Birders flock to spring arrival or birds
<p>Flathead Audubon Society early migration field trip Sunday, March 23, 2014.</p>
A caravan of cars parked along the side of a dirt road near Creston Sunday. Outside the vehicles, about 20 people stood, binoculars pressed to their faces, observing birds in the open water beyond. A constant chatter ran through the group while they conferred with one another to confirm the species they were observing.
Most were members of the Flathead Audubon Society. Some of them had been birding for years, and some were just getting into the hobby. Craig Hohenberger led the early-migration field trip on Sunday. The trip allowed birders an opportunity to observe species just arriving to the Flathead Valley.
The Flathead Valley is migration corridor for many species of birds. Large flocks of waterfowl come through the area as spring begins to appear in March, April and May as bodies of water begin to thaw.
Hohenberger led the group to open water around Creston, where flocks of birds, largely waterfowl, were gathered.
Birder Ed Folkwin of Columbia Falls counted about 18 species during the outing, including several immature bald eagles.
“It’s always a treat to see these bald eagles,” Folkwin said. “We get to see them in our back yards.”
Some of the more experienced birders on the field trip were able to spot birds that an average person might have missed, such as an eagle, sitting in a tree whose head barely rose above the branches. From a distance, the eagle looked just like part of a tree. But someone spotted it, and allowed everyone to get a better view of the bird through a scope.
“You have to learn to look,” Margaret Parodi, from Bigfork, said.
Many of the birders have had a long interest in our feathered friends. Kathy Dugan of Echo Lake credits her interest in birds to her 10th-grade science teacher.
Audubon board member Gael Bissell said she thinks many members’ interest stems from a life-long desire to learn.
“The whole world opens up when you get your first pair of binoculars,” she said.
The Flathead Audubon Society grew out of the Bigfork Bird Club, which was formed in 1975.
Upcoming Audubon events
March 29-30 Freezout Lake
April 9, 16, 23, 30 Beauty of Birds
April 14 Long-Eared Owls
April 19 Barred Owls Field Trip
April TBA 8th Annual Cohen Stroll
May 10 Family Forestry Expo
May 12 Annual Meeting
May 30-June 1 Tally Lake
June 6-8 Wings across the Big Sky Bird Festival
June TBA Birdathon
flatheadaudubon.org