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 a few starlings and robins. Perhaps, late in spring migration, a handful of desperate Swainson’s thrushes might stop by. The chokecherries, on the other hand, support an intricate community of life, from two-tailed swallowtail butterflies to dozens of species of songbirds. When the fruits ripen in late summer to a deep, juicy black, they attract cedar waxwings, Townsend’s solitaires, western tanagers, American robins, and house finches. Meanwhile, throughout the growing season, the foliage supports a diversity of insects – and the birds that eat them. Flitting among the leaves, you can find Wilson’s warblers, ruby-crowned kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers, and warbling vireos. 

When we consider the diversity of life around us, it’s easy to see a lot of bad news these days. We’ve lost 2.9 billion breeding birds in North America over the last 50 years. Scientists have reported steep declines of once-common insects. But by making a few simple decisions about what we plant in our gardens, we can be part of reversing these trends. In our yards, parks, and neighborhoods, we can provide homes for the birds, bees, and caterpillars. But doing this isn’t just about avoiding extinctions – it’s also a lot of fun.

This article is focused on plants for bird-friendly gardens in the western half of Montana, USA. If you live elsewhere, the specific plants will be different, but the general recommendations will be the same.

Getting started: habitat for birds

Every species of bird is unique in its life story. The habitats it uses, the foods it eats, where it nests, whether it migrates – all of this varies. Nevertheless, all birds need food, shelter, water, and safety from predators. Plants provide excellent food and shelter – especially particular species of plants that are native to the local landscape. But before we get into the specifics of these plants, let’s consider water and predators. 

Some birds, such as American kestrels, can get most or all of the moisture they need from their food. Otherwise, birds need to drink water. Including a source of water in your garden, such as a regularly cleaned bird bath or a backyard wetland, can attract birds to drink or bathe.

Watch out for predators

What about predators in our yards? Outdoor cats are incredibly deadly for neighborhood songbirds. In the United States alone, cats kill well over a billion birds a year. This number is so large that it’s almost unimaginable. But there are a lot of outdoor cats in the United States: around 50 million pets, in addition to as many as 100 million feral cats. Managing outdoor cats, especially feral ones, can be a contentious topic. But keeping your own cats indoors is a relatively easy step to take. By doing so, you’ll help ensure that your bird-friendly garden doesn’t become a death trap for songbirds.

Windows may not be predators, but they’re another deadly neighborhood hazard for songbirds. In the United States, they’re estimated to kill over 350 million birds a year. An article by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology gives an overview of this issue and discusses several solutions. Of these, Acopian Bird Savers are probably one of the most elegant. This is an unobtrusive, low-tech design that consists of vertical rows of cords, spaced four inches apart, that hang from the outside of the window. You can make your own out of parachute cord or bamboo, or you can order them online.

Including different habitat features

Broadly speaking, all birds are associated with one or more of three general habitats: forest, prairie, or wetland. What habitats make up the larger landscape surrounding you? The answer to this question will shape the possibilities for your bird-friendly garden.

Is your home in the middle of a Douglas-fir forest, or is it in a valley-bottom subdivision? Clark’s nutcrackers probably won’t visit your garden unless you have patches of conifers close to you. Similarly, you probably won’t attract marsh wrens or Wilson’s snipes to your yard unless you live very close to a wetland. Meanwhile, many prairie birds need relatively large patches of grasses and herbs. So unless this describes the area around your house, you probably won’t have grasshopper sparrows or western meadowlarks in your yard. Many birds of thickets and forest edges, on the other hand, will readily use yards during migration or the breeding season. And, of course, there are a variety of birds that use more than one of these habitats.

In general, in order to make your yard more inviting for birds, it’s worth considering components of all three habitats: forest, prairie, and wetland. A small water feature probably won’t attract Wilson’s snipes – but, once again, a bit of water in the yard will allow birds to drink and bathe. A prairie patch the size of a front yard is unlikely to bring in grasshopper sparrows, but it will offer important seeds and insects for thicket-edge birds such as chipping sparrows. And patches of native shrubs or trees, such as chokecherries, provide food and cover for a wide diversity of migrating and nesting songbirds.

Why native plants?

You’ve probably noticed that I keep mentioning native plants for birds. Why does this matter? you might be wondering. Perhaps you’ve noticed that robins and Bohemian waxwings often eat the fruits of Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), a frequently-planted invasive that escapes from cultivation to compete with the cottonwoods and willows along our waterways. Or you might have noticed a house finch or pileated woodpecker pecking at an apple, another non-native fruit. 

Yes, there are non-native plants that certain birds will use. But, all things considered, native plants are far superior for our birds. Why? It comes down to food – and, specifically, insects. Doug Tallamy, a researcher who has spent decades studying birds and insects, writes that 96% of North American land birds rely heavily on insects during the breeding season. Soft, juicy caterpillars are especially important. And whereas native plants have coevolved with native insects, non-native plants are comparative deserts for insect diversity.

A non-native plant like Russian-olive may still provide fruits that feed a few species. But in comparison with a chokecherry or another native plant, it’s much less useful for most of our birds. If you want to attract an abundance of birds to your yard, then native plants are the way to go.

Okay, which plants should I plant for the birds? you’re probably asking. Here are some recommendations for western Montana, organized by the foods they provide.

Native plants for insects

What sorts of native plants provide our birds with the most insects? In order to give region-specific recommendations, Doug Tallamy and Kimberley Shropshire teamed up with the National Wildlife Federation to create an interactive website, searchable by zip code. For each zip code, this tool predicts the number of caterpillar species that different native plants will support. And in North America, it turns out, wherever you are, just a handful of native plants support most of the caterpillars.

Around Helena, Montana, willows are at the top of the list. These shrubs host up to 309 species of caterpillars – juicy protein packets to feed our nesting birds. Many of our native willows grow in wetlands, but Scouler’s willow (Salix scouleriana) and sandbar willow (Salix exigua) are common species that often grow in somewhat drier areas.

Cottonwoods and aspens are also high on the list, hosting up to 245 butterflies and moths. Among the cottonwoods are black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) and plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides) – but keep in mind that these trees are notorious for dropping branches. Meanwhile, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) forms thickets from underground rhizomes. For these reasons, cottonwoods and aspens are best-suited for larger yards. 

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) and American plum (Prunus americana) are thicket-forming shrubs that are excellent for bird habitat. (They support up to 227 species of caterpillars – and check out this article for an exploration of other miniature insects that live on chokecherries.) However, if you live in an area with a high risk of bear conflicts, keep in mind that chokecherries and plums can attract bears when the fruits get ripe in the fall.

Birches, alders, and pines

Our native birches host 211 species of caterpillars. Water birch (Betula occidentalis) is a small tree that often grows along streams; paper birch (Betula papyrifera) gets much larger. And birches do more than just provide lots of insects. Their trunks (like those of cottonwoods and aspens) also make popular homes for cavity-nesting birds like black-capped chickadees and house wrens. (If you don’t want to wait for your trees to grow, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology also provides thorough instructions for nest box construction.) The related thinleaf alder (Alnus incana) is a large shrub or small tree that hosts 196 species of butterflies and moths.

Among the conifers, pines (Pinus spp.) are important for caterpillars, supporting up to 188 species. Around Helena, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis) are good options. However, keep in mind that they grow to be rather large trees. Also, depending on your surroundings, you might not want to plant them near your house due to fire risk.

Goldenrods, strawberries, and more

What about herbaceous plants? For caterpillars, goldenrod is at the top of the list, hosting 65 species. Common goldenrods in Montana include giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea), Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), and Missouri goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis). These plants are commonly blamed for late-summer allergies, but this is a myth: the culprits are typically ragweeds (Ambrosia spp.), which bloom around the same time.

Other herbs that support substantial numbers of butterflies and moths are native strawberries and sunflowers. Wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria vesca) are low-growing; they may not compete well with taller, more vigorous plants. Sunflowers, on the other hand, are both tall and vigorous. In Montana, common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an abundant annual that often grows along roadsides. We also have two common perennial species, Nuttall’s sunflower (Helianthus nuttallii) and Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani). 

Lupines and sagebrushes are also worthy of mention, supporting up to 40 and 35 species of caterpillars, respectively. Silvery lupine (Lupinus argenteus) and silky lupine (Lupinus sericeus) are a couple of Montana’s common lupines. Sagebrushes are very diverse in Montana and include shrubs such as big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and silver sagebrush (Artemisia cana) as well as herbs such as fringed sage (Artemisia frigida) and white sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana). 

Native plants for fruits

I’ve already mentioned chokecherry for the diversity of insects that it hosts. In addition to the insects, this shrub is also a phenomenal fall fruit resource for cedar waxwings, American robins, and many other birds. And besides chokecherry, there’s a wide selection of other native fruits that attract birds, from July onwards through the winter. Many of these plants also host a notable diversity of caterpillars (though they support fewer species of caterpillars than the shrubs and trees I’ve already mentioned).

Red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) offers clusters of small white fruits from mid-summer through fall. Gray catbirds and white-crowned sparrows are among the birds that feed on them. This medium-sized shrub also has brilliant red fall foliage.

The native currants – such as golden currant (Ribes aureum) and bristly gooseberry (Ribes setosum) – are some of the earliest fruits to ripen in the summer. They provide a tasty snack for birds and people alike. Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) is another popular summer fruit for cedar waxwings, western tanagers, and thrushes. 

Elderberry, snowberry, and more

Blue elderberry (Sambucus cerulea) ripens in the fall, as does western mountain-ash (Sorbus scopulina). The snowberries – common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) – also ripen in the fall, but their fruits stick around through the winter. So do the wild roses, such as Woods’ rose (Rosa woodsii) and Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana). Silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) is a great fall fruit that sometimes remains through mid-winter. Note that this is a large, thorny bush, though, and separate male and female plants are needed for pollination.

Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is a tall shrub that provides winter “berries” (actually fleshy cones) for Bohemian waxwings, Townsend’s solitaires, and American robins. Keep in mind that juniper, like silver buffaloberry, has separate male and female plants, so you’ll need both in your general area for pollination to occur. Juniper is also highly flammable – so it’s probably not a good idea to plant it in areas with high fire risk. Montana also has two lower-growing juniper species that provide options for smaller spaces: horizontal juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) and common juniper (Juniperus communis).

Native plants for seeds

Many birds – such as American goldfinches, American tree sparrows, and pine siskins – commonly feed on seeds. In the case of sparrows, it’s often hard to see exactly what they’re eating, since they feed on the ground. Nevertheless, a few seed-bearing plants are especially noteworthy for the birds they attract. Montana’s native sunflowers – the annual common sunflower and the perennial Nuttall’s and Maximilian sunflowers – reliably attract goldfinches and pine siskins when their seeds ripen in the fall. Our pines, such as ponderosa and limber pine, feed nomadic groups of conifer-seed specialists such as red crossbills and Clark’s nutcrackers. Thinleaf alder, water birch, and paper birch provide winter seeds that often attract common redpolls and pine siskins. And many other native plants, from asters to grasses, also produce seeds that various finches and sparrows may use.

Native plants for nectar

What about hummingbirds? These tiny, beloved hoverers often catch tiny insects – so providing habitat for insects is important to them, too. In addition, they’re well-known for their nectar-feeding habits. A variety of native plants with long, tubular flowers are popular hummingbird plants. These include orange honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa), yellow columbine (Aquilegia flavescens), scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata), beebalm (Monarda fistulosa), and the penstemons. Among western Montana’s common penstemons are Alberta beardtongue (Penstemon albertinus), fuzzy-tongue penstemon (Penstemon eriantherus), and small-flower beardtongue (Penstemon procerus). In addition, some of the plants I’ve already mentioned for insects or fruits – such as golden currant – are popular nectar sources for hummingbirds.

Obtaining plants

Where can you find these plants? Some local nurseries, such as GardenWerks in Helena, carry a limited selection of native plants. In addition, I was able to find three retail nurseries in western and central Montana that offer a wide selection of natives: 

• Blake Nursery, Big Timber, MT: https://www.blakenursery.com/
• Center for Native Plants, Whitefish, MT: https://centerfornativeplants.com/
• Pipilo Native Plants, Charlo, MT: https://www.pipilonatives.com/

(A fourth nursery, Southwest Montana Native Landscapes, has unfortunately closed, though it still shows up on a Google search.)

To find out more, I contacted these nurseries and asked them which plants they stock, of those I list in this article. Find their responses here.

In addition to these retail nurseries, there are a few other commercial sources of native plants in western Montana. For larger projects, the Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery and Great Bear Native Plants accept wholesale orders. And if you want to start your own plants, Native Ideals sells locally grown seeds for a variety of Montana species.

Note that certain nurseries that don’t specialize in native plants may “stretch” the concept of “native” to include species that aren’t from Montana. For example, Penstemon strictus is sometimes sold as a native plant, but it grows in the wild in the southern Rocky Mountains and doesn’t reach Montana. When in doubt, look a plant up on the Montana Natural Heritage Program’s Montana Field Guide to learn about its status in the state, or check out the Biota of North America Program’s county-level range maps. These maps are organized by genus and show the distribution, by county, of all wild and naturalized plants in the United States.

The bird-friendly garden

Is this a comprehensive list of all of the plants that are important for bird-friendly gardening in Montana? No! I’ve neglected to mention native maples (Acer spp.), raspberries (Rubus spp.), hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), and many others.

When it comes to growing habitat for birds, there are always more plants you can add. But even if you do nothing more than add a patch of chokecherries and a handful of goldenrods to your yard, where previously there was just lawn, you’ll have made a good start. As the chokecherries leaf out in the spring, wait for the yellow-rumped warblers to appear, hunting insects. When the fruits ripen in the fall, look for the flocks of cedar waxwings and robins. And if you have the space in your yard to include all of the plants I’ve mentioned here, along with a water source… in a few years, your yard will be a paradise for birds.

This story was produced with support from the Gold Country Master Gardener Association.

Further reading

Acopian Bird Savers: prevent birds from flying into windows. Retrieved from https://www.birdsavers.com/

American Bird Conservancy. (2013, January 29). Outdoor cats: single greatest source of human-caused mortality for birds and mammals, says new study. Retrieved from https://abcbirds.org/news/outdoor-cats-single-greatest-source-of-human-caused-mortality-for-birds-and-mammals-says-new-study/

Biota of North America Program. (2014). BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Retrieved from http://bonap.net/NAPA/Genus/Traditional/County

Center for Native Plants. (n.d.) Our most bird friendly species. Retrieved from https://centerfornativeplants.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cnp_plantselection_birds-1.pdf

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2016, December 5). FAQ: Outdoor cats and their effects on birds. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/faq-outdoor-cats-and-their-effects-on-birds/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2023). All about birdhouses. Retrieved from https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2023, February 24). Why birds hit windows – and how you can help prevent it. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/

Friends of the Mississippi River. (2022). Goldenrod or ragweed: which causes allergies and which benefits pollinators? Retrieved from https://fmr.org/updates/conservation/goldenrod-or-ragweed-which-causes-allergies-and-which-benefits-pollinators

Loss, S.R., Will, T., Loss, S.S., & Marra, P.P. (2014). Bird-building collisions in the United States: estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability. The Condor 116(1):8-23. Retrieved from https://bioone.org/journals/the-condor/volume-116/issue-1/CONDOR-13-090.1/Birdbuilding-collisions-in-the-United-States–Estimates-of-annual/10.1650/CONDOR-13-090.1.full

Montana Natural Heritage Program. (n.d.). Montana Field Guide. Montana State Library. Retrieved from https://fieldguide.mt.gov/default.aspx

Narango, D.L., Tallamy, D.W., & Shropshire, K.J. (2020). Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species. Nature Communications 11:5751. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345818119_Few_keystone_plant_genera_support_the_majority_of_Lepidoptera_species

National Wildlife Federation. (2023). Native plants (by zip code). Retrieved from https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants

Rosenberg, K.V., Dokter, A.M., Blancher, P.J., Sauer, J.R., Smith, A.C., Smith, P.A., … Marra, P.P. (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science 366:120-124. Retrieved from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/DECLINE-OF-NORTH-AMERICAN-AVIFAUNA-SCIENCE-2019.pdf

Sánchez-Bayo, F. & Wyckhuys, K.A.G. (2019). Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: a review of its drivers. Biological Conservation 232: 8-27. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320718313636

Smallwood, J.A. & Bird, D.M. (2020). American kestrel (Falco sparverius), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A.F. Poole & F.B. Gill, editors). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/amekes/cur/introduction

Tallamy, D.W. (2019). Nature’s best hope: a new approach to conservation that starts in your yard. Portland, OR: Timber Press.

The post How to grow a bird-friendly garden in western Montana appeared first on Wild With Nature.

Cuando comparas las aves de un césped cortado con las que viven en un parche de capulines (Prunus virginiana), la diferencia es fuerte. Tal vez el césped mantendría a unos estorninos pintos (Sturnus vulgaris) y mirlos primavera (Turdus migratorius). Es posible que, al final de la migración primaveral, unos desesperados zorzales de anteojos (Catharus ustulatus) pudieran pasar por ahí.

Los capulines, por otro lado, mantienen una intrincada comunidad de vida, desde la mariposa cometa xochiquetzal (Papilio multicaudata) hasta docenas de especies de aves. Cuando las frutas maduran a ser jugosas y de color negro profundo al final del verano, atraen chinitos (Bombycilla cedrorum), clarines norteños (Myadestes townsendii), pirangas capucha roja (Piranga ludoviciana), mirlos primavera y pinzones mexicanos (Haemorhous mexicanus). Por otra parte, a través de la estación de crecimiento, las hojas mantienen diversos insectos – y las aves que los comen. Puedes ver chipes corona negra (Cardellina pusilla) revoloteando por las hojas, así como reyezuelos matraquita (Regulus calendula), chipes rabadilla amarilla (Setophaga coronata) y vireos gorjeadores (Vireo gilvus).

Cuando consideramos la diversidad de la vida cerca de nosotros, es fácil ver varias malas noticias en esa época. Durante los últimos 50 años, hemos perdido 2,9 mil millones de aves reproductoras en Norteamérica. A la vez, científicos en varias partes del mundo han reportado declives rápidos de insectos que solían ser comunes. Sin embargo, al tomar algunas simples decisiones sobre lo que vamos a cultivar en nuestros jardines, podemos contribuir en revertir estas tendencias. En nuestros jardines, parques y vecindarios, podemos proveer hogares para las aves, las abejas y las orugas. Y hacerlo no sólo tiene que ver con evitar extinciones – también es algo muy divertido.

Este artículo se enfoca en las plantas que podemos cultivar para las aves en la mitad occidental de Montana, EE.UU. Si vives en otra región, las plantas específicas serán diferentes, pero las recomendaciones generales serán las mismas.

Empezando: el hábitat para las aves

Cada especie de ave tiene su propia historia de vida. Los hábitats que usa, dónde anida, si emigra o no – todo esto varía. Sin embargo, todas las aves necesitan comida, abrigo, agua y seguridad contra los depredadores. Las plantas – en concreto, especies particulares de plantas nativas al paisaje local – ofrecen buena comida y abrigo. Pero antes de que pongamos atención a los detalles de estas plantas, consideremos el agua y los depredadores.

Algunas aves, como los cernícalos americanos (Falco sparverius), pueden conseguir en su comida más o menos toda la humedad que necesitan. El resto de las aves tienen que beber agua. Si incluyes una provisión de agua en tu jardín, tal como un baño de aves que limpias regularmente o un humedal pequeño, puedes atraer las aves a beber o bañarse.

Ten cuidado con los depredadores

¿Qué hay de los depredadores en nuestros jardines? Los gatos domésticos al aire libre pueden ser increíblemente letales para las aves cantoras en los vecindarios. Sólo en los Estados Unidos, los gatos domésticos matan a más de mil millones de aves cada año. Este número es tan grande que es casi inimaginable. No obstante, hay muchos gatos domésticos al aire libre en los Estados Unidos: cerca de 50 millones como mascotas, además de hasta 100 millones de gatos ferales. Manejar estos gatos, especialmente los ferales, puede ser un asunto de disputa. Pero mantener tus propios gatos dentro de la casa es un paso relativamente fácil. Haciendo esto, vas a hacer que tu jardín no sea una trampa letal para las aves cantoras.

Las ventanas no son depredadores, pero son otro letal peligro para las aves cantoras en el vecindario. En los Estados Unidos, se estima que matan más de 350 millones de aves cada año. Un artículo por el Cornell Lab of Ornithology resume este tema y presenta algunas soluciones. De estas, probablemente los Salvapájaros Acopianos son una de las más elegantes. Este discreto diseño de baja tecnología consiste en hileras verticales de cuerdas, separadas por cuatro pulgadas, que cuelgan del exterior de una ventana. Puedes construirlos por ti mismo usando cualquier cuerda o bambú, o puedes comprarlos en línea.

Incluyendo características de hábitats diferentes

Hablando en general, todas las aves están asociadas con uno o más de tres grandes hábitats: el bosque, la pradera o el humedal. ¿Cuáles de estos hábitats forman el paisaje cerca de ti? La respuesta a esta pregunta va a influir en las posibilidades para tu jardín para las aves.

¿Vives en el medio de un bosque del ayarín (Pseudotsuga menziesii), o en una zona residencial en el valle? Los cascanueces americanos (Nucifraga columbiana) probablemente no vayan a visitar tu jardín a menos que tengas parches de coníferos cerca de ti. Igualmente, es probable que no vayas a atraer ni saltaparedes pantaneros (Cistothorus palustris) ni agachonas norteamericanas (Gallinago delicata) a menos que vivas cerca de un humedal.

Por otra parte, la mayoría de las aves que viven en las praderas necesitan relativamente amplios espacios abiertos con gramíneas y hierbas. Por eso, a menos que esto describa el área cerca de tu casa, es probable que no tendrás gorriones chapulín (Ammodramus savannarum) ni praderos del oeste (Sturnella neglecta) en tu jardín. Mientras tanto, varias aves de matorrales o de los bordes de los bosques sí usarán jardines durante la migración o la estación reproductiva. Y, por supuesto, hay varias especies que usan más de uno de estos hábitats.

Generalmente, para hacer que tu jardín invite más a las aves, vale considerar componentes de estos tres hábitats: el bosque, la pradera y el humedal. Es poco probable que un estanque pequeño atraerá las agachonas norteamericanas – pero, otra vez, el agua hará que las aves puedan beber y bañarse. Tampoco es probable que un pequeño parche de pradera mantendrá a gorriones chapulín, pero ofrecerá importantes semillas e insectos a las aves del borde del matorral, tales como los gorriones cejas blancas (Spizella passerina). Y los parches de nativos árboles y arbustos, como los capulines, van a proveer comida y abrigo para diversas aves migratorias y reproductivas.

¿Por qué las plantas nativas?

Probablemente te hayas dado cuenta de que sigo mencionando las plantas nativas para las aves. ¿Por qué eso sería importante? podrías preguntarte. Tal vez hayas notado que los mirlos primavera y los ampelis europeos (Bombycilla garrulus) suelen comer las frutas del árbol del paraíso (Elaeagnus angustifolia), una planta invasora frecuentemente cultivada que a menudo escapa del cultivo para competir contra los álamos y sauces nativos en nuestras riberas. O quizás hayas observado un pinzón mexicano (Haemorhous mexicanus) o un picamaderos norteamericano (Dryocopus pileatus) picoteando una manzana – otra fruta no nativa.

Sí, claro que hay plantas no nativas que algunas aves usarán. Pero en conjunto, las plantas nativas son bastante superiores para nuestras aves. ¿Por qué? Tiene que ver con la comida – y específicamente, los insectos. Doug Tallamy, un investigador que ha pasado décadas estudiando las aves y los insectos, escribe que el 96% de las aves terrestres norteamericanas depende muchísimo de los insectos durante la estación reproductiva. Las orugas blandas y jugosas son especialmente importantes. Y mientras que las plantas nativas han coevolucionado con los insectos nativos, en comparación las plantas no nativas son un desierto para la diversidad de insectos.

Puede ser que una planta no nativa como el árbol del paraíso siga proveyendo frutas que alimenten algunas especies. Pero comparado con un capulín u otra planta nativa, es mucho menos útil para la mayoría de nuestras aves. Si quieres atraer una abundancia de aves a tu jardín, las plantas nativas te ayudarán mucho.

Dale, ¿cuáles especies debo plantar para las aves? podrías estar preguntando. Acá están algunas recomendaciones para el occidente de Montana, organizadas según los tipos de alimento que proveen.

Plantas nativas para los insectos

¿Cuáles plantas nativas les proveen la mayor cantidad de insectos a nuestras aves? Para hacer recomendaciones para regiones diferentes, Doug Tallamy y Kimberley Shropshire colaboraron con el National Wildlife Federation para crear un sitio web interactivo que se puede buscar por el código postal. Por cada código postal, esta herramienta predice cuántas especies de orugas cada planta nativa mantendrá. Y resulta que, en cualquier región de Norteamérica en la que estés, solamente unas especies de plantas nativas mantienen la mayoría de las orugas.

Cerca de Helena, Montana, los sauces (Salix spp.) encabezan la lista. Estos arbustos acogen hasta 309 especies de orugas – jugosos sacos de proteína para alimentar nuestras aves reproductivas. Muchos de nuestros sauces nativos crecen en humedales, pero Salix scouleriana y Salix exigua son especies comunes que suelen crecer en áreas más secas.

Los álamos (Populus spp.) también son muy importantes para las orugas, manteniendo hasta 245 especies. Entre ellos están las especies Populus balsamifera y Populus deltoides – pero fíjate en que estos árboles son reconocidos por caersele las ramas. Otra opción es el álamo temblón (Populus tremuloides), pero esta especie forma matorrales por sus rizomas subterráneos. Por estas razones, los álamos son más apropiados en espacios grandes.

El capulín (Prunus virginiana) y la ciruela americana (Prunus americana) forman matorrales y son arbustos excelentes para el hábitat de las aves. (Albergan hasta 227 especies de orugas – y ve este artículo por una exploración de los otros minúsculos insectos que viven en los capulines). Sin embargo, si vives en un área con alto riesgo de conflictos con los osos, fíjate en que los capulines y las ciruelas pueden atraer osos cuando las frutas maduran en el otoño.

Abedules, alisos y pinos

Nuestros abedules nativos (Betula spp.) mantienen 211 especies de orugas. La Betula occidentalis es un árbol pequeño que suele crecer al lado de los arroyos; la Betula papyrifera es un árbol mucho más grande. Y los abedules hacen mucho más que sólo proveer un montón de insectos. Sus troncos (como los de los álamos) son sitios populares para los nidos de las aves que anidan en cavidades, tales como los carboneros cabecinegros (Poecile atricapillus) o los saltaparedes comunes (Troglodytes aedon). (Si no quieres esperar hasta que tus árboles crezcan, el Cornell Lab of Ornithology también provee instrucciones detalladas de montaje para las cajas nido). Además de los abedules, el aliso gris (Alnus incana), una especie pariente, es un arbusto grande o un árbol pequeño que mantiene 196 especies de orugas.

Entre los coníferos, los pinos (Pinus spp.) son importantes para las orugas, alojando hasta 188 especies. Cerca de Helena, la Pinus ponderosa y la Pinus flexilis son opciones buenas. Sin embargo, recuerda que crecen para ser árboles bastante grandes. También, dependiendo de tus alrededores, podría ser que no quieras plantarlos cerca de tu casa por el riesgo de incendios.

Varas de oro, fresas y más

Y ¿qué tal las plantas herbáceas? Para las orugas, la vara de oro (Solidago spp.) encabeza la lista, albergando 65 especies. Varas de oro comunes en Montana incluyen Solidago gigantea, Solidago canadensis y Solidago missouriensis. A menudo se culpan estas plantas por alergias al fin del verano, pero esto es un mito: típicamente los culpables son las plantas del género Ambrosia, que florecen a la misma vez.

Otras hierbas que mantienen números grandes de mariposas y polillas incluyen las nativas fresas y girasoles. Las fresas (Fragaria virginiana y Fragaria vesca) se mantienen bajas; puede ser que no compitan bien con plantas más altas y vigorosas. Los girasoles, al otro lado, son tanto altos como vigorosos. En Montana, el girasol común (Helianthus annuus) es una abundante planta anual que suele crecer al lado de las carreteras. También tenemos dos especies perennes comunes, Helianthus nuttallii y Helianthus maximiliani.

También cabe mencionar los lupinos y las artemisas, que respectivamente alojan 40 y 35 especies de orugas. Algunos de los lupinos comunes en Montana son Lupinus argenteus y Lupinus sericeus. Las artemisas son muy diversas en Montana e incluyen tanto arbustos, entre ellos la Artemisia tridentata o la Artemisia cana, como hierbas, por ejemplo la Artemisia frigida o la Artemisia ludoviciana.

Plantas nativas para proveer frutas

Ya he mencionado que el capulín mantiene una diversidad de insectos. Además de los insectos, este arbusto también provee frutas. En el otoño, el capulín es un recurso fenomenal para los chinitos, los mirlos primavera y muchas otras aves. Y además del capulín, hay una amplia variedad de otras frutas nativas que atraen las aves, desde julio hasta el invierno. Muchas de estas plantas también albergan una diversidad notable de orugas (aunque apoyan menos especies de orugas que los árboles y arbustos que ya he mencionado).

La Cornus sericea ofrece manojos de pequeñas frutas blancas desde medio verano hasta el otoño. Los maulladores grises (Dumetella caroliniensis) y los gorriones corona blanca (Zonotrichia leucophrys) están entre las aves que las comen. Este arbusto de media altura también tiene un llamativo follaje otoñal de rojo oscuro.

Las grosellas nativas – tales como el Ribes aureum o el Ribes setosum – son algunas de las frutas más tempranas al madurar en el verano. Ofrecen una merienda sabrosa, tanto para las aves como para gente. El guillomo (Amelanchier alnifolia) es otra querida fruta veraniega para los chinitos, las pirangas capucha roja y los zorzales.

Saúcos, perlitas y más

Las frutas del saúco azul (Sambucus cerulea) maduran en el otoño, así como las del serbal (Sorbus scopulina). Las bayas de las perlitas – Symphoricarpos albus y Symphoricarpos occidentalis – también maduran en el otoño, pero siguen siendo disponible a través del invierno. Esto es el caso también por los rosales, tales como Rosa woodsii y Rosa nutkana. El arbusto Shepherdia argentea es otra buena especie cuyas frutas a veces permanecen hasta medio invierno. Sin embargo, nota que este arbusto es grande y espinoso, y se necesita distintas hembras y machos para polinizarlo.

El enebro Juniperus scopulorum es un arbusto de gran altura que provee “bayas” invernales (las cuales realmente son piñas carnosas) para los ampelis europeos, los clarines norteños y los mirlos primavera. Fíjate en que el enebro, así como la Shepherdia argentea, tiene distintas hembras y machos: vas a necesitar los dos en tu área general para que la polinización ocurra. Además, el enebro es altamente inflamable – así que probablemente sería una mala idea plantarlo en áreas con alto riesgo de incendios. Montana también tiene dos enebros de más baja altura, el Juniperus horizontalis y el Juniperus communis, que proveen opciones para espacios más pequeños.

Plantas nativas para proveer semillas

Varias aves – como los jilgueritos canarios (Spinus tristis), los jilgueritos pineros (Spinus pinus), los chingolos arbóreos (Spizelloides arborea) y otros gorriones – a menudo se alimentan de semillas. En el caso de los gorriones, generalmente es difícil ver exactamente lo que comen, dado que suelen alimentarse en el suelo. No obstante, algunas plantas son especialmente notables por las aves que sus semillas atraen.

Los girasoles en Montana – el anual Helianthus annuus y los perennes Helianthus nuttallii y Helianthus maximiliani – atraen de forma fiable los jilgueritos canario y pinero cuando sus semillas maduran en el otoño. Nuestros pinos, como la Pinus ponderosa o la Pinus flexilis, mantienen grupos errantes de aves que se especializan en las semillas coníferas, incluso el picotuerto rojo (Loxia curvirostra) y el cascanueces americano. El aliso gris y los abedules proveen semillas invernales que suelen alimentar los pardillos norteños (Acanthis flammea) y los jilgueritos pineros. Y varias otras plantas nativas, desde las asteráceas hasta las gramíneas, también producen semillas que varios pinzones y gorriones pueden usar.

Plantas nativas para proveer néctar

¿Qué tal los colibrís? Estas minúsculas y queridas aves suelen cazar insectos diminutos. Por eso, plantar el hábitat para los insectos les importa a los colibrís también. Además, son bien conocidos por su predilección por alimentarse con néctar. Varias plantas nativas con flores largas y cilíndricas son populares con los colibrís. Entre ellas están la Lonicera ciliosa, la Aquilegia flavescens, la Ipomopsis aggregata, la Monarda fistulosa y las campanitas (Penstemon spp.). Las campanitas comunes del occidente de Montana incluyen el Penstemon albertinus, el Penstemon eriantherus y el Penstemon procerus. Además, algunas de las plantas que ya he mencionado por los insectos o las frutas – como la grosella Ribes aureum – son fuentes populares de néctar para los colibrís. 

Cómo obtener plantas

¿Dónde puedes encontrar estas plantas? Algunos viveros locales, como GardenWerks en Helena, tienen una variedad limitada de plantas nativas. Además, logré hallar tres viveros minoristas en la parte occidental o central de Montana que ofrecen una amplia variedad de plantas nativas:

• Blake Nursery, Big Timber, MT: https://www.blakenursery.com/
• Center for Native Plants, Whitefish, MT: https://centerfornativeplants.com/
• Pipilo Native Plants, Charlo, MT: https://www.pipilonatives.com/

(Un cuarto vivero, Southwest Montana Native Landscapes, lamentablemente ha cerrado, aunque todavía parece en una búsqueda de Google.)

Para aprender más, me puse en contacto con estos viveros y les pregunté cuáles plantas tienen, de las que he mencionado en este artículo. Encuentra sus respuestas aquí.

Además de estos viveros minoristas, hay unas fuentes comerciales adicionales para plantas nativas en el occidente de Montana. Para proyectos grandes, el Montana Conservation Seedling Nursery y Great Bear Native Plants aceptan pedidos mayoristas. Y si quieres germinar tus propias semillas, Native Ideals vende semillas localmente cultivadas por una variedad de especies nativas a Montana.

Fíjate en que algunos viveros que no se especializan en plantas nativas a veces “extenden” el concepto de “nativo” para incluir especies que no son realmente nativas a Montana. Por ejemplo, a veces se vende Penstemon strictus como una planta nativa, pero esta especie existe en estado salvaje sólo en el sur de las Montañas Rocosas y no llega a Montana. Si hay alguna duda sobre una especie, búscala en el Montana Field Guide del Montana Natural Heritage Program para aprender más sobre su situación en el estado, o revisa los mapas al nivel del condado presentados por el Biota of North America Program. Estos mapas se organizan por el género de planta y muestran la extensión, al nivel del condado, en la que reside cada planta salvaje o naturalizada en los Estados Unidos.

El jardín para las aves

¿Es esto una lista completa de todas las plantas que serían importantes para cultivar un jardín para las aves en Montana? ¡Claro que no! No he mencionado los arces nativos (Acer spp.), ni las frambuesas (Rubus spp.), ni los espinos (Crataegus spp.) ni muchos otros.

Si queremos cultivar un buen hábitat para las aves, siempre habrá más plantas que podemos añadir. Pero aun si no hicieras nada más que plantar un parche de capulines y unas varas de oro donde antes sólo había un césped cortado, habrás empezado bien. Mientras los capulines abran sus hojas en la primavera, espera hasta que los chipes rabadilla amarilla aparezcan, cazando insectos. Cuando las frutas maduren en el otoño, busca las bandadas de chinitos y mirlos primavera. Y si tienes espacio en tu jardín para incluir todas las plantas que he mencionado acá… en pocos años, tu jardín será un paraíso para las aves.

Esta historia fue producida con apoyo de la Gold Country Master Gardener Association.

Leer más

Acopian Bird Savers: prevent birds from flying into windows. Recuperado de https://www.birdsavers.com/

American Bird Conservancy. (2013, el 29 de enero). Outdoor cats: single greatest source of human-caused mortality for birds and mammals, says new study. Recuperado de https://abcbirds.org/news/outdoor-cats-single-greatest-source-of-human-caused-mortality-for-birds-and-mammals-says-new-study/

Biota of North America Program. (2014). BONAP’s North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Recuperado de http://bonap.net/NAPA/Genus/Traditional/County

Center for Native Plants. (sin fecha). Our most bird friendly species. Recuperado de https://centerfornativeplants.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cnp_plantselection_birds-1.pdf

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2016, el 5 de diciembre). FAQ: Outdoor cats and their effects on birds. Recuperado de https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/faq-outdoor-cats-and-their-effects-on-birds/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2023). All about birdhouses. Recuperado de https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2023, el 24 de febrero). Why birds hits windows – and how you can help prevent it. Recuperado de https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/

Friends of the Mississippi River. (2022). Goldenrod or ragweed: which causes allergies and which benefits pollinators? Recuperado de https://fmr.org/updates/conservation/goldenrod-or-ragweed-which-causes-allergies-and-which-benefits-pollinators

Loss, S.R., Will, T., Loss, S.S., & Marra, P.P. (2014). Bird-building collisions in the United States: estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability. The Condor 116(1):8-23. Recuperado de https://bioone.org/journals/the-condor/volume-116/issue-1/CONDOR-13-090.1/Birdbuilding-collisions-in-the-United-States–Estimates-of-annual/10.1650/CONDOR-13-090.1.full

Montana Natural Heritage Program. (sin fecha). Montana Field Guide. Montana State Library. Recuperado de https://fieldguide.mt.gov/default.aspx

Narango, D.L., Tallamy, D.W., & Shropshire, K.J. (2020). Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species. Nature Communications 11:5751. Recuperado de https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345818119_Few_keystone_plant_genera_support_the_majority_of_Lepidoptera_species

National Wildlife Federation. (2023). Native plants (by zip code). Recuperado de https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants

Rosenberg, K.V., Dokter, A.M., Blancher, P.J., Sauer, J.R., Smith, A.C., Smith, P.A., … Marra, P.P. (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science 366:120-124. Recuperado de https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/DECLINE-OF-NORTH-AMERICAN-AVIFAUNA-SCIENCE-2019.pdf

Sánchez-Bayo, F. & Wyckhuys, K.A.G. (2019). Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: a review of its drivers. Biological Conservation 232: 8-27. Recuperado de https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320718313636

Smallwood, J.A. & Bird, D.M. (2020). American kestrel (Falco sparverius), versión 1.0. En Birds of the World (A.F. Poole & F.B. Gill, editores). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Recuperado de https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/amekes/cur/introduction

Tallamy, D.W. (2019). Nature’s best hope: a new approach to conservation that starts in your yard. Portland, OR: Timber Press.

The post Cómo cultivar un jardín para las aves en el occidente de Montana appeared first on Wild With Nature.

December 7, 2022

When it comes to birds around Missoula, Montana, the Fort Missoula Ponds have a reputation. 

“When you fly over Missoula, you can see these really large bodies of water,” says Jim Brown. 

Once the site of a gravel quarry, the ponds have become a magnet for ducks, shorebirds, and many other creatures. 

In the winter, when the ponds are frozen, the bird activity gets much quieter, just as it does anywhere in Montana. Nevertheless, seven of us have shown up on this snowy afternoon for a bird survey, led by Jim Brown of Five Valleys Audubon Society. It’s a chance to see what’s out here in the cold – and to remember all of the creatures that will be returning in the spring.

We’re just getting started when we spot a red-tailed hawk gliding over the snow-covered grasses. It flares its wings and plunges, landing in the snow. A few seconds later, the hawk is airborne again.

“He’s got something!” Cindy Swidler exclaims. Sure enough, we can see a small rodent – perhaps a vole – in the hawk’s beak. The red-tail flaps back to a ponderosa pine, landing in the top to eat its catch.

From Smlk̓͏ʷsšná to Place of the Killers

Just beyond the pine where the red-tail has landed is the hill known in Salish as Smlk̓͏ʷsšná, a billion-year old block of quartzites and argillites rising sharply above the Bitterroot River. More recently, settlers gave the hill its English name, McCauley Butte. Across from us to the east, on the opposite side of the ponds, is Fort Missoula itself. The Fort, established in 1877, is a newcomer on this landscape compared to Smlk̓͏ʷsšná Butte. But it, too, has a name in Salish. The Fort is known as Sx͏ʷplstwé, “Place of the Killers.” It’s a reminder that Missoula rests on Salish land – land that was taken by military force, not given freely.

And between the Place of the Killers and the striking hill known as Smlk̓͏ʷsšná or McCauley Butte, nestled against the Bitterroot River, are the Fort Missoula Ponds. These two large ponds, ringed with sandbar willows (Salix exigua) and black cottonwoods (Populus balsamifera), are more recent additions to the landscape, the aftermath of a gravel-quarrying operation that mined the river rocks from this area. 

The property known as the Fort Missoula Ponds consists of 86 acres, a mixture of open water and reclaimed grassland. In 2020, the City of Missoula took ownership of the site. For now, the area remains surrounded by a fence and closed to the public. In 2023, the City plans to hold a public input process and decide the future management of the site, considering things like wildlife habitat and recreation.

231 bird species

But even before the City acquired the property, it had become well-known among Missoula-area birders that the Fort Missoula Ponds were special. For six years now, birders have been bringing their spotting scopes and observing the wildlife attracted to these ponds, viewing from outside of the fence. Over that time, they’ve reported an astounding 231 bird species here – making this by far the most species-rich site known for birds in all of Missoula County. 

This impressive list is based on observations that local birders have submitted to eBird, a global platform for tracking and sharing bird sightings that is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Many of these observations are supported by photos. Nevertheless, the City of Missoula was looking for a more robust, consistent survey of the birds using the Fort Missoula Ponds. Was this site really as amazing for bird habitat as the eBird data seemed to suggest? 

So in spring of 2022, the City gave volunteers from Five Valleys Audubon Society permission to access the area and conduct a series of formal bird surveys. And so far, Jim Brown tells me, the Five Valleys Audubon surveys have matched very well with the eBird data.

“In a way, for the City’s sake, that substantiated the eBird dataset,” says Jim.

A diversity of ducks

Today, following our most recent period of subzero temperatures, the ponds are thoroughly ice-covered. Any ducks that are sticking around the area have shifted to the nearby Bitterroot River. But as soon as the temperatures warm in the spring and open water reappears here, the waterfowl will be back.

“As soon as these ponds open up, there’ll be stuff in them,” Jim tells me. 

The eBird list for the Fort Missoula Ponds includes a whopping 33 species of ducks, geese, and swans that birders have seen here over the past few years. And among them are some notable rarities, including long-tailed ducks and surf scoters.

“These are unusual, ocean-going ducks,” Jim continues. 

Around Missoula, this is one of just a few places that birders have found these rare sea ducks.

Winter at the Fort Missoula Ponds

A few black-billed magpies fly out of the willows, flashing their black and white wings. A northern flicker bobs past in flashes of orange and brown. We can see a few rock pigeons perching on a power pole to the north.

It’s the quiet season out here, for sure – but there’s still activity around us. Two bald eagles fly past, an adult and an immature. They seem to be having an argument, diving at each other in midair with their talons extended. They sweep northward in their silent dispute, skimming across a panorama of snowy blue mountains.

The ponds froze fast this year.

“It got cold all of a sudden,” says Jean Duncan.

The cold came so fast, in fact, that a western grebe got stuck in the ice, deprived of the long runway of open water that a grebe needs for takeoff. Last week, the Five Valleys Audubon birding team found it trapped in the ice. But then it disappeared – and today, there’s no sign of it. The group speculates that a bald eagle came in and scavenged the unfortunate grebe.

Along the river

Now we’re past the frozen ponds and approaching the Bitterroot River, flowing tranquilly past the cottonwoods that line both banks. The Salish word for the river is Nstetčcx͏ʷétkʷ, which translates as “Red-osier Dogwood Waters.” And indeed, there are many red-osier dogwoods (Cornus sericea) growing among the cottonwoods here, along with wild rose, hawthorns, and more willows.

Cindy Swidler tells me that farther downstream, there’s a great blue heron rookery in the cottonwoods. Heron rookeries are an incredible sight to behold. To me they look prehistoric, these arrays of massive stick nests high in the trees. During the breeding season, it’s easy to find the impressive gray birds standing or sitting on their nests. 

Don’t get too close, though: heron rookeries are sensitive to disturbance from humans. During the spring and summer, too close of an approach can cause the herons to abandon their nests.

The heron rookery isn’t the only special thing about this river corridor.

“It’s a tremendous area for breeding birds,” Cindy says. “Tremendous.”

Based on the eBird data, just a few of the summer birds commonly found at the Fort Missoula Ponds include calliope hummingbirds, spotted sandpipers, and red-naped sapsuckers. There are gray catbirds, warbling vireos, and eastern kingbirds. The grassland supports western meadowlarks, vesper sparrows, Savannah sparrows, and western bluebirds. It’s a bewildering diversity, far too much to list here – much more than the handful of birds we’re finding on this wintry day.

Life among the cottonwoods

Now we’ve stopped to look at a cottonwood where beavers have been gnawing on the trunk. We can tell the chewing is recent, because there are fresh wood chips on top of the snow. An old Bullock’s oriole nest is hanging from a limb – the sign of yet another of those summer birds that Cindy was talking about.

Kristi DuBois points out another cottonwood, the top of this one dead and broken. 

“Nice woodpecker holes up there,” she comments.

Cottonwoods are very important trees for wildlife, hosting not only woodpeckers and many other cavity-nesters, but also western wood-pewees, least flycatchers, red-eyed vireos, and an incredible diversity of insects. 

We continue farther along the cottonwoods, passing a flock of black-capped chickadees hunting for food in the willows. A narrow wildlife path leads us down to the edge of the river. The water slips past smoothly, and here the winter birding starts to get a bit busier. A belted kingfisher chatters in the distance. Then we notice three common mergansers, drifting near a gravel bar. Eventually they climb out of the water onto a small island. The mergansers mostly hunt fish, though they may also catch other aquatic creatures such as crayfish and frogs.

“They seem to make little runs off of that spit and come back to it,” Jim observes.

A mallard hen paddles amiably against the current nearby. Then we spot three common goldeneyes, diving actively near the mergansers.

Managing for wildlife

The river – and the cottonwoods and red-osier dogwoods along it – make the area around the Fort Missoula Ponds extra-special. More than just an isolated block of habitat, this area is part of an important wildlife corridor that follows the river. Upstream is land owned by the University of Montana. Downstream is a minimally-developed parcel which hosts Learning with Meaning, an educational organization. Beyond that, a conservation easement protects much of McCauley Butte itself. And across the river, just a bit farther downstream, is Maclay Flat, a large public natural area managed by the US Forest Service.

The Fort Missoula Ponds provide a key link in this habitat corridor. 

“It’s a great opportunity to restore an old gravel mine into a productive natural area,” Jim says.

Management for wildlife habitat and recreation can be a tricky balance. 

“There are a lot of people, understandably, that want to come enjoy a pond,” Jim says. 

But in the case of a site that’s so important for birds, Jim maintains, finding this balance is critical. Too much human traffic can drive the birds away. That’s especially true during the warmer months, when the ice has melted from the ponds. Too much love from pedestrians isn’t the only worry: off-leash dogs during the warm season would be especially damaging for wildlife.

“A lot of these migrants that come through here are very sensitive to human disturbance. If you don’t manage that, you’re going to lose them,” says Jim.

Migration at the Fort Missoula Ponds

The diversity of spring and fall migrants that use the Fort Missoula Ponds is especially stunning. Several years, hundreds of snow geese have stopped here. Five species of grebes pass through here commonly, and sometimes birders have spotted a less-common sixth species, the Clark’s grebe. The shorebird diversity is impressive: 18 species have turned up here. And when it comes to warblers, migration brings not just common species such as yellow-rumped and Wilson’s warblers, but also occasional, notable rarities like a black-throated gray and a magnolia warbler. 

Jim explains that Five Valleys Audubon Society hopes that the City will be able to develop public trails in some areas here. Wildlife viewing blinds along the trails would allow the community to see this amazing diversity of birds up-close, while minimizing disturbance to the birds. At the same time, for the sake of the wildlife, the Audubon chapter advocates for maintaining some completely undeveloped areas to serve as safe spaces for this incredible diversity of feathered visitors.

A late migrant

We’re getting ready to leave the river corridor when Jillian Leblow spots a flash of movement as a small songbird flies into the top of a willow. It immediately disappears from sight. We wait several minutes, but it’s as if the bird has vanished entirely.

From the split-second glimpse that I got of its flight, I think it was probably a chickadee. Someone else in our group expresses the same opinion. But Jillian is patient. The rest of us have just about given up when she spots it again, very backlit in the top of the willow.

“I think it’s a ruby-crowned kinglet!” she exclaims.

Ruby-crowned kinglets are insect-eaters that typically migrate to the southern U.S. and Mexico for the winter. After weeks of intense cold, it would be truly surprising to find one in Missoula still at this season. Jillian and I race off towards the willow, changing our angle so the sun isn’t shining directly into our eyes. As we approach, I hear a quick, harsh chatter – the call of a ruby-crowned kinglet! The bird flies into a nearby hawthorn and we both get a definitive look at its white wingbars, olive-gray body, and pointy bill for insect-hunting. A ruby-crowned kinglet indeed!

“I always feel like that’s the benefit of waiting,” Jillian says. “Was it a chickadee?”

In this case, it was something far more unusual.

Herons and American tree sparrows

As we walk back towards the cars, two great blue herons flush from the ice of the ponds. Even in their opaque winter stillness, the Fort Missoula Ponds are attracting birds. Are these two herons some of the same individuals that nest in the rookery here in the summer?

We get back to our cars: today’s survey is over. But then I notice that the weedy mound of dirt near our parking area seems to be crawling. Among the scraggly kochia (Kochia scoparia) that covers this mound, a flock of birds are feeding. They’re American tree sparrows, crisp and beautiful in the stark elegance of their plumage. And they’re giving us an excellent look.

Here we are, seven birders, standing awestruck in an unmarked parking lot at the edge of Missoula. The tree sparrows are busy and unafraid, picking seeds from the ground and from the tops of the kochia plants. One comes even closer to us and works on the crested wheatgrass seedheads, flying at them and bending them down to the snow. There, it proceeds to peck away, stocking up on calories for the cold nights ahead.

Biodiversity at the edge of Missoula

This has been a relatively quiet afternoon for birds – the sort of quiet that we can expect during the cold winter season. But even so, it’s clear that the Fort Missoula Ponds are one of Missoula’s special places for wildlife and nature. We’ve gotten to see tree sparrows gathering seeds, a red-tailed hawk hunting voles or mice, and great blue herons flying up from the frozen ponds. We’ve seen a beautiful cottonwood stand with woodpecker nest holes and at least one oriole nest, hints of this place’s summer abundance. And I’ve gotten to make friends with a remarkable group of Five Valleys Audubon Society volunteers – people who care about this place and can see its potential for wildlife and for the community in the years to come.

In the grand sweep of time, the Fort Missoula Ponds are very recent happenings on this landscape. Sandwiched between the ancient hill known as Smlk̓͏ʷsšná and Sx͏ʷplstwé, the Place of the Killers, these ponds are younger even than Fort Missoula.

But even in the relatively short time of their existence, the birds have found them and responded. The Fort Missoula Ponds area has become a biodiversity hotspot at the edge of Missoula. In a time when, all around the world, wildlife habitat is disappearing rapidly, these ponds provide a ray of hope. And with thoughtful management, they will become even more important for wildlife and the community in the years ahead.

For updates on the birds at the Fort Missoula Ponds, or to volunteer with future bird surveys, get in touch with Five Valleys Audubon Society.

Further reading

Lewis, R.S. (1998). Preliminary geologic map of the Montana part of the Missoula West 30’ x 60’ quadrangle. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 373, 1 sheet, scale 1:100,000. Retrieved from https://mbmg.mtech.edu/mbmgcat/public/ListCitation.asp?pub_id=11220&

Murdock, Joshua. (2022, 6 Jul). Birders eye prime habitat at Missoula’s Knife River Ponds. The Missoulian. Retrieved from https://missoulian.com/news/local/birders-eye-prime-habitat-at-missoulas-knife-river-ponds/article_df543aec-64c4-5a0b-bcee-61e2bdf8c8a8.html

Séliš-Ql̓ispé Culture Committee. (2019). Nɫʔay, place of the small bull trout. The Missoula area and the Séliš and Ql̓ispé people. Retrieved from https://plateauportal.libraries.wsu.edu/system/files/atoms/file/2019-05-28%20N%C9%AB%CA%94ay%20Missoula%20Valley%20sign.pdf

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4 de octubre de 2022

“Este lugar es como una fábrica de patos frisos,” dice Mark Mariano. Hoy me he reunido con Mark, un ecólogo basado en la ciudad de Butte que trabaja para Rampart Solutions y es cofundador de la nueva organización sin fines de lucro Montana Wetlands and Waterfowl, para contar patos en el Lago Helena, en el parte oeste central de Montana, EE.UU. Aquí, pocas millas lejos de la capital de Montana, números impresionantes de aves acuáticas hacen escala en este lago poco profundo, y en los humedales extensos que lo rodean, durante la migración otoñal. Y desde 2020, Mark viene acá una vez cada semana durante el otoño, contando los patos y observando esta etapa en su migración.

El trabajo de Mark aquí se vincula a una colaboración robusta entre biólogos y la industria. La colaboración se centra en el enorme hoyo tóxico de Butte, el Berkeley Pit, y un esfuerzo bastante exitoso para evitar las muertes de aves acuáticas ahí. Los conteos de Mark en el Lago Helena son parte de un proyecto regional de monitoreo de aves. La meta es mantenerle bien informado al equipo del Berkeley Pit sobre la migración otoñal de aves acuáticas. El equipo, sabiendo cuáles aves probablemente van a llegar, está preparado para ahuyentarlas desde las aguas nocivas del Berkeley Pit.

Desde hace dos años que Mark hace conteos semanales de la migración otoñal de patos en el Lago Helena. Todos estos conteos le han dado una riqueza de conocimiento local sobre las aves acuáticas y sus movimientos a través de las estaciones. Hoy, tengo la oportunidad de aprender de Mark sobre nuestros patos locales. ¿Qué significa el Lago Helena para las aves acuáticas?

Los patos frisos en el Lago Helena

Mark sigue contándome de los patos frisos (Mareca strepera) mientras revisa la bahía occidental del lago con su telescopio. Los patos frisos—patos sutiles vestidos en carboncillo, negro y marrón claro que tienen una semejanza a los bien conocidos patos de collar (Anas platyrhynchos)—vienen al Lago Helena en la primavera. Se aparean y las hembras ponen huevos. Sus nidos tienen la forma de un cuenco en el suelo y se ubican entre vegetación densa cerca del agua. Los machos se van pronto, formando grupos de solteros que pasan el verano en otra parte. Al llegar al comienzo de agosto, los patitos se han emplumado. Cientos de estos jóvenes se unen a las bandadas en el lago.

Ahora, los machos han regresado al Lago Helena, también. Podemos esperar que habrá patos frisos aquí por el resto del otoño, hasta que el lago se congele.

Las gallaretas americanas y sus compañeros

Las gallaretas americanas (Fulica americana) son las aves acuáticas más abundantes hoy. Sólo en la parte oeste del lago, contamos 1.900 de ellas, una gran agrupación de aves de color gris tormentoso. Unos patos frisos y patos chalcuán (Mareca americana) se mezclan con la agrupación. Las gallaretas, con sus llamativos picos blancos, tienen cierta semejanza a los patos. Pero realmente son rálidos (de la familia Rallidae), no patos. Sin embargo, como varios patos que forrajean en la superficie—por ejemplo los patos frisos y chalcuán—las gallaretas se alimentan bastante de vegetación acuática.

“Son muy importantes para los patos porque bucean,” Mark me dice. Los patos frisos y chalcuán sólo forrajean cerca de la superficie del agua. Incapaces de bucear, estos patos sumergen la cabeza, apuntando la cola hacia el cielo, para alimentarse de plantas en los bajos del lago. Pero Mark me cuenta que es muy común ver los patos chalcuán y frisos mezclando con bandadas de gallaretas americanas. Ahí, esperan hasta que las gallaretas, con su capacidad de bucear profundamente, vuelven a la superficie. Entonces intentan robarles el alimento.

Hace dos semanas que Mark contó unos abrumadores 17.000 gallaretas americanas aquí. Esta magnitud de cambio en un par de semanas—desde 17.000 hasta sólo unos pocos miles—nos deja claro que las gallaretas están migrando ahora. Se detienen para forrajear en el Lago Helena, y entonces siguen migrando hacia el sur.

El Lago Helena por bote

Ahora Mark ha acabado de contar las aves acuáticas en esta bahía occidental del lago. Es hora de empezar la segunda fase del conteo. Vamos a botar su bote y navegar alrededor del lago entero en un círculo, tratando de hacer un conteo completo de todos los patos que no hemos podido ver desde la orilla.

Tan pronto como zarpamos, empezamos a hacer un círculo en sentido horario por el lago. “Contando desde el bote es tan efectivo y fácil,” Mark me dice. Por revisar el lago entero y observar los humedales a los lados, logra obtener un conteo mucho más completo de las aves acuáticas que lo que obtendría si sólo observara desde la orilla.

Inicialmente, Mark hacía conteos primaverales también. Y sus observaciones primaverales revelaron algo interesante. Aprendió que algunas bandadas bastante grandes de gansos blancos (Anser caerulescens) hacían escala en los estanques inaccesibles al lado sur del lago. Era como “un pequeño Lago Freezout,” me dijo—haciendo referencia a ese lago famoso de Montana donde cientos de miles de gansos blancos hacen escala durante la primavera. Y dado que estos estanques al lado sur del Lago Helena son casi imposibles de acceder sin bote, los pajareros locales generalmente no eran conscientes de este “pequeño Freezout” hasta que Mark empezó sus conteos.

Bisbitas, gavilanes rastreros y patos buceadores

Hoy, no encontramos ningunos gansos blancos. Anticipamos que vayan a empezar a verse aquí tarde en octubre o temprano en noviembre, cuando las primeras tormentas invernales empiecen a alcanzar las áreas en Alberta, Canadá donde la mayoría se concentran antes de volar hacia el sur.

Hoy el lado sureste del Lago Helena está callado. De vez en cuando podemos escuchar el llamado—“chip” —de un chipe rabadilla amarilla (Setophaga coronata) desde los sauces (Salix exigua) de color anaranjado ardiente. Bandadas pequeñas de bisbitas americanas (Anthus rubescens) se echan a volar desde la orilla con sus vocalizaciones eléctricas “sip-it”. El agua burbujea suavemente bajo la proa del bote.

Unos gavilanes rastreros (Circus hudsonius) están dando vueltas sobre los humedales al sur de nosotros. Avistamos una agrupación grande de patos en medio del lago. Están congregados cerca de un límite visible donde el agua suave de la mañana está cediendo a una superficie de olas agitadas por el viento. Mark mantiene su ojo pegado al telescopio. Controla el rumbo del bote con un pequeño motor de pesca, así cambiando la perspectiva del telescopio para examinar toda la agrupación. Los patos en medio del lago son mayoritariamente especies de patos buceadores. Vemos patos cabeza roja (Aythya americana), patos pico anillado (Aythya collaris) y patos tepalcate (Oxyura jamaicensis).

De repente veo un águila cabeza blanca (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) planeando lánguidamente al oeste sobre el lago. Mark se apresura a contar los patos mientras el depredador se acerca. Pronto, como anticipábamos, los patos saltan del agua y vuelan. Bandada tras bandada huyen hacia el oeste como si fueran un solo animal, impulsado por la fuerza repelente del vuelo del depredador. El águila sigue adelante y desaparece en la distancia. Los patos aterrizan en nuevas posiciones. Pero ahora podemos ver muchos más patos cabeza roja que antes.

El Lago Helena y sus humedales

“Están apareciendo de la nada—aún siguen llegando,” exclama Mark.

Las bandadas de patos cabeza roja empezaron a verse aquí hace dos semanas, cuando el lago estaba lleno de gallaretas americanas como sardina en lata. Con todos los patos cabeza roja que estamos viendo hoy, Mark está sorprendido que no hayamos visto ningunos patos coacoxtle (Aythya valisineria). Estos grandes patos buceadores a menudo se mezclan con las agrupaciones de patos cabeza roja aquí. Pero puede ser todavía un poco temprano en el otoño para su llegada.

Revisamos las balsas al lado sur del lago, que están rodeadas por humedales extensos y bonitos de espadañas y juncos.

“Más patos frisos—¡sorpresa!” dice Mark. Aquí también vemos nuestros primeros patos de collar del día. Grupos pequeños de ellos están volando de estas aguas protegidas, pasando oblicuamente sobre nosotros.

Al sur, en la distancia, podemos ver una nube masiva compuesta de gaviotas que están dando vueltas. Es un enjambre de manchitas lejanas sobre el valle, apenas visibles sin binoculares. Presuntamente están forrajeando, habiendo encontrado una concentración de insectos o arañas voladores. En el lago mismo, más de cien gaviotas de Franklin (Leucophaeus pipixcan) están activas. Se mecen en la superficie y luego se van volando, aleteando hacia el este sobre nosotros en hilos desordenados.

Cerrando el círculo

Ya acabamos de pasar por la bahía occidental, donde esta mañana contamos las gallaretas americanas y patos frisos desde la orilla. Nuestro círculo alrededor del lago está llegando a su fin. En una pastura al norte, vemos unos grupos pequeños de gansos canadienses mayores (Branta canadensis). Los revisamos cuidadosamente, buscando cualquier cosa diferente. Durante las semanas recientes, Mark ha visto un inesperadamente temprano ganso blanco con los gansos canadienses. Fue una sorpresa, un ganso blanco bien adelantado a la migración general de la especie. Pero hoy sólo logramos ver gansos canadienses: parece que el ganso blanco ya ha continuado hacia adelante.

Mark navega de vuelta al punto donde botamos el bote. Otro conteo de los patos del Lago Helena se ha cumplido. Hoy hemos conocido una gota en el río otoñal que es la migración de las aves acuáticas. Realmente es más que un río: es una marea que se desliza por el continente entero, inexorablemente hacia el sur, millones de patos y gallaretas que están evacuando los humedales boreales ante el acercamiento del invierno. El Lago Helena es un trozo de este vasto rompecabezas ecológico. Y ya que Mark visita el lago cada semana a través de la migración otoñal, el conteo de hoy tiene el contexto de la entera historia estacional.

Problemas con carpas

El Lago Helena no es perfecto en términos del hábitat para los patos. Masivas carpas comunes europeas (Cyprinus carpio)—una especie invasora de pez—pasan el verano aquí en números grandes, agitando barro mientras buscan alimento en el fondo poco profundo del lago. Mark explica que esta acción previene que las plantas acuáticas crezcan, así reduciendo el alimento que está disponible para los patos y las gallaretas. Las carpas también contribuyen, indirectamente, a las floraciones de algas. Por remover plantas acuáticas, las carpas previenen que estas plantas absorban el influjo de nutrientes que el lago recibe desde el Valle de Helena. En vez de plantas acuáticas, alfombras de algas crecen en respuesta al exceso de nutrientes.

Mark conoce una solución para el problema de las carpas en el Lago Helena. El lago, me dice, es bastante somero. Durante el invierno, las carpas regresan a las aguas profundas del Lago Hauser, aguas abajo, para sobrevivir el tiempo frío. Según Mark, si se instalara una puerta en el dique que represa las aguas del Lago Helena que sólo permitiera que los peces hasta un cierto tamaño pasaran, excluiría la mayoría de las carpas masivas del Lago Helena. Mientras tanto, todos los peces más pequeños todavía podrían moverse libremente. Esta estrategia se ha implementado con éxito en el Delta Marsh del sur de Manitoba, Canadá. Allá, excluir las carpas ha mejorado la calidad del agua y aumentado la cobertura de plantas acuáticas. 

Así parece que, por el problema de las carpas del Lago Helena, una solución es posible. Lo que queda por hacer es transformar el concepto en realidad. Pero mientras tanto, a pesar de las carpas, el Lago Helena y sus humedales circundantes son un tesoro biológico dentro del Valle de Helena.

Helena, el valle de los patos

“Helena es muy un valle de patos,” Mark me dice. En efecto, entre el Lago Helena y el Embalse Regulador de Helena, pajareros han registrado un total impresionante de 33 especies de patos, gansos y cisnes en el Valle de Helena.

¿Por qué tanta diversidad? 

Se debe al Lago Helena y lugares como esto. Gracias a estos humedales, balsas y aguas abiertas, podemos ver decenas de miles de gallaretas americanas haciendo escala aquí en el otoño. Podemos ver patos frisos y chalcuán tratando de robarles el alimento. Y durante la primavera, podemos buscar grandes bandadas de gansos blancos mientras este lugar se transforme en un “pequeño Lago Freezout.” 

Espero que siempre habrá humedales como estos en el Valle de Helena. Y si logramos excluir las carpas, ¿cuántos patos más podríamos mantener aquí?

La traducción de esta historia al español (cumplida en noviembre de 2023) se debe al apoyo generoso de Lynda Saul. ¡Muchísimas gracias, Lynda, por creer en este proyecto y en la importancia de contar historias bilingües!

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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 and who recently co-founded the nonprofit Montana Wetlands and Waterfowl, to survey ducks on Lake Helena. Here, just a few miles from the Montana capital, impressive numbers of waterfowl stop during fall migration on this shallow lake and the extensive marshes that surround it. And since 2020, Mark has been coming out here once a week, doing fall surveys to track the migrating ducks.

Mark’s work here is connected to a robust collaboration of biologists and industry, centered around Butte’s large, toxic Berkeley Pit and a very successful effort to prevent waterfowl mortality there. Mark’s fall surveys at Lake Helena are part of a regional bird monitoring effort. The goal: keep the Berkeley Pit team well-informed on fall waterfowl migration. Knowing what birds they can expect in the area, the team is well-prepared to scare ducks away from the hazardous waters of the Berkeley Pit. 

Mark has been doing weekly surveys of the fall duck migration on Lake Helena for two years now. All of these surveys have given him a wealth of local knowledge about Helena’s waterfowl and their seasonal movements. So today, I get to learn from Mark about our local ducks. What does Lake Helena mean for our waterfowl?

Gadwalls on Lake Helena

Mark continues telling me about the gadwalls as he scans the western bay with his spotting scope. The gadwalls – subtle charcoal, black and tan ducks that somewhat resemble mallards – show up on Lake Helena in the spring. They mate and the females lay their eggs, scraping out a well-hidden bowl in dense vegetation near water. Soon after, the males leave, forming bachelor groups that spend the summer elsewhere. By August, the young have fledged, and several hundred of them join the flocks on the lake.

By now, the drakes have returned to Lake Helena, too. We can expect to have gadwalls here for the rest of the fall, until the lake freezes. 

Coots and their associates

American coots are the most abundant waterfowl today. Just on this west end, we count 1900 of them, a large raft of stormy blue birds. A few gadwalls and American wigeons are mixed in with the raft. Coots, with their striking white bills, look similar to ducks. But they’re actually a type of rail (family Rallidae), not a duck. Like many dabbling ducks, coots feed heavily on aquatic vegetation. 

“They’re really important for the other ducks because they dive,” Mark tells me. Wigeons and gadwalls are both dabbling ducks. Unable to dive for food, these ducks tip bottoms-up to feed on plants in the shallows. But Mark tells me that it’s very common to see wigeons and gadwalls mixing with flocks of coots. There, they wait for the deep-diving coots to resurface with plant matter, then try to steal the food from them.

Two weeks ago, Mark counted an astounding 17,000 American coots on the lake. This sort of change in a few weeks – from 17,000 to just a few thousand – makes it clear that the coots are moving right now. They stop to feed on Lake Helena, then continue south. 

Lake Helena by boat

Now Mark has finished counting the waterfowl on this western bay. It’s time to start the second phase of the survey. We’ll launch the boat and make a circle around the entire lake, doing a comprehensive count of all the ducks we haven’t been able to see from the shore. 

As soon as we launch, we begin making a clockwise circle around the lake. “Counting from the boat is so much more effective and easy,” Mark tells me. By covering the whole lake and checking the marshes on the sides, he is able to get a much more complete picture of the waterfowl here than a birder who only scopes from one edge. 

Initially, Mark was doing spring surveys here, too. And his spring observations from the boat turned up something interesting. He learned that some very large flocks of snow geese stage on the inaccessible ponds along the south margin of the lake. It’s like “a mini Freezout Lake,” he told me – referring to the famous Montana lake where hundreds of thousands of snow geese stop in the spring. And because these ponds on the south side of Lake Helena are nearly impossible to access without a boat, local birders were largely unaware of this “mini Freezout” until Mark started his surveys.

Pipits, harriers, and diving ducks

Today, we find no snow geese. We can expect them to start passing over in late October or early November, when wintry weather begins to hit their major migratory staging areas in Alberta. The southeast side of Lake Helena is quiet today. From the flaming yellow sandbar willows (Salix exigua) along the shore, we can hear the occasional chip of a yellow-rumped warbler. Small flocks of American pipits flush from the lake’s edge with their electric sip-it calls. The water burbles smoothly under the bow of the boat.

Several northern harriers are circling over the marshes to the south of us. We spot a large raft of ducks out in the middle of the lake. They’re clustered along the line where the morning’s smooth water is giving way to a wind-driven chop. Mark has his eye glued to the spotting scope. He steers the boat with the trolling motor to pan the scope across the ducks. It’s largely diving ducks out there in the middle: redheads, ring-necked ducks, and ruddy ducks. 

I spot a bald eagle sweeping languidly west over the lake. Mark hurries his duck-counting as the predator approaches. And then, as we had been expecting, the ducks leap into flight. Flock after flock move west in unison, impelled by the repulsive force of the eagle’s flight. The bald eagle continues onwards. The ducks settle in their new positions. But now we can see many more redheads than before.

Lake Helena and its marshes

“They’re just showing up out of nowhere – they keep flying in,” Mark exclaims.

The redhead flocks started to show up here two weeks ago, when Lake Helena was bursting its seams with coots. With all of the redheads, Mark says he’s surprised not to see any canvasbacks today – these large diving ducks often mix with the redheads here. Perhaps the season is a bit early yet for canvasbacks, though.

We check the ponds on the south side of the lake, which are surrounded by extensive, beautiful marshes of cattails and bulrushes. 

“More gadwalls – surprise!” says Mark. Here we also see our first mallards of the day. Small groups of them lift off from this protected water, streaming obliquely past us.

South of us, in the distance, we can see a massive cloud of gulls wheeling. It’s a swarm of far-off specks over the valley, barely visible without binoculars. Presumably, they’re finding a hatch of insects or spiders to feed on. On the lake itself, over a hundred Franklin’s gulls are active. They bob on the surface and then take off, flying east over us in disorganized strings.

Completing the circle

We’ve passed the western bay now, where we counted the coots and dabbling ducks from the shore this morning. Our circle around the lake is coming to an end. There are some small groups of Canada geese in the pasture along the north shore. We scan them carefully, searching for anything different. For the past several weeks, Mark saw an unusually early snow goose with these Canadas, a surprise bird well in advance of the main snow goose migration. But today we see only Canadas: the snow goose seems to have moved on. 

Mark pilots us back towards the boat launch. Another Lake Helena duck survey is in the books. Today we’ve dipped our toes into the fall river of waterfowl migration. It’s more than a river, really: it’s a continent-wide tide, inexorably southbound, as millions of ducks and coots evacuate the wetlands of the north in the face of the approaching winter. Lake Helena is one piece in this vast puzzle. And because Mark visits Lake Helena every week throughout the fall migration, today’s survey has the context of the whole seasonal story.

Problems with carp

Lake Helena isn’t perfect for duck habitat. Massive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) spend the summer here in large numbers, churning up mud as they root for food on the shallow lake bottom. Mark tells me that their feeding prevents submergent plants from growing, reducing the food available for ducks and coots. The carp also contribute indirectly to algal blooms. By removing aquatic plants, carp prevent these plants from absorbing the influx of nutrients the lake receives from the Helena Valley. Instead of aquatic plants, mats of algae grow in response to the nutrient surplus.

Mark knows of a solution for Lake Helena’s carp issues. Lake Helena is very shallow. During the winter, the carp return to the deep waters of Hauser Lake to overwinter. Mark tells me that a size-limiting gate in the dam at the Causeway, between Lake Helena and Hauser Lake, would allow other fish to move back and forth but would exclude most of the massive carp from Lake Helena. This strategy has been deployed successfully on southern Manitoba’s Delta Marsh. There, carp exclusion has improved water quality and boosted cover of aquatic plants. 

So for Lake Helena’s carp problem, it seems that an answer is within sight. All that remains is all the work it would take to bring this idea from concept to reality. But in the meanwhile, carp notwithstanding, Lake Helena and its surrounding marshes are one of the Helena Valley’s treasures. 

Helena, the valley of the ducks

“Helena is very ducky,” Mark tells me. And indeed, between Lake Helena and the Helena Regulating Reservoir, birders have recorded a whopping 33 species of ducks, geese and swans in the Helena Valley. Why all this diversity? 

It’s because of Lake Helena and places like it. Because of these ponds, open waters, and marshes, we can watch tens of thousands of coots stopping here in the fall. We can see the gadwalls and American wigeons trying to steal their food. In the spring, we can look for the flocks of snow geese as this place becomes a “mini Freezout Lake.” 

I hope that there will always be wetlands like this in the Helena Valley. And if we can exclude the carp, how many more ducks could we support here?

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June 23, 2022

Last week I found a surprising diversity of pollinators feeding on leafy spurge, a flower that everyone hates. But I also noticed a very different community of pollinators on the nearby two-groove milkvetch (Astragalus bisulcatus). This is a beautiful native plant, a flower that’s easy to like.

Today, in celebration of Pollinator Week, I’ve returned to pay close attention to the two-groove milkvetch and the insects it is supporting. Which insects are visiting the milkvetch flowers? What are they doing? And together with last week’s investigation of leafy spurge, what can this teach us about supporting pollinator diversity?

Symphony on the milkvetch

On this warm, sunny morning, the milkvetch patch sounds like a symphony of chainsaws. Dozens of honeybees (Apis mellifera) are working the long purple flower clusters. Every short flight they make is accompanied by a whining buzz. There are leafcutter bees here, too, about the same size as the honeybees and making similar-pitched buzzes. They’re easy to pick out, though. The leafcutters (family Megachilidae) have the undersides of their abdomens covered in bright golden-orange pollen. Leafcutter bees are the only group to carry pollen like this. All other bees gather pollen on their legs (except for a few that carry pollen internally, in their crop).

A few bumblebees (Bombus spp.) are stopping here this morning, too. They’re the basses of this symphony. One is lifting off right now, its wings giving a low, deep-throated roar.

Pollen dance

One of the leafcutter bees lands on a milkvetch flower. I inch closer until she’s just inches from my face. She pokes her head adeptly between the lower, canoe-like keel petal and the upper, purple-striped banner, forcing them apart. The keel contains the milkvetch anthers, with their bright red-orange packets of pollen. Between the anthers is the female part of the flower, the pistil.

Now the leafcutter bee does a dance that looks complicated to me, though it must be routine for her. She combs backwards with her middle legs. At just the right moment, she engages her hind legs, rowing them backwards as well. With the leg dance, she transfers pollen to the underside of her abdomen. It all happens so fast, it’s hard to see how she’s doing it. Her abdomen is already densely covered with pollen, held there by special, branched hairs. Mission accomplished, the leafcutter revs her wings and helicopters over to the next flower.

What about the honeybees?

The honeybees are acting differently. First, they aren’t flying as much. Instead, they’re spending a lot of time crawling from one flower to the next. A honeybee lands on a flower in front of me and I watch her closely. Like the leafcutter bee, she butts her head between the keel and banner petals, opening the flower. But she doesn’t bother to comb pollen onto her legs. In fact, the pollen baskets on her hind legs are completely empty. She doesn’t seem interested in the milkvetch anthers at all. Instead, her attention is directed farther inside the flower, where the keel and banner petals meet. Is she getting nectar instead of pollen?

I remove a flower for closer investigation. Unlike these bees, I’m not a milkvetch expert. Instead of using their well-practiced petal-shove, I open up the flower by indelicately ripping off the banner petal. At the base of the keel petal, I notice two lobes where the lateral petals, the wings, join the keel. Is there nectar there? I don’t see any obvious glands, like the nectaries of the leafy spurge from last week. But clearly there’s something here that is attracting the honeybees’ attention. It isn’t pollen, so likely it’s nectar, even though I can’t spot it with ten-times magnification.

Ghosts among the milkvetch

Something that I love about spending a day watching flower pollination is how much I only glimpse. Just like the massive trout that gets away, it’s a sure sign that there’s more going on here than we can grasp. Right now, I spot a hawkmoth (family Sphingidae) visiting the milkvetch flowers six feet away from me. It’s the size of a bumblebee queen. Its flight is silent and its wings are partially transparent. I reach for my insect net. The hawkmoth spots the distant motion and shoots away, a silent and wary ghost. 

What species is this hawkmoth, and what’s its story? Unless I’m able to catch one for a closer look, I’ll never know. So I keep my eyes peeled, hoping to get another glimpse of “the one that got away.”

Some of these milkvetches have already been in bloom here for three weeks. Most of the flowers are a deep, royal purple, but some plants are a pale lavender and I even spot one with all-white flowers. There are buds still at the tips of the plants. Below them are the open flowers the bees are visiting. Still lower, green fruits are swelling like miniature, drooping peapods. It’s easy to see the two deep grooves running along each fruit, the field mark that gives this plant its common name. The grooves are light green, outlined by red ridges.

Of peas and selenium

For those of you who are gardeners, you’ll recognize many family resemblances between these milkvetches and garden peas. They have unusual two-lipped flowers, pod-like fruits, and compound leaves made up of many leaflets. And like garden peas, the milkvetches are legumes (family Fabaceae). Their root nodules harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria, allowing these plants to obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Two-groove milkvetch is chemically interesting for reasons besides nitrogen fixation. It often grows on soils rich in selenium. Humans and many other animals need this element at small concentrations, but at high concentrations it becomes toxic. Two-groove milkvetch is rather unusual when it comes to selenium: it can accumulate high levels of the element in its tissues. By using particular chemical pathways to store selenium in forms the plant can recognize and handle with care, it avoids the potential toxicity of this element. Why is this advantageous? There are a number of reasons: 

• Two-groove milkvetch can grow in selenium-rich soils, areas inhospitable to many species. 
• By storing selenium, these plants become much less palatable to herbivores such as grasshoppers and prairie dogs. (However, some specialized insects have co-evolved to tolerate high selenium levels and feed on these plants.)
• These plants can act as selenium pumps, boosting levels of this nutrient in the soil around them. This makes conditions even less hospitable for intolerant plants, giving milkvetch a competitive advantage.

What about pollinators? So far, studies have shown that bees don’t seem to discriminate between flowers of selenium-accumulators and non-accumulators. In two-groove milkvetch flowers, selenium concentrations are high, but there aren’t any studies on selenium concentrations in this plant’s nectar or pollen. And whether selenium from flowers may affect bees (either negatively or positively) remains unknown. (However, honey from bees in selenium-rich areas seems to contain amounts that are beneficial for human health.)

Aphid ranching

Moving on from the puzzle of selenium ecology, I spot a few ants crawling around the milkvetch flowers. They’re much less abundant than the ants I saw on the leafy spurge last week. And what are these ants doing, anyhow? They aren’t actually entering the flowers, just clambering past them and around them. Then I see why: between the flowers, several stems are covered with colonies of black aphids. The ants are associating with the aphids, presumably protecting them from predators.

The relationship between aphids and ants is well-known: while the aphids feed on their host plant, they excrete a sugary honeydew for ants. In exchange, the ants guard the aphid colonies. So while the ants on the leafy spurge were feeding on nectar that the plant offered freely, and probably transferring some pollen in the process, these ants seem to be stealing sugars from the milkvetch by way of aphid ranching. And it seems they aren’t contributing to pollination.

Aphid ranching has its risks, though – and here comes one of them now. It’s a transverse ladybug (Coccinella transversoguttata), one of our native aphid predators. The ladybug crawls methodically along a milkvetch leaf, then flies nimbly to a raceme of flowers. This flower cluster doesn’t have aphids, but it’s just a matter of time until this ladybug will find its juicy lunch.

Ladybug ecology

All of this crawling and flying is typical ladybug behavior. Aphid colonies are short-lived. It’s hard to predict where they may show up, so these ladybugs have become adept at finding them. This is one of the reasons why buying ladybugs for your garden is usually a waste of time: they’ll probably fly away. Buying these frequent fliers can be problematic for other reasons, too. One of the most commonly sold species is the convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens). Like the transverse ladybug, this species is another of our native aphid-eaters. But ladybug suppliers don’t rear these in captivity – they collect them by the billions from places where these ladybugs gather to overwinter. How does this mass-removal of ladybugs impact our wild populations? No one seems to know yet. 

We do know, though, that these releases are rarely effective. What’s more, shipping these ladybugs around the country can spread diseases and parasitoids. For aphid control, a better bet might be to create good habitat around your garden for ladybugs and other predators. What makes good ladybug habitat? Consider planting two-groove milkvetch and other native plants. These plants host their own species of aphids throughout the season and also provide pollen and nectar.

I’ve already spotted two more ladybugs on the milkvetch: another transverse ladybug and a native Hippodamia (H. quinquesignata or one of its close relatives). With good habitat – aphids and a diversity of native plants – ladybugs will probably fly to your garden on their own. In fact, you may attract not just ladybugs, but also other aphid predators such as syrphid flies.

Bees beware

What’s that reddish wasp doing over there, lurking on the grasses near the milkvetch flowers? It’s actually a fly, not a wasp! It’s a pretty good mimic, though, with its slender, wasplike orange abdomen. Bees beware: this is a thick-headed fly (family Conopidae), a sneaky parasitoid. This one seems to be a member of the genus Physocephala, a group I’ve collected here before. How do these flies make their living? A female will lay in wait where bees and wasps are active, attacking them on flowers or in flight. She will rapidly insert an egg into the hapless host’s body. If she succeeds, her larvae will feed inside the bee or wasp, eating it from the inside until it dies. It’s gruesome, but it’s also just part of the complex world of this milkvetch patch. Insects are stranger than science fiction!

A tiny, iridescent greenish-black bee is flying from flower to flower now. Its gentle buzzing is impossible to hear over the chainsaw symphony of the honeybees. I catch this one and see that its abdomen is covered in orange pollen. It’s another species of leafcutter bee! Then I spot a third leafcutter species, this one with a rusty-haired thorax and shiny black abdomen. The underside of its abdomen is just lightly dusted with pollen.

Windy afternoon

Throughout the morning, Helena’s usually-ferocious wind has been almost still. Now, as if it has realized its lapse, the wind has become a force to be reckoned with. Its gusts whoosh through the grasses, overpowering the buzzing of the bees. The bumblebees are nowhere in sight now. The milkvetch is bobbing so much that I can barely spot pollinators, let alone identify them. But still, the leafcutters and honeybees are holding on, climbing tenaciously into one flower after another. With such dedicated pollinators, it’s no wonder so many fruits are developing successfully.

Undoubtedly what I’ve seen this morning isn’t everything: there must be other pollinator species that visit the milkvetch. But for now, the wind is making further observations impossible. 

Yellow and purple

With the exception of the honeybees, none of today’s insects have overlapped with the pollinators I found visiting leafy spurge last week. And no wonder: these two flowers are as different as night and day. Yellow versus purple. Easy-to-reach nectar versus valuable pollen; slender wasps versus fuzzy bees. Both are flowering together here. And together, they’re supporting a much more diverse pollinator community than either could on its own. What if we could add more flower diversity here? If we added lots of other native plants – the flowers with which our pollinators have coevolved – how many more insects could we support?

The wind isn’t letting up. If anything, it’s getting stronger. With afternoon insect observations thwarted by the wind, I’m going to range farther afield and look for flower diversity. What other native plants can we find around here, flowering now or soon, that might add to the pollinator habitat in this grass-dominated patch?

Willow and beeplant

Along the edge of the stream is a slender, silvery-green stand of sandbar willow (Salix exigua). It, too, is flowering now, quietly offering up its inconspicuous, yellow catkins. I may get irritable with the wind, but the willows sway with it. (They whack me in the face as they do.) For insects, the leaves seem to be offering a bit of shelter from the gale. Even on this gusty afternoon, I spot a small, black bee on the flowers. This is a species I didn’t see on the milkvetch. The flowers are also sheltering several tiny flies and click beetles, feeding on pollen as they sway back and forth. Sandbar willows are a moisture-loving species, often growing right at the edge of streams and ponds. But irrigated lawns are a lot like floodplains: a small patch of sandbar willows could do well in a residential habitat.

In a bare patch, I find a Rocky Mountain beeplant (Cleome serrulata). This native annual will bloom from now until frost. In the afternoon’s wind, all I see on it are a few ants. But on other days, I’ve found bumblebees, small wasps, Becker’s white butterflies (Pontia beckerii), and many other insects on these flowers. Beeplant likes disturbed soil and is easy to grow from seed.

Globemallow, goldenaster, and thistle

Along a dry roadbed of dirt, away from the stream, I see a patch of scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea). This low-growing perennial is inconspicuous except when it flowers. Then, its broad red corollas catch our attention, as well as that of bees. Several bees specialize on globemallow flowers, including species of Perdita and Calliopsis.

Out in the arid grassland, a sea of yellow is blooming. It’s hairy goldenaster (Heterotheca villosa), another tough, low-growing perennial. These plants can keep blooming from now to the fall. And last September, I found a very special bee fly visiting these flowers. A grasshopper predator, Anastoechus barbatus lays its eggs on the soil. There, its larvae crawl along, searching for grasshopper eggs, which they destroy. I may think grasshoppers are cool – but anyone who’s ever had a garden devoured by them would probably beg to differ. This bee fly is a welcome addition to any garden – and so are the flowers that support it.

What’s that brush of light purple on the hillside? It’s our common, native wavy-leaved thistle (Cirsium undulatum). Sometimes people mistake it for one of our weedy, non-native thistles and kill it. That’s unfortunate, since these flowers host bumblebees and a range of other pollinators. Even in today’s wind, this single flowerhead holds 60 tiny gray beetles (probably soft-winged flower beetles, family Melyridae) and two large orange blister beetles.

And… more native flowers!

I’m having to search far and wide to find these flowers, but the diversity is a good sign for pollinators. In moister areas along the stream, I find yarrow (Achillea millefolium). These flowers are shallow, easily accessible to insects.

Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) is just starting to bloom, its striking heads like miniature sunflowers.

Prairie flax (Linum lewisii) has a few open flowers and many slender, nodding buds. Earlier this summer, I noticed several small and medium-sized bees visiting these blooms.

Here’s a patch of wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota). This native relative of cultivated licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) has bur-like brown seedpods. I’ll admit that some people don’t like this plant because of its burs. But bumblebees love the white flowers, which will open up in a few more weeks. And last summer, I found a patch where over 50 ladybugs were feasting on aphids. Do you have aphids in your garden? Maybe a patch of wild licorice would attract some ladybugs.

Attract more bees

Today I’m picking and choosing, finding the native flowers scattered here and there. As I wrote last week, a sea of non-native smooth brome (Bromus inermis) dominates the habitat along this stream. But what if our streamsides held an abundance of all these flowers?

There would be patches of two-groove milkvetch for leafcutter bees, aphids, and ladybugs. We could tolerate some leafy spurge for ichneumonid wasps and biocontrol beetles. Yarrow, scarlet globemallow, and sandbar willows would feed other pollinator species. We could plant hairy goldenaster and wild licorice for mid-summer flowers. Rabbitbrush and goldenrod would feed insects in the fall. With all of these flowering plants (and a few dozen others we could think of), how many species of pollinators could we support? Hundreds?

Eventually, this is what I hope my yard will look like. And when it does, I have a feeling I won’t be worrying about aphids getting out of hand. (I might go crazy trying to understand all of that insect diversity, though!)

Learning from the milkvetch

Two-groove milkvetch is an interesting plant. Popular with a variety of bees, strikingly beautiful in bloom, and capable of accumulating selenium to levels that are toxic to many organisms, it’s something of an enigma. But although questions remain, a close look at the milkvetch reveals some general patterns that we can take to heart here in the midst of Pollinator Week. Here are some takeaways:

• There’s a lot more going on in our plant communities than first meets the eye.
• For pollinator diversity, floral diversity is a good thing. Milkvetch will attract some species, leafy spurge others, and globemallow still others.

It might not surprise you to read that I’m pretty excited about our local plants and the pollinators they support. And as I imagine habitats brimming with native flowers and filled with bees, I’d love to hear from you! Have you tried to add some native plants to your yard or neighborhood? Are there native plants that seem especially important for pollinator diversity? Have you observed anything related to two-groove milkvetch and selenium? Let me know!

Until next time, let’s take a moment to thank our local plants for supporting all of our pollinators. Maybe we can make space to add a few more to our yards or our neighborhoods.

Further reading

Wilson, Joseph S. and Carril, Olivia M. (2016). The bees in your backyard. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

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