This is the first time that […]
Cattail Raccoons
Spent some time with a family of 5 Northern Raccoons at Lee Metcalf NWR. They were foraging on newly emergent cattail shoots, and they fed no more than 10 yards from me for the better part of 1/2 an hour. Quite an experience. After they were done feeding, they swam across the pond, and slipped […]
Rusty Blackbird at Lee Metcalf NWR
Today as a storm rapidly descended out of the Bitterroot Mountains, I spied a blackbird milling around on a small mud flat along Francois Slough. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a Rusty Blackbird with that unique facial pattern, eye color, and overall coloration.
Cackling Goose at Lee Metcalf
During an afternoon visit, I observed a single Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) in with the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) on the ice at the north end of the pond nearest to the Visitor’s Center. The goose in question was apparently half the size of the surrounding Moffitt’s Canada Geese (B.c. moffitti). The bird possessed a […]
The warm weather continues
45 degrees in january…January! That’s how warm it has been in northwestern Montana lately. The birds were appropriately enjoying the sun. All 3 species of nuthatch were actively calling and feeding in the ponderosa pines and cottonwoods as Northern Flickers both called and drummed. Common Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser were all displaying as well. Everything must have […]
Can you believe it, another afternoon at Lee Metcalf
Spent yesterday afternoon at Lee Metcalf NWR, and as always it was a spectacular time to be there. I was able to spot the female Greater Scaup again, and again without an image. Along the Kenai trail, Northern Shrike and American Tree Sparrow were among the visitors from the north. The surprise of the day […]
CBC on the last day of 2011
I was incredibly fortunate to spend the last morning of 2011 birding on the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge for the Christmas Bird Count. This section of the count was led by Bob Danley, who was incredibly generous with his time and laughter. We had a great time. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 500 Trumpeter Swan […]