Montana in July

I didn't plan my July trip until I wrapped up the first half of the year. I wanted to go where I had the best opportunity to add new birds. Phil Chaon of Tropical Birding took a look at my list of target birds and suggested that I spend some time with Joshua Covill in Montana.

That was an excellent suggestion. We saw 154 species of birds in 5 1/2 days. Twenty-five were new for my year list, raising my total to 620. We also saw great mammals and beautiful scenery. The habitats ranged from prairie to forest to mountains, all of which can be seen in this photo. If Montana is not on your list of birding destinations, you should consider adding it.

We started in Missoula and birded our way across half the state before circling back.

Some highlights among the forest birds included:

Lewis's Woodpecker

Unlike most woodpeckers, this bird prefers to eat insects that it catches in midair.

Lazuli Bunting

Western Tanager, bird # 600 for the year!

MacGillvray's Warbler

Dusky Flycatcher

Calliope Hummingbird

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco nest

We heard a Spruce grouse calling and saw this chick and three others cross the road.

We were happily surprised to see the adult Spruce Grouse; Mama was calling from behind the chicks and then crossed the road right in front of us.

Red Crossbill

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Red-naped Sapsucker

Pacific Wren

Flammulated Owl - hard to get a good picture in low light.

The prairie was a new habitat for me with many new birds and a few old friends.

Thick-billed Longspur

Chestnut-collared longspur

Lark Bunting

Western Meadowlark

Baird's Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Gray Partridges

Horned Lark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Prairie mammals:

Pronghorn

Richardson's Ground Squirrel

Swift Fox with ground Squirrel.

We watched it take the prey to its den where four kits were waiting.

Wildflowers

An approaching storm let us know it was time to break for dinner.

Once the sun sank below the clouds a rainbow appeared.

As we approached our motel in St. Mary's on the east side of Glacier National Park we saw what looked like snow on the roof.

A closer look showed that it was hail.

A little girl made a "snowball" out of hail.

Glacier National Park by the dawn's early light.

Glacier National Park

Close up view of a white-tailed deer.

I took about one hundred pictures of this grizzly bear before it lifted up its head.

Then it stood for about two seconds.

We also saw a cinnamon bear which is a black bear with unusual coloring. We could not get a picture, but this is what it looked like.

Cinnamon Bear - stock photo from internet

We didn't get pictures of all the birds we saw. Other great sightings included Black-headed Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Townsend's Solitaire, Townsend's Warbler, Mountain Bluebird, Black-billed Magpie, Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Ferruginous Hawk, Sprague's Pipit, Franklin's Gull, Marbled Godwit, Cinnamon Teal, Barrow's Goldeneye, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Boreal Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, and Black-capped Chickadee, Vaux's Swift, Cassin's Vireo, Varied Thrush, Long-tailed Duck!, Williamson's Sapsucker, Pygmy Nuthatch, and many more.

We also heard some birds well enough to be certain of their identification in spite of not actually seeing them. Those included: Boreal Owl, Mountain Plover, Virginia Rail, and Common Poorwill.

My next stop will be Arizona, next post late August.