Author: BradinMontana
-
Rare Bird, Indeed!
I picked up a new lifer this morning following a 4.8-mile walk up to the Helena Ridge trail. The image is of an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which really ought to be a state or two south of us – they spend most of their time in the Southwest. It turns out this is only the 18th…
-
Bats and Rattlesnakes
Other than the tens of thousands of bats, we had the canyon to ourselves. Just The Middle Daughter (TMD) and I, plus our 55 new friends. Among the group were a bat specialist, the captain of the Sacajawea II, an FWP non-game biologist, a former state legislator, and a few dozen other folks simply hoping…
-
Moonworts and More
This summer has been busy. We’ve made nature trips to the Yaak, Seeley/Swan, skirted the Scapegoat Wilderness north of Lincoln, Yellowstone NP, the Oregon Coast, and today we went into the hills above and to the south of Georgetown Lake. This summer has been about getting out a bit farther afield. Montana has so much…
-
Smoky Skies and Species of Concern
Today, the air quality at home was pretty rough – 159 AQI when I woke up at 5:30am. By 7:30, I was up in the hills hoping for a little cleaner air, and looking for birds and flowering plants. As the smoke started to thicken up there too, I decided to break for the plains…
-
July Update
We’ve done several terrific bio-blitzes this month. Our first was a quick day trip to the fringes of Lewis and Clark County on July 4th to find a Lark Bunting. Then, July 10th to Yaak to explore fens where we hoped to see sundews; July 18th to the southern edge of the Scapegoat Wilderness up…
-
The English Sundew Experience
We left Helena at noon on Friday, needing to be back by 7:00 PM Saturday. Thirty-one hours was our entire time allotment. In the end, it took us a hair over 32. But in that window, we managed to find 12 to 14 new plant species for the year (ID’ing is ongoing), most of which…
-
Morrell Falls
Montana has 57 National Recreation Trails, 43 of which are designated for walking or hiking. These include the Mount Helena Ridge Trail and the Morrell Falls Trail. While I walk a portion of the Mount Helena Ridge Trail every year, it has been 35 years since I last visited Morrell Falls. The trail hasn’t changed…
-
Holiday Weekend – Seized!
Lewis and Clark County is the 14th largest county in Montana. At 3,498 square miles, L&C is larger than either Delaware or Rhode Island. So, the idea that we could get up early, drive 75 road miles all trending north, and still not leave the county isn’t a foreign concept to us – though it…
-
Oddball Plants in Montana
I’ve been walking and observing the trails in the greater Helena area for long enough now to know when and where I wam likely to come across some of our less common flowers. Our fairy-slippers and lady-slippers, as well as the slender rein- and bog orchids, tend to occur in small clusters rather than being…
-
Multi-day BioBlitz
The Middle Daughter (TMD) and I recently had the chance to take a four-day trip to the coast with very few time constraints. We left early on Wednesday and arrived back in Helena early Saturday evening. We had two clear objectives: pick up The Youngest Daughter (TYD), and see at least one Tufted Puffin. Both…