October 4, 2022 “This place is like a gadwall factory,” says Mark Mariano. Today I’ve joined Mark, a Butte-based ecologist who works for Rampart Solutions […]
Stories to watch for: Helena’s fall and winter birds
Fall has come gently to the Helena Valley this year. Temperatures have floated well above average. Killing frosts and early snowstorms have been delayed. Nevertheless, […]
Nature Park: a special place for birds
October 5, 2022 An orange-crowned warbler and two drab gray yellow-rumped warblers are hunting insects in a chokecherry this morning as its leaves drop softly, […]
To glimpse an ancient murrelet
September 27, 2022 On September 22, a low-pressure system that had been hovering over the Pacific Ocean off of the California coast swept inland. The […]
A flood of migration and a harassed peregrine falcon
September 13, 2022 It’s the sort of day when Spokane Bay is covered with birds and anything seems possible. A great blue heron is wading […]
Spokane Bay: mats of algae and hints of migration
September 6, 2022 The sun is high and the afternoon is hot by the time I make it over to Spokane Bay. A lone turkey […]
Migration and change in late August at western Montana’s Spokane Bay
August 30, 2022 The sun is hot on this midday at the end of summer, but the breeze carries a cool hint of fall. A […]
Sevenmile Creek: restoring a stream and tracking its birds
August 10, 2022 The clouds are glowing lavender and gold as the sun climbs over the Big Belt Mountains this morning. The spring chorus of […]
Full of life: a morning in the sagebrush
July 12, 2022 As soon as I step out of the car, the smell of the sagebrush washes over me. It’s a heady smell, bitter […]
Building trust with prairie dogs
July 6, 2022 The burrowing owl watched me from the fencepost, then glanced away, eyes half-closed. Its mate was perching on the ground nearby, next […]