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Trumpeter Swans: Don’t Shoot Them

10,000 Birds

Many years ago, back in the 1970s, I visited my sister, who lived in West Yellowstone, Montana, in the dead of winter. They were heavily hunted as food, and for the feathers. Overall they are pretty amazing birds. Great Trumpeter Swan birding report HERE. We rented snow mobiles and drove into Yellowstone. All of them.

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A Birder’s Guide to The Wilderness Act

10,000 Birds

For example, hunting is not permitted in most NPS wilderness areas, but it is often allowed in wilderness areas managed by the other agencies. There is also a research institute dedicated to wilderness: the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute is an interagency facility located at the University of Montana.

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What to Do at High Island When the Winds are South

10,000 Birds

It stops those thousands of migrating birds flying across the Gulf of Mexico and directs them right onto the trees, fields, sanctuaries, beaches along the Bolivar Peninsula, where they hopefully find food and fresh water. And us, the birders who travel here from March to May to worship the birds as they seek to survive.

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Falcon Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson

10,000 Birds

Stark, a white Gyrfalcon , is a falconry bird born and raised. Still, she’s nearly more falconry bird than 13-year-old Karma (yes, she has hippy parents) can handle at the book’s opening. Given the horrible consequences of irresponsible falconry for birds, it’s definitely a plus to see the text emphasize this.

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Great Gray Owl: Seeing the Ghost

10,000 Birds

There are birds more prized by North American birders than the Great Gray Owl , but not many*. Though hardly common, Great Gray sightings are a yearly occurrence in Western Montana, and it is one of the twelve species of owl known to breed in the state. Not only did they, but they invited us to tag along with them. We went beyond.

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Snow in the Air

10,000 Birds

And yet, perhaps ironically, the biggest sign of spring in a Montana March is when the skies fill with white. The Snow Geese in particular are popular with viewers all along the flyway, inspiring much comment even in bird-rich areas like Bosque del Apache (as shown below.) The result?

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Welcome Back Waterfowl at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge

10,000 Birds

Like several of my favorite NWRs, this one was established as a haven for migratory birds, most notably waterfowl, during the bad old days when uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss had put the future of even species we now think of as common in doubt. As a result, early migration season is an excellent time to visit.

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