Outdoor Briefs

Freezeout Lake

Flathead Audubon will lead their annual trip to the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area south of Choteau to view the snow geese migration on Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24, led by Dan Casey. As many as 400,000 geese have been seen there at one time. Thousands of tundra swans, tens of thousands of northern pintails, American wigeons, and a wide variety of other waterfowl add to the excitement, and often the first white pelicans, shorebirds and Franklin’s gulls of the spring are also seen. Their daily comings and goings against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountain Front make for an incredible spectacle. For more information, contact Casey at 857-3143 or danielcasey55@gmail.com.

Park talk

The Montana House and Glacier National Park Fund will co-host a “Look Listen and Learn” presentation by Chris Peterson, photographer for the Hungry Horse News, at the Montana House in Apgar Village at Saturday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. His photographic presentation will be about taking long multi-day loop hikes in Glacier National Park and Bob Marshall Wilderness. His work has appeared in the New York Times and National Geographic’s Crown of the Continent Map. He is the creator of the quarterly Glacier Park Magazine, now available as an iPad app. For more information, call 892-3250 or visit online at www.glacier nationalparkfund.org.

Bat talk

Flathead Audubon will present a talk on “Montana’s Bats—Those Fascinating Night Fliers” by Lewis Young during their meeting in the United Way Conference Room at the Gateway Community Center on U.S. 2 West, in Kalispell, on Monday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. Young will review all 15 bat species in Montana, including their biology and ecology, bat survey methods, and bat habitats. He has been involved with bat surveys each summer since 2006 and intermittently before then.

Wilderness talks

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s 2013 Wilderness Speakers Series will present three talks about wilderness stewardship, conservation and recreation. Research biologist Kate Kendall will talk about grizzly bears on Feb. 21, local author Matt Holloway will talk about “The Wild and the Not-Wild: A Discussion of Wilderness in Today’s Mind” on March 14, and former Glacier National Park ranger Charlie Logan will talk about “Recollections of a Rocky Mountain Ranger” on April 11.  The talks will be held in Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Ice-fishing derby

The Babb/St. Mary Volunteer Fire Department’s annual ice fishing derby at Duck Lake will take place Feb. 9 and 10 with hourly prize drawings, 50/50 ticket drawings, coffee and food at a concession stand. Fee is $20 with fishing on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. Tickets will be available at the lake on Friday from 1–5 p.m., Saturday starting at 7 a.m. and Sunday from 8–10 a.m. Cash prizes for longest fish are $700 first, $400 second, $200 third and $100 fourth. Children 12-and-under fish for free. Donations can be dropped off at the Babb/St. Mary VFD or mailed to P.O. Box 69, Babb, MT 5941. For more information, call 732-9292.