May 13, 2023 The bird display begins as the sun is nothing but a faint bluish glow on the eastern prairie horizon. Upland sandpipers give […]
Bizarre and vibrant: getting to know Montana’s cuckoo wasps
The tiny wasp shimmered between my fingertips, its hard exoskeleton glittering green and blue under the strong June sun. Nearby, along the base of the […]
Frigid survival: how American white pelicans overwinter in the cold
They’re like a flurry of snow in the Montana summer. American white pelicans: massive white birds with chunky orange bills and black wingtips. On the […]
Spring in Seattle and an Anna’s hummingbird mystery
March 15, 2023 When I left snow-covered Montana a few days ago to visit friends in Seattle, Washington, it was a sudden transition from the […]
How to grow a bird-friendly garden in western Montana
When you compare the birds of a manicured lawn with those that inhabit a grove of chokecherries, the difference is stark. The lawn might support […]
The surprising lives of western Montana’s Lewis’s woodpeckers
February 8, 2023 It’s hard to deny that Lewis’s woodpeckers are stunning birds. Seen in good light, their glossy green backs contrast with their pinkish […]
Where have all of the hawks gone?
February 7, 2023 The breeze is barely noticeable among the snow-covered pastures and hayfields near Drummond, Montana, but the clouds high overhead tell a different […]
A porcupine wandering through the frozen-dessert section
November 18, 2018 was a windy day in Helena, Montana. At the Sevenmile Creek restoration site, the Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) branches danced in the breeze, […]
Chasing rumors of spring in the Mission Valley
February 4, 2023 The prairie falcon perches on a power pole in the light rain drizzle, tearing apart a vole. Its talons glow faintly, a […]
Well-hidden wanderers: searching for Montana’s long-eared owls
February 2, 2023 New snow fell two days ago, and it still covers the dense Russian-olive limbs on this sunny morning. We’re standing just inside […]