Category: HelenaOutdoors
-
August Update
August is not a huge month for seeing new species – of anything, really. Even so, I added two new year-birds, one of which was also a life bird: an Ash-throated Flycatcher, marking only the 18th reported sighting in Montana. The second was a Cooper’s Hawk that was haunting our yard and feeders for a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
The Curlew’s Song
The genus of the Long-billed Curlew is Numenius – Greek for “of” or “like” the new moon. In various cultures, the curlew symbolizes a duality of sorrow and joy, comfort and sadness; a certain poignancy, I suppose. I’m not sure if the “new moon” refers to the fresh beginning of a lunar cycle – curlews do…
-
A Break From Artificial Demands
I’ve taken several days off since early March – a couple of short breaks and a couple of longer stints. Life is returning to the Northwest, and even following a mild winter, experiencing the return of birds and flowers is something to behold. The upshot of this time off is 42 species of birds recorded…
-
Crowdsourcing Science
In our increasingly connected world, field science is no longer strictly in the realm of graduate students in our University System. All across Montana it happens every day in empty lots, along stream banks, and on the trails traversing our hills and valleys. This collaborative movement is called community science- a partnership where people observe…
-
Spring Migration is Starting to Trickle In
A week into the month, we’ve only managed two days of quality birding, but we already have nine species logged. Mountain Bluebirds often show up in February, so I tend not to use them as a reliable indicator of the shift. Nevertheless, we saw our first Mountain Bluebird yesterday along the Missouri River. On rare…
-
A Simple Question
I had a lovely conversation a couple of weeks ago where a simple question stopped me in my tracks: “What do you think your 7-year-old self would think of your life now?” It didn’t take me long to answer. I think that kid would be amazed. “Whoa, wait! You go out and look at flowers, rocks,…
-
Four Owl February!
I’ve been taking Obi to the Tenmile every morning at about 7am since late January. I’ve been hoping to hear, or see, a Great Horned Owl. I know from previous experience that they could be in that area, and since I had seen three species of owls, I became a little obsessed with adding a…
-
Superb Owl Weekend 2026
A superb owl weekend it was, indeed! Last evening two daughters, the Lab, and I went into the hills a bit to listen for a Northern Saw Whet Owl that had been heard by a few other folks in the last week or so. So, as the darkness descended, we found ourselves walking up the Mini-Ridge…