25 May 2017

After leaving North Dakota we traveled over 200 miles to get to Lewiston, Montana for the evening.  This was essentially a travel day, although we did occasionally stop to check out birds along the way.

26 May 2017

Today is essentially our last chance to see a Grasshopper Sparrow as we move out of its range.

Sprague’s Pipit …

… these birds aren’t easy to find and to see.  We lucked out.  We actually saw about six different ones..

Vesper Sparrow

Savanah Sparrow

Long-billed Curlew – this one a male.  His bill isn’t as long as the female’s bill.

Western Meadowlark with lunch

Gadwall

McCown’s Longspur

Chestnut-collard Longspur

Horned Lark

Killdeer Chick – soooooooo cute

One of the parents

Red-tailed Hawk nest

Lark Bunting …

… these birds are continually chased off by Brown-headed Cowbirds.  Not good.

Bird Species Seen or Observed along Snow Mountain Road:

  • Lark Bunting
  • Horned Lark
  • Sprague’s Pipit
  • Western Meadowlark
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • Brewer’s Blackbird
  • McCown’s Longspur
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Common Raven
  • Long-billed Curlew
  • Clay-colored Sparrow
  • Killdeer
  • Northern Harrier
  • Barn Swallow
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Golden Eagle
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Gadwall
  • Mourning Dove

27 May 2017

Visited with family today in Helena.  Was nice to sit back, relax, and visit the local Farmer’s Market.  Tomorrow we plan to visit a national wildlife refuge and a favorite birding area called Freezeout Lake.  If this site hasn’t been designated an “Important Bird Area”, it should be so designated.

28 May 2017

Left Helena and made our way to Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Great Falls, Montana.  This 12,459 acre refuge contains short-grass prairie habitat in addition to several shallow lakes.  We visited this refuge during our 2013-2014 trip and the lake levels were much lower than today, so we saw a greater abundance of American Avocets back then.   In addition to six different species of shorebirds seen today, we had 13 different species of waterfowl.  I think the only waterfowl species that breeds at the refuge that we didn’t see was the Green-winged Teal.  Haven’t seen that bird in the recent past.

The mosquitoes were out in full force today so it was difficult to have one’s window down even a little.  They smelled blood…   But it was great to see the shorebirds: Wilsons’ Phalarope, Willet, Killdeer, Marbled Godwit, American Avocet, and Black-necked Stilt.  And there was an abundance of Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

As we were leaving the refuge I told Jack, “Well guess I won’t get a Grasshopper Sparrow this trip”.  Not ten seconds later I noticed a small bird on top of some vegetation.  I yelled “Stop” and checked out the bird.  Sure enough it was a Grasshopper Sparrow.  The bird was even singing so I knew for sure, even without seeing the bird in detail, that a Grasshopper Sparrow was present in the short-grass prairie.  I was a very happy birder.

This refuge is pretty flat – a few “gentle” rolling hills

A few areas with shrubs … otherwise all short prairie grass

The southern edge of the prairie pothole region

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel – cute little buggers

Female Yellow-headed Blackbird …

… with ruffled feathers

Wilson’s Phalarope – fun to watch them move in circles, stirring up their food for easy access

Eared Grebes in breeding plumage

Wilson’s Phalarope grooming itself

A very wet Willet – also grooming (preening) itself

Marbled Godwit – these birds breed on the refuge

Yellow-bellied Marmot enjoying the sunny (albeit, windy) day

Willet feeding along the lake shoreline

There was actually a Black-crowned Night Heron hiding in the vegetation on that island

Black-necked Stilt on a nest

Cinnamon Teal

Marbled Godwit

American Avocet

Northern Pintail pair

Swainson’s Hawk – this bird was near its nest

Western Meadowlark singing its heart out

Yes, finally my Grasshopper Sparrow …

… upclose

Upland Sandpiper – with ruffled feathers. Looks very plump …

… but not so much when feathers are back in place – we call it the fence post bird.

Bird Species Seen or Heard at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge:

  • Western Meadowlark
  • Upland Sandpiper
  • Long-billed Curlew
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Common Grackle
  • Clay-colored Sparrow
  • Horned Lark
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • Swainson’s Hawk (nesting pair found)
  • Loggerhead Shrike
  • Eastern Kingbird
  • Mourning Dove
  • Tree Sparrow
  • American Robin
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Yellow-headed Blackbird
  • Northern Shoveler
  • American Wigeon
  • Canada Goose
  • Wilson’s Phalarope
  • American Coot
  • Gadwall
  • Mallard
  • Blue-winged Teal
  • Common Yellowthroat
  • Eared Grebe
  • Northern Pintail
  • Cinnamon Teal
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Willet
  • American Avocet
  • Ruddy Duck
  • Lesser Scaup
  • Marbled Godwit
  • Redhead
  • Bufflehead
  • Black-necked Stilt
  • Canvasback
  • White-faced Ibis
  • Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Barn Swallow
  • Ring-necked Pheasant
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • Black-billed Magpie

We actually had two places in mind to visit today: Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Freezeout Lake Wetland Management Area (WMA).  After visiting the refuge, we took some back road to get to the WMA.   Along the way we spotted two Short-eared Owls.   Woohoo!!!  This species of owl is my favorite.  I was elated to see not one, but two of them.  One was flying in search of its evening meal and the other was sitting on a fence post just off the road.  These owls are diurnal and hunt for the food in the early morning and later afternoon.  What great views of both birds.

Camping is one of the permitted activities at Freezeout Lake.  Yes!!!  We found the camping area and then took a drive around the WMA.  Once again we saw Short-eared Owls – three this time.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen so many Short-eared Owls in one day (five in all).  Haven’t even seen that many in any given year.  We felt very fortunate.  As Jack likes to say, “Timing is everything”.

I saw a small bird that looks like a sparrow, but I can’t identify it.  Doesn’t look like any sparrow in my bird book.  Maybe I should check out the sparrows found in the Eastern U.S.  Maybe this bird took a wrong turn somewhere.

Cottontail Rabbit

Vesper Sparrow – generally accommodating for photographers

Western Meadowlark

Short-eared Owl

This bird can really turn it’s head

Another Short-eared Owl we saw the next morning

Bird Species Seen or Heard at Freezeout Lake Wetland Management Area:

  • Yellow-headed Cowbird
  • Canada Goose
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • American Avocet
  • Northern Shoveler
  • Mallard
  • Willet
  • Wilson’s Phalarope
  • Cinnamon Teal
  • Gadwall
  • Western Meadowlark
  • Tundra Swan
  • American White Pelican
  • Marbled Godwit
  • Savannah Sparrow
  • Ring-necked Pheasant
  • Black-billed Magpie
  • Common Grackle
  • Killdeer
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Brown-headed Cowbird
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Short-eared Owl
  • Vesper Sparrow
  • Tree Sparrow
  • Franklin’s Gull
  • Tern sp (either Common or Forester’s)
  • Mystery Bird

We got through the wildlife drive when a strong storm came through – lightening, Thunder (not much), rain, and wind.   Would like to have another day to spend here (will have to come back), but we need to move on and head home.  We will leave the United States tomorrow and make our long way across Canada.  Most of our time there will be spent driving, so this will be my second to last blog for the trip.  The final blog will provide some statistics of what we saw, where we went, with some photos of our trip through Canada.  Until then …

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BIRD