Author: BradinMontana

While today is, astronomically, the last day of Winter, it is, acording to me, the first day of Spring. Let me explain. I have several markers that I use to determine when sping starts. My current progression is three-fold. I begin smelling skunks- that is step one. I begin hearing hearing woodpeckers drumming and calling-…

The college daughters are home from school for a bit which has been really wonderful for all of us. Their Spring break started out with a nice 9-inch snowfall, high winds and National Weather Service warnings about whiteout conditions and unsafe travel. Then it got cold, then it snowed another 5 inches. Springtime in the…

So, a crazy thing happened about two hours ago. I was driving down the street that I live on and four birds flew right in front of my car. They landed in the road and started running so I turned (not the direction that I was planning to go, but hey, these were birds!) to…

I was really happy to see this northern pintail today. I usually only see them in large flocks on much larger bodies of water. This one was alone (as in, he was the only one of his species) on a small pond not too far from home. There were about 80 mallards and about 30…

Technically, February is not over. It’s not even 8pm on Tuesday, Feb 28. However, I am not likely to see any more new species this month since I am inside and working on the computer, it is quite dark out, and the Lab and I have closed out our day with a total of 6.5…

The Lab and I were out in the middle of several hundred acres of open, scrubby land looking for Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, and Lapland Longspurs. In past winters we have been successful at finding all three- in December we were successful. Today- I saw three Horned larks. Two flew away as we approached, but…

Despite the fact that it’s still 15°F below zero, I’m feeling reasonably positive about February. For the first time since we’ve kept track, we have ID’ed double digit year-birds in February. I realize part of it is that we have been recording species in two separate areas of Montana this year. Regardless, it feels good…

The daytime highs are currently slipping- tiptoeing -into the upper 40’s. Today we reached 48f (9c) degrees by about 4pm. Since winter in Helena really took hold on November 4th, and we have spent so many days and nights waaay sub-zero, this felt amazing. Blue skies – snow is disappearing – icy trails are terrible…

Most ancient cultures have a site associated with the solstice or the equinox. From Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru to Chichen Itza Mexico and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, they span the world. The Parowan Gap in Southern Utah is the only major archeoastronomical site I’ve had the good fortune to visit,…

Not the worst start to a year, but certainly not the best. I suspect the cold weather has a lot to do with it- both from the standpoint of my not going out and about as much, and the birds visibility and behavior. Regardless of the reason, here’s the list.