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8 Feb Manning Lake article ["Chuck Carlson" ] 8 Feb Re: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills ["Barb Jaquith" ] 08 Feb Re: "Pishing" book review and field testing [Michael Schwitters ] 7 Feb Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills ["Jeff Marks" ] 08 Feb "Pishing" book review and field testing ["Bob Danley" ] 7 Feb Re: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills ["Barb Jaquith" ] 6 Feb Re: Banded Bald Eagle [Larry Carter ] 07 Feb South Deer Lodge Valley ["garyswant" ] 6 Feb Poll results for MOB-Montana [] 06 Feb Re: magpies nest building [Kristi DuBois ] 06 Feb Banded Bald Eagle ["Bob Martinka" ] 6 Feb magpies nest building ["Hendricks, Paul" ] 06 Feb Re: Flathead Gullery update ["Daniel" ] 05 Feb Flathead Gullery update ["Daniel" ] 4 Feb Re: Re: Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana (3 more) ["Jeff Marks" ] 04 Feb Re: Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana (3 more) ["Daniel" ] 04 Feb Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana ["Daniel" ] 03 Feb Northern Hawk Owls ["grayjaybro" ] 2 Feb Sunday Walk [Beth Hill ] 1 Feb Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills ["Jeff Marks" ] 1 Feb New poll for MOB-Montana [] 31 Jan December/January Photo Contest ["Patrick A. Toomey Jr." ] 30 Jan Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal--Correction [Byron Butler ] 30 Jan Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal (a clarification) ["Daniel" ] 30 Jan Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal [Byron Butler ] 30 Jan 2010 Database Bird Removal ["Jeff Marks" ] 30 Jan Re: Richardson's Ground Squirrel [Beth Hill ] 30 Jan Richardson's Ground Squirrel [Arla Eckert ] 30 Jan Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal [Judy Hoy ] 29 Jan Re: 2010 Database Corrections [Byron Butler ] 30 Jan Re: 2010 Database Corrections ["Daniel" ] 29 Jan 2010 Database Corrections ["Patrick A. Toomey Jr." ] 29 Jan 2010 Bird Database changes ["Patrick A. Toomey Jr." ] 29 Jan Re: MT Helena Woodpeckers ["candjbirds" ] 29 Jan Shields Valley tour; leucistic Rough-legged Hawk ["BethM" ] 28 Jan MT Helena Woodpeckers ["Dan Sullivan" ] 27 Jan Song Sparrow [Arla Eckert ] 27 Jan Re: Missoula birding ["Danny" ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["jessicawlms" ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["jessicawlms" ] 27 Jan Canada Goose 110E [Arla Eckert ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["Jeff Marks" ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["Konchog" ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["Chuck Carlson" ] 27 Jan Re: Missoula birding ["William McDowell" ] 27 Jan Re: Help with warbler ID ["John Carlson" ] 27 Jan Help with warbler ID ["jessicawlms" ] 27 Jan Lower Valley sightings ["jessicawlms" ] 26 Jan Missoula birding ["Danny" ] 24 Jan Last Thursday [Arla Eckert ] 24 Jan Yesterday's mail ["Bob & Mo Rost" ] 24 Jan Glacier park gray jay numbers? ["rogersjim2007" ] 24 Jan Local Birding Trip - Deer Ldoge ["garyswant" ] 23 Jan Clarification to The Status of White-tailed Ptarmigan at Logan Pass ["grayjaybro" ] 23 Jan Status of White-tailed Ptarmigan at Logan Pass ["grayjaybro" ] 23 Jan Red-breasted Merganser In Glacier NP ["grayjaybro" ] 22 Jan RFI: Billings [Byron Butler ] 20 Jan Whooping Crane Festival ["Barb Jaquith" ] 20 Jan Long-tailed Duck [Arla Eckert ] 19 Jan Re: Garden Home Park [Arla Eckert ] 19 Jan Garden Home Park [Beth Hill ] 19 Jan Lee Metcalf Jan 18 ["Brian" ] 19 Jan Pattee Canyon and Kim Williams: Missoula ["William McDowell" ] 18 Jan A few more yearbirds! ["JoshuaC" ] 18 Jan Accessing Montana Bird Distribution Information and Contributing Bird Observation Records ["Currier, Coburn" ] 17 Jan Deer Lodge Birds ["garyswant" ] 16 Jan Fishtail [Byron Butler ] 16 Jan Back to more normal numbers [Arla Eckert ] 16 Jan Re: In need of a photo ["Gary Swant" ] 15 Jan I made a mistake - I meant American Dipper, not Northern Shrike ["garyswant" ] 15 Jan Re: In need of a photo [1 Attachment] ["Don Jones" ] 15 Jan In need of a photo ["garyswant" ] 15 Jan South Deer Lodge Valley ["garyswant" ] 13 Jan Lee Metcalf NWR [Sid Frissell ] 11 Jan Fw: can you post this for me? ["Chuck Carlson" ] 11 Jan Turkey ? [Arla Eckert ] Subject: Manning Lake article From: "Chuck Carlson" <chuckcmt AT nemont.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 14:56:44 -0700 Mobsters I just received the latest issue of Cornell Laboratory's "Living Bird". There's a great article in it on the Manning Lake Wetlands Tribal Wildlife Refuge west of Culbertson and north of Hwy 2. It is written by Catharine Moser of Lewistown. Chuck Carlson chuckcmt AT nemont.net Ft. Peck MT Subject: Re: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills From: "Barb Jaquith" <bj3429 AT cablemt.net> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 10:24:37 -0700 Kristi and Mob Kristi, I would like to hear more about the location of the Red Crossbill nest that Jeff wrote about.....tree species, location in the tree, etc. Was it in town or out in the woods? We had so many Red and White-winged Crossbills in Red Lodge last year. I suspect that they nest very near....as close as across the street. For years I thought that the young that I was seeing so early in the spring were from last years brood. Not so! They mature much faster than that!!!!! I have two mesh feeders that the Crossbills love. Have to place them rather high, though, as the deer, bears, and moose love them, as well. What is it about a Gyrfalcon that is so compelling? We saw one a couple of weeks ago, so I keep going back to see it might be there again. I guess that isn't too crazy! In the past there were several years in a row when we had a Gyr with a favorite perch where we could see it regularly. Now it is about time that they head north again. Barb Jaquith Red Lodge ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeff Marks To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 11:09 PM Subject: [MOB-Montana] Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills Barb, It's certainly possible, and perhaps likely, that crossbills raise more than one brood a year in Montana, especially in years with good cone crops. I believe captives have been observed breeding earlier than one year old, but I'm not sure if it's been documented in the wild. Thus far four people have responded to my plea for information on crossbill nests. Only one had dates. Kristi DuBois watched a pair building a nest in a ponderosa pine ca. 5 miles east of Ashland on 16 February 1981. On 4 March the female was incubating, and on 21 March the nest had two downy young. It's not too late should anyone else have information on crossbill nests in the state. Thanks again to all those who responded. Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: Re: "Pishing" book review and field testing From: Michael Schwitters <schwit AT 3rivers.net> Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:28:57 -0700 Bob and All MOBsters, I can only echo Bob's admonition to "get out there and find something good" as the next Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is about to occur. The GBBC will be over this coming weekend 12-15 February. The GBBC is a bit of citizen science put on by Audubon. Perhaps its main purpose is to get us out into our "backyard" and do some birding at a time when birding can be a little slow, and to have fun. Your backyard can be any place or places you enjoy birding or at your backyard feeder. For example, I will be doing counts in Choteau and at Freezout Lake. The web address to enter sightings once the count begins is: www.birdcount.org Or you can go there now to review the upcoming events and features of the GBBC. Good GBBC birding, Mike Schwitters Choteau MT Bob Danley wrote: > Mobiforms: > Hello. I finally bought the Peter Dunne book "The Art of Pishing" (published in 2006) to remind, review, polish and update my "pishing" field skills...glad I did. His book is entertaining, grounded with excellent educational technique and chock full of great birding information for birders of all skill sets. Dunne is masterful with the English language, e.g. "Pishing for the Big Ones" is a chapter section title. I will leave it you to figure out what that means. > I did field test his pishing "boiler-plate": pish, warble, and squeal. I drove to Lolo Pass today stopping at the pull offs. I did have some success: 5 Gray jay AT 3 stops, 3 Steller's jay AT 3 stops, 8 Mountain chickadee AT 2 stops, and 4 Chestnut-backed chickadee AT 2 stops. Best group of birds seen this winter along this route. > > Get out there and find something good :-) > Bob Danley > Lolo, MT > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > Subject: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills From: "Jeff Marks" <jeff17_marks AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 22:09:24 -0800 Barb, It's certainly possible, and perhaps likely, that crossbills raise more than one brood a year in Montana, especially in years with good cone crops. I believe captives have been observed breeding earlier than one year old, but I'm not sure if it's been documented in the wild. Thus far four people have responded to my plea for information on crossbill nests. Only one had dates. Kristi DuBois watched a pair building a nest in a ponderosa pine ca. 5 miles east of Ashland on 16 February 1981. On 4 March the female was incubating, and on 21 March the nest had two downy young. It's not too late should anyone else have information on crossbill nests in the state. Thanks again to all those who responded. Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: "Pishing" book review and field testing From: "Bob Danley" <quasi AT q.com> Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:21:47 -0000 Mobiforms: Hello. I finally bought the Peter Dunne book "The Art of Pishing" (published in 2006) to remind, review, polish and update my "pishing" field skills...glad I did. His book is entertaining, grounded with excellent educational technique and chock full of great birding information for birders of all skill sets. Dunne is masterful with the English language, e.g. "Pishing for the Big Ones" is a chapter section title. I will leave it you to figure out what that means. I did field test his pishing "boiler-plate": pish, warble, and squeal. I drove to Lolo Pass today stopping at the pull offs. I did have some success: 5 Gray jay AT 3 stops, 3 Steller's jay AT 3 stops, 8 Mountain chickadee AT 2 stops, and 4 Chestnut-backed chickadee AT 2 stops. Best group of birds seen this winter along this route. Get out there and find something good :-) Bob Danley Lolo, MT Subject: Re: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills From: "Barb Jaquith" <bj3429 AT cablemt.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:59:22 -0700 Jeff and Mobsters RE: Red Crossbill Nesting. Do you think that we have two broods per year here in The Rockies? It seems that when they arrive early Spring to our feeder that they already have juveniles that do not have crossed bills. I have also read that those that hatch early in the year can have a brood of their own before the first summer is over. Is the nest usually in a coniferous tree about half way out on a branch? I suspect that they could be nesting soon, if not already. Good luck to those who have a nice big coniferous and Crossbills in your yard!! Barb Jaquith Red Lodge ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeff Marks To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 2:25 AM Subject: [MOB-Montana] Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills Mobsters, We can find only one published record of a Red Crossbill nest for Montana, and it's nearly 107 years old! Lots of people have seen fledglings, and there's no question that scads of birds nest in the state. If you have seen a Red Crossbill nest, please contact me off list. Thanks, Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: Re: Banded Bald Eagle From: Larry Carter <birder43 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:53:25 -0800 (PST) Hi Bob, I lived in Cascade for a little while and there was a nesting Bald Eagle on the west side of the river at the river acess area just outside of Cascade.  It raised a couple of birds maybe one was the juvenile you suggested.  There was no bands on the eagles I saw.  This was about one and a half years ago.  Hope it is some help for you.  Good birding, Larry Carter  Fairfield --- On Sat, 2/6/10, Bob Martinka wrote: From: Bob Martinka Subject: [MOB-Montana] Banded Bald Eagle To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010, 9:45 AM   I just placed an image in my Photo folder - Bob's Bird Images - of a banded bald eagle that was located about 1 mile east of Cascade last Wednesday. If you go to my folder and click on the photo and then on "original size", you will see a red aluminum band on the right leg with the letter R. Unfortunately, this is only a partial reading on the band number with another number likely above it. At any rate, preliminary information indicates that this bird was banded in Colorado in 1999 - probably as a juvenile. So, is this a resident or migrant bird? If resident, are we recruiting nesting birds from CO or is this maybe a bird that moved north to winter? This adult seemed to be associating with several sub-adult birds so maybe it is a resident breeder? The bands could not be seen when the bird was sitting so it was pure luck to gets several images on the flush. Bob Martinka Subject: South Deer Lodge Valley From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:16:22 -0000 Birders, Fresh snow on the ground this morning so I took a trip to the south valley to see what the storm might have brought in. There was nothing new, but I did get 23 species. Highlights were about 800 Horned Larks with a single Lapland Longspur among them. Three pair of Bald eagles were on or near nest in the valley. I saw my first Barrow's Goldeneye of the year as well. Several hundred Canada Geese on the ice at Warm Springs. The two juvenile Trumpeter Swans that came in December remain on Pond 2. Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Mallard Common Goldeneye Barrow's Goldeneye Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Prairie Falcon Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Horned Lark Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee European Starling American Tree Sparrow Lapland Longspur Red-winged Blackbird House Sparrow Gary Swant Deer Lodge Subject: Poll results for MOB-Montana From: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Date: 6 Feb 2010 19:01:28 -0000 The following MOB-Montana poll is now closed. Here are the final results: POLL QUESTION: The first 'Photo of the month' poll for 2010 is now open for voting. This month we have 12 entries. You may change your vote any time until the poll is closed at midnight on February 5th. Good luck all. Patrick CHOICES AND RESULTS - Bald Eagle, 3 votes, 5.88% - Canada Goose, 12 votes, 23.53% - Cooper's Hawk, 0 votes, 0.00% - Eastern Screech Owl, 16 votes, 31.37% - Golden Eagle, 1 votes, 1.96% - Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, 2 votes, 3.92% - Great Horned Owl, 0 votes, 0.00% - Red-breasted Nuthatch, 3 votes, 5.88% - Rough-legged Hawk #1, 6 votes, 11.76% - Rough-legged Hawk #2, 1 votes, 1.96% - Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 votes, 3.92% - Short-eared Owl, 5 votes, 9.80% For more information about this group, please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MOB-Montana For help with Yahoo! Groups, please visit http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/forms/general.html Subject: Re: magpies nest building From: Kristi DuBois <kdubois AT montana.com> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:50:39 -0700 Subject: Banded Bald Eagle From: "Bob Martinka" <birder_bob AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:45:40 -0000 I just placed an image in my Photo folder - Bob's Bird Images - of a banded bald eagle that was located about 1 mile east of Cascade last Wednesday. If you go to my folder and click on the photo and then on "original size", you will see a red aluminum band on the right leg with the letter R. Unfortunately, this is only a partial reading on the band number with another number likely above it. At any rate, preliminary information indicates that this bird was banded in Colorado in 1999 - probably as a juvenile. So, is this a resident or migrant bird? If resident, are we recruiting nesting birds from CO or is this maybe a bird that moved north to winter? This adult seemed to be associating with several sub-adult birds so maybe it is a resident breeder? The bands could not be seen when the bird was sitting so it was pure luck to gets several images on the flush. Bob Martinka Subject: magpies nest building From: "Hendricks, Paul" <phendricks AT mt.gov> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 09:39:43 -0700 A pair of Black-billed Magpies has begun construction of a new nest in a neighbors larch here in Missoula near the base of Mt. Jumbo. I noticed them messing with the first twig or two on the 4th; this morning they are bringing in twigs at a rate of about 6 per hour (it takes quite a while to arrange them). So this pair, at least, is under the impression the breeding season is upon us. Subject: Re: Flathead Gullery update From: "Daniel" <danielcasey55 AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 06 Feb 2010 06:36:50 -0000 MOB-sters: I uploaded three shots from the dump. The Thayer's shot is good for showing the differences in the folded primaries (from the surrounding Herring Gulls). Note the larger white windows in the Thayer's, the slate rather than black ground color, and the light underside of the far wingtip. Dan Casey Somers Subject: Flathead Gullery update From: "Daniel" <danielcasey55 AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:50:21 -0000 MOB-sters: After more than a month of nothing but 2 species of gulls at the Flathead Landfill north of Kalispell, a lunchtime check today yielded (slightly) better results. Today there were fewer than 100 gulls, roosting on the hill above the active dumping area. The vast majority were Herring Gulls, primarily adults, with a few first, second and third year birds mixed in. I also saw one first year Glaucous, an adult Thayer's, and just one (!) Ring-billed. No Californias yet. I'll post a few photos tonight. Dan Casey Somers Subject: Re: Re: Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana (3 more) From: "Jeff Marks" <jeff17_marks AT msn.com> Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 12:19:43 -0800 I'll add that of the species on Dan's Idaho list (not counting the quail, which are exotic to Idaho too, albeit with century-long histories there), only three regularly breed there: Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, and Virginia's Warbler. Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: Re: Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana (3 more) From: "Daniel" <danielcasey55 AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:13:09 -0000 MOB-sters: I left out: Whooper Swan Black Phoebe Bell's Vireo* Dan Subject: Food for Thought: Birds on Idaho list but not Montana From: "Daniel" <danielcasey55 AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:28:09 -0000 MOB-sters: While we all await the first stirrings of Spring and the flurry of espected and unexpected arrivals, I thought it would be fun to see what bird species are on Idaho's state list but not our own. Some of these may be in our future, whether as seasonal vagrants (e.g. the gulls)or slowly expanding populations (e.g. Scott's Oriole); a few obvious ones are introduced (as per the quail in the Bitterroot, not yet on our state list). There are 28 species on the ID list and not on ours, including 5 species on our supplemental list (marked with an *): Tricolored Heron White Ibis Emperor Goose Crested Caracara Northern Bobwhite Gambel's Quail California Quail Mountain Quail Brown Pelican Pacific Golden-Plover* American Oystercatcher Ruff Slaty-backed Gull Western Gull Heerman's Gull Broad-billed Hummingbird Red-breasted Sapsucker* Tropical Kingbird Fork-tailed Flycatcher Juniper Titmouse Bushtit Lucy's Warbler Virginia's Warbler* Hermit Warbler* Worm-eating Warbler Cassin's Sparrow* Scott's Oriole Just some food for thought on these gray winter days. Dan Casey Somers Subject: Northern Hawk Owls From: "grayjaybro" <grayjaybro AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:42:59 -0000 On Thursday Jan. 28 there were 3 Northern Hawk Owls along the Camas Road in Glacier NP; they were about 2 miles up the road from the gate near the Apgar Bridge. Steve Subject: Sunday Walk From: Beth Hill <grizhill AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 16:02:49 -0700 Sunday was such a nice mid-day that once I got out and started walking I couldn't stop and did a loop from West Bank around the east bank, the Mitchel pool park, past the dog park, the refinery and back to the pump house. It was a stark contrast the Saturday morning. Sunday I was out between 11:30 am and 1 pm. There were probably no more than 200 geese as opposed to the 1-2 thousand early Saturday. I found a single Hooded Merganser. That is all I have been able to see in this area this winter. I also found 6 Redheads (2 male, 4 females) swimming with the Hooded Merganser. Of course there were a few Buffleheads and and equal number of Common and Barrow's Goldeneyes. I had a single Ring-necked Duck on the north bank. There weren't too many ducks swimming in the open water from the water treatment plant - again - it may have been the time of day. The Redheads and Ringneck were nice finds for this stretch of river that is still mostly ice covered. Beth Hill Great Fall Subject: Wanted: nest records of Red Crossbills From: "Jeff Marks" <jeff17_marks AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 01:25:00 -0800 Mobsters, We can find only one published record of a Red Crossbill nest for Montana, and it's nearly 107 years old! Lots of people have seen fledglings, and there's no question that scads of birds nest in the state. If you have seen a Red Crossbill nest, please contact me off list. Thanks, Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: New poll for MOB-Montana From: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Date: 1 Feb 2010 09:08:37 -0000 Enter your vote today! A new poll has been created for the MOB-Montana group: The first 'Photo of the month' poll for 2010 is now open for voting. This month we have 12 entries. You may change your vote any time until the poll is closed at midnight on February 5th. Good luck all. Patrick o Bald Eagle o Canada Goose o Cooper's Hawk o Eastern Screech Owl o Golden Eagle o Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch o Great Horned Owl o Red-breasted Nuthatch o Rough-legged Hawk #1 o Rough-legged Hawk #2 o Sharp-shinned Hawk o Short-eared Owl To vote, please visit the following web page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MOB-Montana/surveys?id=12983576 Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups web site listed above. Thanks! Subject: December/January Photo Contest From: "Patrick A. Toomey Jr." <ptoomeyjr AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:31:26 -0000 Just a reminder that tonight at midnight is the deadline for entry into the most recent photo contest. All photos must have been taken in either December 2009 or January 2010. Patrick Subject: Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal--Correction From: Byron Butler <byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:15:49 -0700 TO ALL, This is what I hope will be my last post on this topic. The purpose of this message is to clarify and correct some of what I stated earlier. I had said: 1) I said Dan Casey removed Wayne's Veery from the database and requested a report from Wayne. Correction: As Jeff has pointed out, Jeff removed the Veery and requested the report. Jeff was correct in doing so. I was in error attributing these actions to Dan. 2) I said Dan removed some of Wayne's sighting and replaced them with earlier ones. Correction: Dan has pointed out that he did not remove any sighting but edited some of them. When I used the word "removed" I meant that the entries were edited and I should have used "edited" instead of "removed." Dan was correct in making these edits as both Dan and I have argued. 3) I made a statement which has been interpreted that I implied Dan may have have crossed the line in removing or editing some of Wayne's other sightings. Correction: First, I did not mean to imply that I though that happened, I was trying to be fair in representing Wayne's position. Second, again, it was not Dan, but was Jeff that I should have referred to. Third, it did not happen in any case. Neither Dan nor Jeff removed or edited anyone's sightings in an inappropriate manner. 4) I said that Dan made ad hominem remarks in regard to Wayne. Correction: Again, I confused Dan's emails with Jeff's. The remark I referred to was in Jeff's open letter to Judy. I going over all the various emails it is clear that Dan has never made any attacks on Wayne. In fact, Dan has been very fair and respectful to Wayne in every regard. Thus, Pat and Jeff have made unfortunate remarks, and I have made unfortunate mistakes. No one has ever abused any of Wayne's sightings. Everything has been done properly regarding the database entries and Wayne can still write up a report on the Veery if he chooses to do so. Wayne does have a legitimate complaint about the public comments. Throughout all this Dan Casey has been the good guy and has behaved without fault. I apologize very sincerely to Dan for erroneously implicating him in my statements. Byron Subject: Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal (a clarification) From: "Daniel" <caseys4 AT centurytel.net> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:24:35 -0000 Byron, et al: In this exchange of "he said, she said", Byron has mispoken. Wayne never reported a Veery to me, I did not talk with him or ask him for a report, and I did not remove it from the database. On the night that Wayne deleted all of his records, I had edited (not removed) the entries for 5 species, changing the date and observer. Four of these happened to be Wayne's posts, but I changed them only because they had been seen on an earlier date by observers on the Kalispell CBC. So, two things happened with the list, neither of them unprecedented. Other extremely rare species reported have been taken off the list pending confirmation, and this is as it should be if we want this to be an accurate representation of the species verified to occur in Montana in any given year. And the replacement of records with earlier dates, by anyone who might have them, is expected of all of us, and happens regularly. This is of course more meaningful as migration approaches than it is in January, but why not be consistent from year to year? Sorry to add to the verbage here. As one of the moderators, I would hope that birders seeing something they know to be unusual would post a message to that effect, as Patrick pointed out. I would also reiterate that for the rarest of sightings, including out of season or out of range birds, the Montana Bird Records Committee may ask for details. Any of the members of the committee are more than happy to help explain the process. See our link on the Montana Audubon website, at http://mtaudubon.org/birds/mbrc.html Submitting a rare bird report realy just boils downtescribing the field marks seen, and how similar species were eliminated. It is always about the bird, and the record, not the observer. I'll finish with the question of the likelihood of a Veery in Montana. Birds have wings, and can show up in extraordinary places at unusual times. This is one of the things that most attracts us to birding. But as I and others have stated on this site in the past, out-of-season long-distant migrant breeders are even less likely than accidentals from far away places. A bird appearing like a Veery, if not the more expected Hermit Thrush, could have been something much rarer. That is why it is great to have something like this list serve, so that birders can work together to document something that seems way out of place. I cannot really speculate on what Wayne saw, nor would I, without information. I have none. I encourage Wayne and everyone else to continue exploring, discovering and sharing Montana's avian marvels, and certainly hope that the message stream will return to that as the primary topic! Dan Casey Subject: Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal From: Byron Butler <byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:57:27 -0700 TO ALL, When I made my post to MOB on this matter it was intended to be a private message to Pat Toomey. I screwed up by hitting the reply button without taking care to ensure the message was only going to Pat. In doing so I made public Wayne's name. I did not intend to do that. Judy Hoy has cryptically referred to another person and that person is Dan Casey, as you all know now by Dan's post. So now the names of everyone involved are out in the public domain. Below I will address the larger issue since this is entire matter is really just another example of the age old conflict between birders reporting sightings and state records keepers who have the responsibility of maintaining the database in as pure and accurate form possible. I have moved around the country many times and have resided in numerous states. This conflict exists in every state, in my experience. Here I will defend the perspectives of both sides of the argument in general terms. The records keepers are charged with the task of determining which reports go into the database and which are to be excluded. In almost all cases the records keepers did not see the birds themselves and must make the determinations based on reports from the eye witnesses. For each sighting, there are four alternatives: 1) accept a record that is true, 2) reject a record that is true, 3) accept a record that is false, 4) reject a record that is false. Only two of these alternative are correct (1 and 4) and two (2 and 3) are false. Thus, on the surface this is just a guessing game with only a 50/50 chance of making a correct choice. If this were the case for all sightings then all of our state databases would be highly corrupted. The question becomes "how do we improve the probability of a correct choice above 50 per cent?" The records keepers can not do this by themselves. The only reliable way to increase the reliability of a database above 50/50 is for the persons reporting birds to submit proper reports. It is very important for birders to understand that the burden is upon them to submit supporting documents. When birders do not submit proper reports the burden is then shifted unfairly to the records keepers, who must then make their best guess. Since guesswork is not acceptable the conservative position is to reject the record, since doing so is the safest way to preserve a pure database. Rejection of an unsupported sighting is not a statement by the records keepers that the bird was not seen. Rather it is a statement that the reporting of the sighting was not adequate for inclusion into the database. All birders must understand that records keepers are not required to accept a record just because you said so. Your word alone is never good enough. The more unusual the sighting the more rigorous the supporting documentation must be. Single observer sightings with no documentation should never be accepted in my opinion, no matter how good is the birder. We must all respect the records keepers, most of whom are volunteers, with the thankless task of having to deal with the public (that means all of you!). Records keepers are in a no win position due to the egos of many birders who expect to have their records accepted based only on their word. If records keeper were to yield to this pressure they would not be doing their job and the database would not be of use to any of us. Now for the other side. Records keepers should be respectful of birders who make reports and should be ever mindful that egos, often fragile egos, are involved. Personal attacks should never be permitted since they are never warranted and since they are never helpful. Records keepers should never tell a birder that s/he did not see the bird being reported unless the record keeper was on sight at the time and also saw the same individual bird. The general rule is: if you were not there you did not see the bird, therefore you do not know what the reporter saw. Again, the reporting of the sighting elevates the probability of a correct determination above guesswork, and records keepers should make objective determinations based on the reports. Indeed, this is the case in most instances. The above is the ideal, in the real world it often does not work that way. Records keepers do weigh the relative birding skills (as perceived by the records keepers) of the reporters; that is, it does matter who is making the report. That this is done is perceived by the population of birders at large and is a major source of animosity toward the records keepers. Another major problem is that there is no school by which birders can learn how to make a "proper report." Those who do not know how to defend their sightings by writing up acceptable reports are at a disadvantage relative to those who do. This very real inequality is another source of animosity. For those birders who want to report sightings, another skill set is required, that of making proper reports--good birding skills alone are not enough. Now to the specific issue that brought this on. Wayne entered Veery into the database without making a report. Wayne states that he is certain of his sighting and seems to imply that should be good enough. However, a Veery in Montana at this time of year is an extraordinary sighting and, therefore, requires extraordinary reporting in order to be accepted into the database. Dan Casey requested a report from Wayne and that angered Wayne. At this point, Wayne is in error and Dan Casey has done exactly what he is supposed to do; that is, Dan has done what all of us expect and want him to do. It is Wayne's burden to submit a report and failing to do so will result in the Veery report being (correctly) rejected. Everyone is to understand that the acceptance or rejection of a report is independent of whether or not the reported bird was actually seen. The birder knows what s/he saw, the report is necessary to convince those who were not there (which is usually everyone else). Wayne can still submit a report. The next event was the removal of all of Wayne's other sightings. Some were removed by Dan and some by Wayne. Just exactly who did what and why is being disputed, so I will not attempt to straighten out this part of the problem. Dan says he removed some of Wayne's sightings to replace them with earlier sightings. Dan is correct to do so. Indeed, all of us are correct to remove any sighting by someone else in order to replace it with an earlier sighting. That is the way the database is intended to work. We want the earliest sighting of each species for each year. So thus far, Dan was correct to replace some of Wayne's sightings with earlier sightings. Whether or not Dan went further is a point of contention, of which I have no certain knowledge. Upon seeing this, Wayne removed all of his sightings, and that act angered Pat Toomey. Pat then made remarks that were a personal attack on Wayne. I think it should be permissible for any of us to remove any or all of our sightings if we have second thoughts about them, although we should then notify MOB that we have done so. It is arguable whether Wayne was wrong to have done so per se, and it was improper for Pat to have made ad hominem comments. Dan Casey had done everything correctly until he, too, made ad hominem comments. Wayne should not have been attacked personally. Last night Dan and I restored the MOB 2010 database by replacing most of the sightings Wayne removed with other sightings. Some of the sightings Wayne removed are still the first sightings of the year and Wayne can still remove the later sightings and restore his earlier sightings. For a few species, e.g., Western Screech-Owl, Wayne has the only sightings this year and out of respect for Wayne's sensibilities, those were not restored. Wayne is welcome to reenter those sightings. In summary, an accurate database is essential to all of us. Both birders and records keepers have functional roles in maintaining an accurate database. Since humans and therefore egos are involved we all must be ever mindful of respectful behavior. The functional role of birders is to submit properly written reports. Once the report has been submitted it is out of your hands, you can no longer control the determination of the report unless you are requested to submit additional information. It is the burden of birders to submit properly written reports. This is the only genuine way to elevate the credibility of the database above guesswork (50/50). It is the functional role of the records keepers to take the reports and make conservative determinations that will ensure the databases are as accurate as is possible. Ideally, skill levels and personalities have nothing to do with the final determinations since very good birders can make mistakes and novice birders can find rarities. Birders submit, record keepers determine. If you submit a sighting that is correct and the records keepers reject it then an error has been made (#2: reject a record that is true), but that will happen, even with a properly written report. You can not expect the records keepers to be infallible any more than birders can be expected to be infallible. Both parties must work together. Byron K. Butler Bozeman Subject: 2010 Database Bird Removal From: "Jeff Marks" <jeff17_marks AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:58:40 -0800 Judy, I was hoping to keep discussion of this issue off mob, but you opened the door, so I'll walk through it. Wayne recently posted a Veery to the Big Year list, which he claimed to have seen on 20 January. If I were to come up with a short list of Montana birds that would be very unlikely to occur in January, Veery would be near the top. Virtually all the world's Veerys are thought to winter in Brazil. That, and it is easily confused with a thrush that is much more likely to occur in Montana in winter: Hermit (who among us has not misidentified a Catharus thrush by sight sometime in our birding career?). Still, I gave Wayne the benefit of the doubt, because he's a good birder, and stranger things have happened. I sent him a polite email asking for details. He sent me a terse reply, asking me to "please direct all queries to Nate Kohler." Odd, I thought, because only Wayne's name was listed for the Big Year posting. But great, I also thought, someone else saw the bird, so we will get multiple reports on field marks. When I called Nate, however, I learned that not only had he NOT seen the thrush, he had not even been birding with Wayne on the day Wayne saw it. Why then, would Wayne refuse to answer my query, and direct me to someone who was not even there? As the father of a 7-yr-old son and 4-yr-old daughter, I can safely say that Wayne's reaction to my query falls well within the bounds of a response I might get from one of my kids. The difference being that after repeating the question a time or two, I'd get a straight answer from my kids. In any case, knowing full well that no details would be coming from Wayne, I deleted the Veery from the Big Year list. Soon thereafter, I noticed that ALL of Wayne's sightings had been removed from the list. I have assumed that he did it, but I've had no confirmation of that from him. Anyone who is sincerely interested in sharing his/her observations and contributing to everyone's knowledge of bird distribution would post their observations to mob and include a discussion about field marks and why they concluded the bird was the species in question, for unusual species like a Veery. They'd also give directions to the spot so that others could try and find the bird too. All experienced birders should realize the value of documenting their more unusual sightings as fully as possible, and sharing said documentation when a reasonable request is made from someone like myself who has a keen interest in Montana's birds. Wayne, for some reason, believes that he is above all of that. I value Wayne's observations and am sorry if he is going to stop posting them to the Big Year list. Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: Re: Richardson's Ground Squirrel From: Beth Hill <grizhill AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:52:43 -0700 I've always seen them in February - so it isn't all that early. Beth On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Arla Eckert wrote: > > > Yesterday while birding along Wadswroth Pond here in Great Falls I saw one > Richardson's Ground Squirrel out in the snow. The books says they hibernate > from Sept-March. Some one forgot to tell this one that. Posting photo to A. > Eckert on MOB. Arla Eckert Great Falls > > > Subject: Richardson's Ground Squirrel From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:53:52 -0700 Yesterday while birding along Wadswroth Pond here in Great Falls I saw one Richardson's Ground Squirrel out in the snow. The books says they hibernate from Sept-March. Some one forgot to tell this one that. Posting photo to A. Eckert on MOB. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Re: 2010 Database Bird Removal From: Judy Hoy <bjhoy AT localnet.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:52:19 -0700 Byron and all, Byron, you are correct. Wayne took off all of his birds after someone (who will remain nameless) removed some of the birds from the MOB list; birds which Wayne had seen this month and reported. Wayne was justifiably miffed, took off all of his birds and removed himself from MOB. I would have done the same. This was not thoughtless or childish behavior, nor was it spiteful. Someone had previous to Wayne removing his remaining birds, removed some of Wayne's birds from "our jointly owned and gathered MOB data" without consulting Wayne. Taking time to enter birds which he saw on the MOB data base was something he did for all the MOB members, so they would know what birds he is seeing in Montana and where he has first seen them. This is MOB's loss, not Wayne's. Wayne will just have more time to bird. End of story and of speculation. Now every one can go watch birds, rather than wondering what happened. Good birding, Judy Hoy Stevensville, MT On Friday, January 29, 2010, at 07:58 PM, Byron Butler wrote: >   > Pat, >   > Hmmmm . . . .  Or, did Wayne take off his own birds?  I have not heard > from Wayne in a couple of days, but I am not aware of any rift. >   > I went to see what birds were being reentered and I noticed there were > no entries from Wayne, but saw that Dan Casey was filling in some > birds. I will look at the list when Dan is finished but some birds > Wayne had are western species I have not seen this year. >   > Byron Subject: Re: 2010 Database Corrections From: Byron Butler <byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:58:42 -0700 Pat, Hmmmm . . . . Or, did Wayne take off his own birds? I have not heard from Wayne in a couple of days, but I am not aware of any rift. I went to see what birds were being reentered and I noticed there were no entries from Wayne, but saw that Dan Casey was filling in some birds. I will look at the list when Dan is finished but some birds Wayne had are western species I have not seen this year. Byron Subject: Re: 2010 Database Corrections From: "Daniel" <caseys4 AT centurytel.net> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:53:49 -0000 Patrick et al: I entered what I could (23 of the missing species), but of course encourage folks to replace any of these with earlier dates if they have them. Dan Casey Somers --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "Patrick A. Toomey Jr." wrote: > > MOBsters, > Okay I have been able to determine who selfishly fouled up our database. HE will remain nameless, but HE knows who HE is, and that this is childish behavior and that HE had no right to fool with our jointly owned and gathered MOB data. He did this without thinking and for spiteful reasons. Hopefully during 2010 HE will learn better group behavior as he ages into adult adolescence. > The following species are the ones that are missing and now I need for y'all to enter the earliest arrival info etc. if you have a date for these species. Thanks again. For your ease of entry I have also included the Montana and AOU sort order so that you won't have to look it up on the other table. Sorry for the inconvenience, but one ignorant and selfish MOB member created this problem and it has created difficulties for all of us. > > Thanks, > > Patrick > > Canada Goose 25 > Gadwall 37 > American Wigeon 40 > Northern Pintail 51 > Green-winged Teal 54 > Ring-necked Duck 58 > Lesser Scaup 61 > Common Goldeneye 73 > Hooded Merganser 76 > Ring-necked Pheasant 105 > Wild Turkey 121 > Pied-billed Grebe 157 > Great Blue Heron 263 > Northern Harrier 325 > Northern Goshawk 333 > Red-tailed Hawk 355 > Rough-legged Hawk 357 > American Kestrel 377 > Peregrine Falcon 384 > Virginia Rail 397 > American Coot 415 > Wilson's Snipe 522 > California Gull 554 > Western Screech-Owl 774 > Great Horned Owl 787 > Short-eared Owl 807 > Black-billed Magpie 1477 > Common Raven 1491 > American Dipper 1597 > European Starling 1728 > Cedar Waxwing 1747 > American Tree Sparrow 1990 > Snow Bunting 2035 > Red-winged Blackbird 2065 > Western Meadowlark 2073 > Brewer's Blackbird 2078 > Common Grackle 2079 > American Goldfinch 2165 > Subject: 2010 Database Corrections From: "Patrick A. Toomey Jr." <ptoomeyjr AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:59:42 -0000 MOBsters, Okay I have been able to determine who selfishly fouled up our database. HE will remain nameless, but HE knows who HE is, and that this is childish behavior and that HE had no right to fool with our jointly owned and gathered MOB data. He did this without thinking and for spiteful reasons. Hopefully during 2010 HE will learn better group behavior as he ages into adult adolescence. The following species are the ones that are missing and now I need for y'all to enter the earliest arrival info etc. if you have a date for these species. Thanks again. For your ease of entry I have also included the Montana and AOU sort order so that you won't have to look it up on the other table. Sorry for the inconvenience, but one ignorant and selfish MOB member created this problem and it has created difficulties for all of us. Thanks, Patrick Canada Goose 25 Gadwall 37 American Wigeon 40 Northern Pintail 51 Green-winged Teal 54 Ring-necked Duck 58 Lesser Scaup 61 Common Goldeneye 73 Hooded Merganser 76 Ring-necked Pheasant 105 Wild Turkey 121 Pied-billed Grebe 157 Great Blue Heron 263 Northern Harrier 325 Northern Goshawk 333 Red-tailed Hawk 355 Rough-legged Hawk 357 American Kestrel 377 Peregrine Falcon 384 Virginia Rail 397 American Coot 415 Wilson's Snipe 522 California Gull 554 Western Screech-Owl 774 Great Horned Owl 787 Short-eared Owl 807 Black-billed Magpie 1477 Common Raven 1491 American Dipper 1597 European Starling 1728 Cedar Waxwing 1747 American Tree Sparrow 1990 Snow Bunting 2035 Red-winged Blackbird 2065 Western Meadowlark 2073 Brewer's Blackbird 2078 Common Grackle 2079 American Goldfinch 2165 Subject: 2010 Bird Database changes From: "Patrick A. Toomey Jr." <ptoomeyjr AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:45:31 -0000 can anyone explain why our 2010 bird database now has only 84 entries? Last week it contained 112-114! Did any of y'all go n and delete entries for some reason? Fortunately I have a copy of all of the enries that had been there, but this is just blind luck as I was doing some analysis and had downloaded an earlier copy. I'd like to get to the bottom of this so that I can determine if someone accidentally did this OR Yahoo has a bug in there software, OR if we have been hacked. I'm gonna re-upload the data from last week but this may mean that recent entries (those from the past 4-7 days) may no be included. So, please take a look and verify if what I uploaded may be slightly incomplete. Patrick Subject: Re: MT Helena Woodpeckers From: "candjbirds" <candjbirds AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:13:56 -0000 Dan: I've heard several reports from people who've hiked Mt. Helena this winter of seeing Pileated Woodpeckers. A couple of these reports were from non-birders who hike the area regularly and noticed these "new" large woodpeckers this winter. I've looked but struck out there, though I've seen them south of town. Also, south of Helena in the beetle killed trees this past year there have been very good numbers of the downy and hairy woodpeckers as usual, but I was surprised to see nesting Am. Three-Toed Woodpeckers this past spring - a species known for eating the pine beetle and its larvae. I expect more three-toed and perhaps black-backed will show up this spring. If you hear the chicks chirping this year in that area, may pay off to stick around and see what parent shows up. --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "Dan Sullivan" wrote: > > An afternoon ski on January 26 across MT Helena resulted in another encounter with a concentration of downy and hairy woodpeckers foraging on bark beetle killed Ponderosa pine. There were six or more of these woodpeckers within 100 – 200 feet of each other. In addition, there was a female pileated woodpecker foraging on the main truck of 12 inch DBH Ponderosa pine approximately 20 feet from the ground. The bird was flaking bark from the main truck of the tree. The tree had been dead about two or three years. Pileateds can be found west of Helena in areas of Douglas-fir but they are not common. There was a sighting of a pileated woodpecker on MT Helena during the CBC in December 2009. In fact, it was the first sighting of a pileated woodpecker on the Helena CBC in the 55 years the Helena CBC has been conducted. Pileated woodpecker sightings on MT Helena have been rare, so two sightings within the last month are unusual. I expect that observers who regularly visit these beetle killed areas can expect to encounter these groups of woodpeckers that are attracted to the food potential in beetle-killed pine tree areas. > > Dan Sullivan > Helena > Subject: Shields Valley tour; leucistic Rough-legged Hawk From: "BethM" <bethmadden64 AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:00:11 -0000 Hello MOB, Today I had the pleasure of accompanying Steve Hughes and George Kelly on a bird-watching tour of the Shields Valley. We were not disappointed. From Livingston, we drove up the East Shields River Rd., then onto Hwy 89 north through Wilsall, stopped briefly in the Cottonwood Reservoir area, then back to head west on Hwy 86 making a loop through Brackett Creek Rd. and back down the valley. Along the Shields, we saw a remarkable number of Bald Eagles, counting 8, 10, and 12 every few miles, and losing count of the spectacle! Also dozens of Rough-legged Hawks throughout the tour, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and quite a few Golden Eagles scattered around. Two Dippers were foraging in the Shields River by a bridge at the north end of the East Shields River Rd. The highlight was definitely the essentially pure white (leucistic) Rough-legged hawk that was reported by Cheryl Farmer on 12/27/09, in the same location, by mile marker 35 on Hwy 86, at the MCR Ranch. That is a stunning bird! It bumped to a different power pole as we drove by but stayed close for great viewing. Other highlights included two Gray-crowned Rosy Finches at a private feeder on Brackett Cr. Road â€" a first for Steve and me! We also enjoyed viewing a large flock (200+) of Bohemian Waxwings foraging on juniper berries and perching in cottonwood tops right along the Brackett Creek Rd. Saw a large flock of Horned Larks foraging in a barnyard feedlot along that road as well. Other sightings: a friendly Sharp-tailed Grouse on a fencepost, a covey of Gray Partridge, two Northern Shrikes, a Clark’s Nutcracker, and numerous Townsend’s Solitaires. No falcons of any kind! Best Regards, Beth Madden Livingston Subject: MT Helena Woodpeckers From: "Dan Sullivan" <dsullivan01 AT bresnan.net> Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:40:47 -0000 An afternoon ski on January 26 across MT Helena resulted in another encounter with a concentration of downy and hairy woodpeckers foraging on bark beetle killed Ponderosa pine. There were six or more of these woodpeckers within 100 – 200 feet of each other. In addition, there was a female pileated woodpecker foraging on the main truck of 12 inch DBH Ponderosa pine approximately 20 feet from the ground. The bird was flaking bark from the main truck of the tree. The tree had been dead about two or three years. Pileateds can be found west of Helena in areas of Douglas-fir but they are not common. There was a sighting of a pileated woodpecker on MT Helena during the CBC in December 2009. In fact, it was the first sighting of a pileated woodpecker on the Helena CBC in the 55 years the Helena CBC has been conducted. Pileated woodpecker sightings on MT Helena have been rare, so two sightings within the last month are unusual. I expect that observers who regularly visit these beetle killed areas can expect to encounter these groups of woodpeckers that are attracted to the food potential in beetle-killed pine tree areas. Dan Sullivan Helena Subject: Song Sparrow From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:37:51 -0700 Well I found one today right where it should be next to the fishing pond at Giant Springs in this very cold weather. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Re: Missoula birding From: "Danny" <harbour1956 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:26:15 -0000 Will, Thanks so much for the information. The list of hotspots on the link you provided is perfect. I did not expect the owls to be easy. Thanks again. Dan --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "William McDowell" wrote: > > Dan; Five Valleys Audubon has a good website. At the bottom of the bird list is a good description of local hotspots. However, it is difficult to find the owl species you mention.....I know N Pygmy Owl was videotaped by Bob Danley in Dec. along the Rattlesnake Trail, but it was not seen on Christmas Count. However, they are probably up there somewhere.... > http://www.fvamissoula.org/maps/hotspots.htm > > Cheers............Will > > --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "Danny" wrote: > > > > I will be in Missoula for the weekend of January 30. > > I wonder if members could post or email me some suggestions for good birding sites in the Missoula area. > > Of particular interest, I have never seen a Northern Saw-whet owl or a Northern Pygmy Owl. > > Thanks, > > Dan > > > Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "jessicawlms" <jessicawlms AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:50:23 -0000 Thanks to everyone's replies, I feel confident in the ID of these two birds. Thanks again, Jess --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "jessicawlms" wrote: > > So I dug out some older photos from the Fall of 2006, and I was hoping you guys might know these birds. I've seen plenty of warblers, but never in town. You can see my guess in the caption of each photo. Thanks in advance for your opinion. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4308588783 > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4309326582 > > They were both in my yard at the same time, if that helps at all. > > Thanks, > Jess > Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "jessicawlms" <jessicawlms AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:44:24 -0000 Hi John, Thanks very much for the reply. I think this is also more likely given the fact that I took this photo in mid-late Sept and I've read the Wilson's migrate a little later than Yellows. Thanks! Jess Subject: Canada Goose 110E From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:29:43 -0700 Last Nov. while looking at the Lesser Black-backed Gull here in Great Falls I saw a neck banded Canada goose and with Mike¹s help reported it. I just got this information back. Canada Goose 110E was banded 06/30/2003 near Alturas, CA by Modoc NWR. Its corresponding federal band number is 0698-06388. We have no other reports for this goose. For those who are interested in where that is-NE part of CA. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "Jeff Marks" <jeff17_marks AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:50:55 -0800 Yes, they are a Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) and a Wilson's. Female Wilson's, especially, have a fairly distinct yellow eye ring, as depicted in your photo. Jeff ***************** Jeff Marks 4241 SE Liebe Street Portland, OR 97206 503-774-4783 Birds of Montana Project http://mtaudubon.org/ ***************** Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "Konchog" <palyulmonk AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:38:16 -0000 My first thought was 1st year female Wilson's, but not sure about the white eye ring. --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "Chuck Carlson" wrote: > > Jessica > > To add to John's answer, the wings and tail of the second bird seem to be too dark for a Yellow Warbler. > > Chuck Carlson > chuckcmt AT ... > Ft. Peck MT > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: jessicawlms > To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:14 AM > Subject: [MOB-Montana] Help with warbler ID > > > > So I dug out some older photos from the Fall of 2006, and I was hoping you guys might know these birds. I've seen plenty of warblers, but never in town. You can see my guess in the caption of each photo. Thanks in advance for your opinion. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4308588783 > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4309326582 > > They were both in my yard at the same time, if that helps at all. > > Thanks, > Jess > Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "Chuck Carlson" <chuckcmt AT nemont.net> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:14:45 -0700 Jessica To add to John's answer, the wings and tail of the second bird seem to be too dark for a Yellow Warbler. Chuck Carlson chuckcmt AT nemont.net Ft. Peck MT ----- Original Message ----- From: jessicawlms To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 8:14 AM Subject: [MOB-Montana] Help with warbler ID So I dug out some older photos from the Fall of 2006, and I was hoping you guys might know these birds. I've seen plenty of warblers, but never in town. You can see my guess in the caption of each photo. Thanks in advance for your opinion. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4308588783 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4309326582 They were both in my yard at the same time, if that helps at all. Thanks, Jess Subject: Re: Missoula birding From: "William McDowell" <willymcdowell AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:59:00 -0000 Dan; Five Valleys Audubon has a good website. At the bottom of the bird list is a good description of local hotspots. However, it is difficult to find the owl species you mention.....I know N Pygmy Owl was videotaped by Bob Danley in Dec. along the Rattlesnake Trail, but it was not seen on Christmas Count. However, they are probably up there somewhere.... http://www.fvamissoula.org/maps/hotspots.htm Cheers............Will --- In MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com, "Danny" wrote: > > I will be in Missoula for the weekend of January 30. > I wonder if members could post or email me some suggestions for good birding sites in the Missoula area. > Of particular interest, I have never seen a Northern Saw-whet owl or a Northern Pygmy Owl. > Thanks, > Dan > Subject: Re: Help with warbler ID From: "John Carlson" <jccarlson AT surfbirder.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:25:06 -0800 Subject: Help with warbler ID From: "jessicawlms" <jessicawlms AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:14:36 -0000 So I dug out some older photos from the Fall of 2006, and I was hoping you guys might know these birds. I've seen plenty of warblers, but never in town. You can see my guess in the caption of each photo. Thanks in advance for your opinion. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4308588783 http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtwilliamsfamily/4309326582 They were both in my yard at the same time, if that helps at all. Thanks, Jess Subject: Lower Valley sightings From: "jessicawlms" <jessicawlms AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:24:06 -0000 Hi everyone, It's been a while since I was part of the MOB list... but I am trying to make more time for birding this year. It's such a meditative activity and I really miss it! So, today I drove out to Lower Valley (kalispell/somers) looking for hawks. Surprisingly, the bird gods gifted me not one, but two rough-legged hawks (new to my list!). One on Lower Valley road, and the other on Somers Stage. Also on Somers Stage, at the little creek, there was a great blue heron at the waterline about 6 feet from the bridge. It was great to watch him glide away (I was driving so slow that I must have scared him off...) Also saw a ring-necked pheasant in flight. Saw lots of waxwings and a couple of chickadees inside the entrance of Ower Sowerwine, but the light was fading so I didn't stay long. While leaving, I saw a wonderful sun dog in the sky. Not bad for the first day out. Jess Kalispell Subject: Missoula birding From: "Danny" <harbour1956 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:18:37 -0000 I will be in Missoula for the weekend of January 30. I wonder if members could post or email me some suggestions for good birding sites in the Missoula area. Of particular interest, I have never seen a Northern Saw-whet owl or a Northern Pygmy Owl. Thanks, Dan Subject: Last Thursday From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:10:13 -0700 Last Thursday decided to make use of the last of the good weather. Carol Weber and I headed across the Wilson butte Rd to the Smith river Rd. up to Eden Bridge and then Millegan Rd toward Cascade then back on River Rd. Along the way seeing Ring-necked Pheasant, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, 2 Prairie Falcon, Canada Geese, one Swan who was to far away to tell what kind, Common Goldeneye, lots of Magpies, Common Merganser, Downy Woodpecker, Belted Kingfisher, Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, House Finch and a whole group of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. The last one made my day big time! By the time we got back to Great Falls the fog was rolling in, and now I have 9 to 10 1Ž2 inches of snow in the yard. It will be a while before those roads are good going again. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Yesterday's mail From: "Bob & Mo Rost" <mobob AT cyberport.net> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:19:33 -0700 Hi all: Yesterday's note about the subadult Goshawk apparently did not make it to MOB although my "sent" message folder said it did. Here is a copy of that message: Hi All: As we sat here at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 23rd just at daybreak drinking our morning coffee, watching the snow fall and the turkeys come off the roost, a ghostly large bird landed on a cottonwood snag here in the yard. With binocs we could see it was one of the subadult Goshawks we have been seeing here on occasion. We had placed a wooden platform/box on the snag hoping a pair of geese would nest there but so far, no luck. Under this platform/box was a cowering, hysterical pine squirrel and that is why the Gos gave us such a prolonged and exciting look at him; #69th sp. for the year. Good birding. Bob Rost-Ronan MT (406)676-4545 Subject: Glacier park gray jay numbers? From: "rogersjim2007" <jimrogers2007 AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:56:40 -0000 Steve and mobsters, Thanks for the update on the ptarmigans in Glacier Park. Your comments and mob name caused me to think about gray jays. A few years ago while birding in Algonquin Park, Ontario, I was surprised to learn that gray jays have been declining there for some time. Global warming has been suggested for the decline. Does anyone have a feel for what's happening with gray jay numbers in Glacier Park? In my little neck of the woods, they have all but vanished. They were once frequent visitors to our feeders but it has been a lot of years since we have seen one. Below is an excerpt describing the Algonquin jays. Jim Rogers Polson From: http://www.sbaa.ca/projects.asp?cn=495 "The Algonquin Gray Jay study's working hypothesis is that climate warming is responsible for the decline. We know that Gray Jays depend on stored food for their winter survival and that they also use this food, at least to some extent, to feed nestlings. As global temperatures rise, we can expect that insects, berries, pieces of meat or mushrooms stored by Gray Jays will spoil more rapidly. This will occur even in the winter and may be especially serious when repeated freeze-thaw events accelerate the degradation of perishable food. The cumulative effect of such warming may be that early-nesting Gray Jays have less stored food to feed their nestlings than in the past and fewer young jays are produced as a result. Then, as the older jays die off at the normal rate, but with fewer young jays to take their places, the Gray Jay population inevitably declines, especially at the comparatively warm, very southern edge of the species' range, namely in Algonquin Park. Preliminary analysis suggests that the Algonquin decline has indeed been accompanied by a falling production of juveniles and that the worst production follows the warmest autumns. The fact that the decline has been least pronounced in territories dominated by Black Spruce may be support for the idea that food stored under spruce bark spoils less rapidly than food stored in other tree species." Subject: Local Birding Trip - Deer Ldoge From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:03:42 -0000 Birders, Our local birding group traveled from Deer Lodge to Georgetown Lake and back today (01/23/10). We had a good number out for a winter day. 2 from Dillon, 5 from Butte, 1 from Spokane, 1 from Stevensville, 2 from Elliston, and 3 from Deer Lodge. The high light today was probably the high number of Horned Larks (1000 +), Lapland Longspurs (80 +), and a few Snow Buntings. We had hoped for a Great Gray Owl, but we did not see one. Gary Swant Deer Lodge Birds seen were: Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Mallard Common Goldeneye Wild Turkey Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Golden Eagle Prairie Falcon Rock Pigeon Eurasian Collared Dove Belt Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Horned Lark Northern Shrike Steller's Jay Clark's Nutcracker Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee American Dipper Townsend's Solitaire European Starling American Tree Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Lapland Longspur Snow Bunting Red-winged Blackbird Pine Grosbeak House Finch Pine Siskin American Goldfinch House Sparrow Total 37 Subject: Clarification to The Status of White-tailed Ptarmigan at Logan Pass From: "grayjaybro" <grayjaybro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:10:52 -0000 Ptarmigan at Logan Pass were not 316 meters higher in elevation, as I reported yesterday, but 316 meters farther up-slope, than during the 1990s, based on mean flock locations. This was about 56 meters higher in elevation. Dave sent me a map showing flock locations from 1996-7 and 2009 and the difference was pretty striking. It helps explain why they were harder to find last summer, because most locations were farther from the Logan Pass Visitor Center, and farther from the boardwalk. If climate change is forcing them to move 50 meters higher per decade, and if that rate increases, they will soon run out of habitat. Steve Subject: Status of White-tailed Ptarmigan at Logan Pass From: "grayjaybro" <grayjaybro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:20:21 -0000 Questions were raised last summer about ptarmigan at Logan Pass in Glacier NP. Some of us made several visits without finding any, and there were speculations that they were no longer there. Then a couple of belated sighting reports emerged, and I reported on some survey efforts undertaken by a park employee, seasonal park interpretive naturalist David Benson, and his assistant Matthew Cummins. A summary of those surveys has just become available. Dave and Matt found ptarmigan flocks were smaller and less numerous in 5 areas of the park last August, compared to 1996 and 1997, when Dave conducted his PhD research on ptarmigan. They also found that mean flock locations at Logan Pass were 316 meters higher in elevation than during the 1990s. They concluded, "White-tailed Ptarmigan in GNP appear to be changing distribution, changing habitat, and perhaps on a local scale, declining." Dave's work during the 1990s had found evidence that ptarmigan at Logan Pass had already declined since research there back in the 1960s. So, it looks like they are continuing in decline, though Dave is less confident in the numbers data because of the lack of standardized methods for counting them in late summer. He's more confident in the distribution and habitat changes, both supporting the "mountain island" effect predicted by climate change models. It's imperative that Dave continue his work next summer, to build a stronger case for the changes that are emerging. The park needs to support Dave's efforts with funding this year, so he can employ an assistant or assistants, because he works full-time as an interpretive naturalist and can't devote enough time to the project. The park also needs to fund long-term monitoring of ptarmigan, as they may be indicators of other changes on the landscape. These findings seem to confirm our impressions about the number of ptarmigan at Logan Pass. The observations and impressions of birders can be important components of tracking bird populations, call it citizen science, but they can be misleading and slow to detect real changes. Ptarmigan are cryptic and difficult to locate, and there can be temporary changes in distribution that might leave the impression of decline. Long-term, systematic monitoring is needed to build credibility and confidence in the trends. But the evidence is mounting that ptarmigan may be in trouble. It will be sad news for birders if they disappear, but by then we will probably all be in big trouble. Steve Gniadek Columbia Falls Subject: Red-breasted Merganser In Glacier NP From: "grayjaybro" <grayjaybro AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:38:03 -0000 A female Red-breasted Merganser was on Lake McDonald in Glacier today. I saw it (likely the same bird) briefly on the 12th but wasn't entirely convinced of the ID. Both sightings were from the Going-to-the-Sun Road about 1/3 to 1/2 way up the lake, the bird swimming near shore. Today she was snorkeling like a Common Merganser, but also diving like a grebe, rising out of the water before plunging. At one point today she swam near several female and male common mergs, allowing a nice comparison of features. I also saw a couple small flocks of redpolls, presumably all Common Redpolls, my 1st of the year. Stay tuned for an update on the ptarmigan question. Steve Gniadek Columbia Falls Subject: RFI: Billings From: Byron Butler <byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:43:06 -0700 Billings birders -- please contact me. Thanks. Byron K. Butler byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com Subject: Whooping Crane Festival From: "Barb Jaquith" <bj3429 AT cablemt.net> Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:19:07 -0700 Moblers Some of you will recall that at the Bird Festival in Great Falls this year my name was drawn to go to The Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas and Mustang Island near Corpus Christi Texas. For personal reasons I will not be going. We did not draw an alternate name, unfortunately. I have been in contact with Kathy and Susan at The State Audubon Office. We decided that I should open it up to The Mob. So here goes...........! The first person who calls me at 406-671-7086 can take advantage of this offer. Here are the particulars: Weekend of Birding for Two February 25 - 28 3 Nights at Host Hotel Registration to the Festival 1. Whooping Crane Boat tour 2. Fennessey Ranch Tour 3. Nature Birding Boat Tour 4. Birding Bus Trip 2010 Commemorative T-Shirt Information regarding the festival is available at www.portaransas.org . The list above is paid for. You will need to have your transportation too and from the site. You will also have to pay for meals. There is some food provided, but not regular meals, as I understand. When you go to the web site click on Early Registration Form for the schedule details. When you call I will help to get you pointed in the right direction and get the names switched with contacts at Port Aransas. Now for our Montana Birds! The Golden Eagles are very busy returning to their nesting sites in our area and very definitely looking like pairs. The Great Horned Owls are hooting. The Clarks Nutcrackers are beginning to make a ruckus. Spring is on the way!!! Barb Jaquith Red Lodge Subject: Long-tailed Duck From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:35:37 -0700 I helped Wayne Tree find the Long-tailed Duck out at Morony Dam today. It took Wayne a while to find it after I did. Lots of times all you can see is the head for just a min. then down it goes. Still no sign of one in Great Falls itself. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Re: Garden Home Park From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:46:34 -0700 In years past there have been Song Sparrows in the shrubs along the river and many times I have seen Northern Flickers in this park. So far this winter I have not been finding any Song Sparrows any where in Great Falls. Arla Eckert Great Falls On 1/19/10 3:33 PM, "Beth Hill" wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > Subject: Garden Home Park From: Beth Hill <grizhill AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:33:57 -0700 Garden Home Park is a little pocket along the Missouri River. You can reach it by continuing along the River's Edge Trail from West Bank Park across Central Ave. West and along the river. By next year there should be a walking trail the whole distance. I will walk up to Garden Home Park some weekends instead of walking both sides of the river from West Bank Park, especially in the winter when the only open water is along Mitchell Pool and Broadwater Bay (across from Garden Home Park). Anyway - lately it has been pretty much just geese (sometimes thousands, usually many hundred), mallards and the tag-a-long Common and Barrow's Goldeneye, at least one Common Mergansers and a handful of Buffleheads. This weekend I finally found a Hooded Merganser among the bunches. A flock of Chickadees flew through Garden Home Park this Sunday. At this point I haven't identified any true residents of the park - just "passer-by" birds such as a robin, magpie, starling and even a pheasant. I was noticing this weekend that there is a distinct lack of nests in the trees. Then, I noticed that the trees were just about all cottonwood or russian olive. There is also a little slough of cattail. Not a lot of variety for many birds. Beth Hill Great Falls Subject: Lee Metcalf Jan 18 From: "Brian" <btimmons8 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:42:44 -0000 I went to Lee Metcalf Monday, and found two birds that I didn't have pictures of. Norther Harrier and Pileated Woodpecker. I have my eye out for owls, I only have a Great Horned Owl. If anyone knows where any other kind kind of hang out and HOW to find them, I'm stumped. Brian Subject: Pattee Canyon and Kim Williams: Missoula From: "William McDowell" <willymcdowell AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:58:33 -0000 MOB; Birds encountered in the course of the weekend in Missoula: Three pine grosbeaks on the Pattee Canyon Rd. (eating salt?) on Sunday, pileated woodpeckers, bald eagle, common goldeneyes, common mergansers on Kim Williams Trail, multiple great horned owls calling at MacClay Flats. Cheers..............Will Subject: A few more yearbirds! From: "JoshuaC" <birdbrainjwc AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:17:17 -0000 Today I went for a little birding, and found 4 yearbirds. Ring-necked Duck (400) - On the Flathead River, seen from the fishing access off of Riverside Rd. Golden-crowned Kinglet (4) - In the trees near the access off of Riverside Rd. Wilson's Snipe - In the creek that Riverside Rd. crosses near Creston. Brewer's Blackbird (20) - Feeding with the cows at a lot off of Egan Slough Rd. See my blog for pictures and such - http://covillbirder.blogspot.com/ Good Luck Birding Josh Subject: Accessing Montana Bird Distribution Information and Contributing Bird Observation Records From: "Currier, Coburn" <ccurrier AT mt.gov> Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:50:46 -0700 MOB, Bryce Maxell asked me to forward this on to MOB subscribers. Coburn Currier Helena Hi everyone, I wanted to make everyone aware of the following updates for accessing Montana bird distribution information and contributing observation records to the statewide database. Update on Records in the Montana Bird Distribution Database As of January 17th 2010, the Montana Bird Distribution Database contains 718,057 bird observation records. With over 286,953 observation records added in the last two years alone, it seems possible for us to reach a million observation records by the time the 7th Edition of P.D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution is scheduled to be published in the late winter or early spring of 2011; for comparison, in 2003 the 6th Edition summarized approximately 88,000 records. Recent highlights for data contributions in the last couple of years include: (1) approximately 45,000 Christmas Bird Count Records from all of the various CBC circles in Montana over approximately the last 70 years (only about 600 of these records were previously entered in the MBD database); (2)The Avian Science Center's Landbird Monitoring Program contributed 36,625 bird point count observation records from their 2007 and 2008 surveys (they have now contributed nearly 300,000 records); (3) almost 150,000 BBS records were added to the database in 2008 - before the remainder of the BBS dataset is added, we will need to get precise GPS coordinates for all stops; (4) 15,730 records worthy of inclusion from the Ebird database were added in late 2008; (5)approximately 8,000 records were contributed by the Montana Natural Heritage Program zoologists; (6) approximately 6,000 records were contributed by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory as part of the pilot for grid based monitoring in BCR 13; (7) Jeff Marks, Dan Casey, and Paul Hendricks have helped clean up locations and/or other information associated with thousands of records in the database as they have worked through species accounts for the Birds of Montana book; (7) several thousand records were contributed by each of the following individuals during the last 2 years (John Carlson, Mike Lesnik, Fritz Prellwitz, Don Sasse, and Jill Shaffer). Accessing Bird Distribution Information The TRACKER application (http://mtnhp.org/Tracker/NHTMap.aspx) is still the best way to access information on individual bird observations. However, this application has proved to be too complex for some and is not accessible to people on slower connections or computers or those that don't use Internet Explorer or only use Macintosh computers. With those issues in mind, we have updated the Montana Field Guide http://fieldguide.mt.gov/ so that as much of this information as possible can be accessible to all users. In addition to maps and charts summarizing observations in the Montana Bird Distribution database which are updated weekly, the field guide now shows Western Hemisphere Range Maps from NatureServe. We will develop our own Western Hemisphere maps for those species that either lack or have grossly inaccurate NatureServe maps over time. See example for McCown's Longspur at: http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ABPBXA6010.aspx Contributing Bird Observation Records Please help us reach that goal of a million bird observation records by the end of 2010 by contributing to efforts such as Montana Audubon's Adopt a Quarter-Quarter-Latilong Program http://mtaudubon.org/birds/distributionQQLL.html You can contribute records via the TRACKER application, Bird Sighting Excel Spreadsheet, or new simple web-based entry form links under the Animal Observations section at http://mtnhp.org/observations.asp Please use whichever method works best for you to contribute your observations. The new simple web-based animal observation form will work with slow internet connections, all web browsers, and Macintosh Computers and is very straight forward to use (you can also enter records via your iphone or droid phone and even include map coordinates if you have a GPS chip). However, please note that while observations submitted via the TRACKER application and Excel spreadsheet are entered, or can be appended, directly to the database, observations entered via the simple entry tool will require staff time to parse information into the correct database fields and map records by hand if locality information does not include map coordinates. Given that caveat, if this method works best for you, please use it! Happy belated New Year and thanks to everyone for their contributions to the Montana Bird Distribution Database! -Bryce Bryce A. Maxell Interim Director / Senior Zoologist Montana Natural Heritage Program P.O. Box 201800 1515 East Sixth Avenue Helena, Montana 59620-1800 (406) 444-3655 (office) (406) 461-1279 (cell) (406) 444-0581 (fax) bmaxell AT mt.gov Check out our TRACKER website and the Montana Animal Field Guide by clicking on those links at the top of our Homepage at: http://mtnhp.org/ Subject: Deer Lodge Birds From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:33:08 -0000 Birders, I had a Lincoln's Sparrow in my yard this morning. This is the earliest I have seen one in my yard. Last year I had one in mid-March. I did see one in Great Falls in January of 07 however. Gary Swant Deer Lodge Subject: Fishtail From: Byron Butler <byronkbutlermt AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 21:11:28 -0700 Maggie and I had a wonderful day today birding with Peggy and Ken Joki in Fishtail The weather and landscape were beautiful, the birds were cooperative, and the entire Joki family is as delightful as any we've met. Indeed, it was so warm that for part of the day we turned on the air conditioner in our car. In the afternoon, I held my bare hand out the car window to measure windchill and had to accelerate to 30 mph before the air felt cool; Jan 16, in Montana. BIRDS SEEN in the Fishtail area: Mallard (2; near Columbus) Wild Turkey (20) Bald Eagle (3) Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Rock Pigeon Eurasian Collared-Dove (4; Columbus) Downy Woodpecker (1) Hairy Woodpecker (2) Northern Flicker (2) Clark's Nutcracker (10+) Pinyon Jay (12+) Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Townsend's Solitarie (2) Black-backed Chickadee (10) Mountain Chickadee (5) White-breasted Nuthatch (1) Red-breasted Nuthatch (3) American Dipper (1) Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (several hundred; no Black R-F have been seen in the area) Pine Siskin (20+) Evening Grosbeak (40-50+) House Sparrow No starlings! Byron K. Butler Bozeman Subject: Back to more normal numbers From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:19:06 -0700 Well, at long last the numbers and kinds of ducks below Giant Springs is getting back to normal. Yes, since Christmas there have been days and times when there were high numbers then the hunters using boats would show up. Needless to say the ducks took off. There were hunters around Giant Springs even during our Christmas count which throw that off. The season ended Friday. The numbers were still way down today but I did have both Scaups, Redheads, Canvasback (1), 1 American Wigeon, Common & Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, both Goldeneye. Ring-necked ducks and geese. No gulls that I have seen. Arla Eckert Great Falls Subject: Re: In need of a photo From: "Gary Swant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2010 08:42:52 -0700 Don, Thanks for the use of the picture it was very kind of you to let me use it. I hope other birders will pick up on this idea and promote birding in their area by local newspaper articles. I will use the credit line you have given me. Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Jones To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 3:43 PM Subject: Re: [MOB-Montana] In need of a photo [1 Attachment] [Attachment(s) from Don Jones included below] Hey Gary, You can use this one if you wish. If you do run the image could you run the credit line www.donaldmjones.com Thanks Gary, Don ----- Original Message ----- From: garyswant To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 3:29 PM Subject: [MOB-Montana] In need of a photo Birders, I write a monthly article in our local paper, the Silver State Post, on birds. I try to feature birds that people in our area see. I started this project last September and have featured the following birds, Bobolink, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Common Redpoll, and Northern Shrike. This is a great way to raise community awareness about birds, other of you should consider this in your area. I get comments about the article all the time. February's bird will be the Northern Shrike. Do any of you have a good picture of a Northern Shrike? If you do and would like to share it, please send me a large jpeg file. I can't pay you, I don't get any pay for the articles, but I will credit you and send you a copy of the article. Thanks for your consideration. Gary Swant Deer Lodge birdmontana AT rfwave.net Subject: I made a mistake - I meant American Dipper, not Northern Shrike From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:12:13 -0000 Birders, I write a monthly article in our local paper, the Silver State Post, on birds. I try to feature birds that people in our area see. I started this project last September and have featured the following birds, Bobolink, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Common Redpoll, and Northern Shrike. This is a great way to raise community awareness about birds, other of you should consider this in your area. I get comments about the article all the time. February's bird will be the American Dipper. Do any of you have a good picture of a Northern Shrike? If you do and would like to share it, please send me a large jpeg file. I can't pay you, I don't get any pay for the articles, but I will credit you and send you a copy of the article. Thanks for your consideration. Gary Swant Deer Lodge birdmontana AT rfwave.net Subject: Re: In need of a photo [1 Attachment] From: "Don Jones" <gr8gray AT frontiernet.net> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:43:24 -0700 Hey Gary, You can use this one if you wish. If you do run the image could you run the credit line www.donaldmjones.com Thanks Gary, Don ----- Original Message ----- From: garyswant To: MOB-Montana AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 3:29 PM Subject: [MOB-Montana] In need of a photo Birders, I write a monthly article in our local paper, the Silver State Post, on birds. I try to feature birds that people in our area see. I started this project last September and have featured the following birds, Bobolink, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Common Redpoll, and Northern Shrike. This is a great way to raise community awareness about birds, other of you should consider this in your area. I get comments about the article all the time. February's bird will be the Northern Shrike. Do any of you have a good picture of a Northern Shrike? If you do and would like to share it, please send me a large jpeg file. I can't pay you, I don't get any pay for the articles, but I will credit you and send you a copy of the article. Thanks for your consideration. Gary Swant Deer Lodge birdmontana AT rfwave.net Subject: In need of a photo From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:29:37 -0000 Birders, I write a monthly article in our local paper, the Silver State Post, on birds. I try to feature birds that people in our area see. I started this project last September and have featured the following birds, Bobolink, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Rough-legged Hawk, Common Redpoll, and Northern Shrike. This is a great way to raise community awareness about birds, other of you should consider this in your area. I get comments about the article all the time. February's bird will be the Northern Shrike. Do any of you have a good picture of a Northern Shrike? If you do and would like to share it, please send me a large jpeg file. I can't pay you, I don't get any pay for the articles, but I will credit you and send you a copy of the article. Thanks for your consideration. Gary Swant Deer Lodge birdmontana AT rfwave.net Subject: South Deer Lodge Valley From: "garyswant" <Birdmontana AT rfwave.net> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:55:36 -0000 Birding was slow today with only 17 species. It was warm, but the winds are strong. Last week with snow on the ground we had several thousand Horned Larks, with a good mix of Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs. Today, without snow I could not find any of these species. Canada Goose - 240 at Warm Springs ARCO Pond 2 Trumpeter Swan - 2 at Warm Springs, ARCO Pond 2 Mallard Common Goldeneye- 300 + at Warm Springs Bald Eagle - 1 Rough-legged Hawk - 3 Golden Eagle - 2 Prairie Falcon - 1 Rock Dove Eurasian Collared-Dove Northern Flicker Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee American Dipper House Finch House Sparrow Gary Swant Deer Lodge Subject: Lee Metcalf NWR From: Sid Frissell <sfrissell AT earthlink.net> Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:59:57 -0700 Made a brief visit to Lee Metcalf NWR yesterday afternoon. There were four Wild Turkeys walking on the main dike road between ponds 5 and 6. This may not be unusual since there are many wild turkeys in the Bitterroot. However, in about 40 years of birding there, I have never run across turkeys on the refuge. The small portion of pond 6 (north of the dike road) that is not frozen contained a nice mix of species including: Mallard, Gadwall, Am. Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Ring-necked Duck, and Hooded Merganser. The water in this spot is apparently quite deep as the Mallards were diving for food rather that tipping-up! Sid Frissell Stevensville Subject: Fw: can you post this for me? From: "Chuck Carlson" <chuckcmt AT nemont.net> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:22:59 -0700 Mobsters Lisa Lister asked me to post this message as she has already signed off MOB. I'll miss her sightings from over there. Chuck Carlson chuckcmt AT nemont.net Ft. Peck MT Hi Chuck, Friday morning I saw a Gyrfalcon at the corner of BIA Rte 5 and Indian Highway in Poplar, MT. I had signed off of the group prematurely I guess as we are moving at the end of the month and didn't expect to see any noteworthy. It was a life bird for me and I was able to view it fairly close as it flew parallel to and at the edge of the road. Birdlife here at been non existent since about mid-December so I thought signing off wouldn't be an issue. I love it when the birds surprise you! Lisa Lister Poplar, MT Subject: Turkey ? From: Arla Eckert <turtle AT mt.net> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:15:15 -0700 Yesterday I posted a photo of a strange looking turkey. I am wondering if it is a cross with a farm yard turkey and a wild one or a Leucistic wild turkey. As far as I know there are no farm yard turkeys in that area. I saw this group of birds last summer and they all looked and acted like wild birds. Then yesterday this was this very odd ball one in with the them. Arla Eckert Great Falls