Last Chance Audubon Society
Promoting understanding, respect, and enjoyment of birds and the natural world
through education, habitat protection and environment advocacy.

About LCAS
Membership
Contact
Calendar
History

Birding
Field Trips
Christmas Bird Count
Birdathon
Birding in the Helena Area

Learning
Chapter Programs
Monthly Newsletters
Natural History Lecture Series

Conserving
Habitat Protection
Environmental Advocacy

Home

Photo credits - Bob Martinka

LCAS web site funded by a bequest from the estate of Nancy Tunnicliff

Bird of the Month
Bohemian Waxwing - The Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) is a member of the waxwing family of passerines. A sleek bird, 18–21 cm long with a pointed crest, it travels in large, nomadic groups with a strong, direct flight. It breeds in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and western North America. The Bohemian Waxwing is the only member of this family whose range circumnavigates all the continents just below the sub-Arctic latitudes.

Its name refers to the bright red bead-like tips of the secondary feathers on its wings, which look like drops of sealing wax, while 'Bohemian' refers to its (presumed) origin from Bohemia (at the time, a relatively unknown but "distant, eastern" place). It is larger and greyer than the Cedar Waxwing and has bright yellow tips on its tail feathers and a yellow or white stripe along the wing feathers. Under tail coverts are a deep rust color. Both beak and feet are dark and the brown eyes are set in a narrow black mask underlined with white.

Recent News
Ponderosa and lodge pole pine in the greater Helena area have experienced extensive mortality from bark beetles. During a New Year's Day hike through recently dead ponderosa pine on Mount Helena, I observed a concentration of hairy and downy woodpecker feeding on these dead pine trees. Within a 100 foot diameter area were 6-7 or more hairy woodpeckers and 3-4 or more downy woodpeckers foraging on the limbs of the dead trees. The birds were feeding exclusively on the limbs of the trees during the 10 minute period of observation. A few more individual birds of both species were seen within a quarter mile as I moved on up the trail. It is also interesting to note that I have received reports of black-backed woodpeckers on Mount Helena and other beetle kill areas in the forests around Helena. It is interesting to speculate that birds are responding to beetle kill forests in a manner similar to fire killed areas.

Upcoming Programs
JANUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING Last Chance Audubon Society will meet Monday, January 18, 2010, in the choir room of St. Paul's Methodist Church (first room on the left when you enter from Cruise Ave.). The January program -- The Wildness and Spirit of Yellowstone: Nurturing the Greater Yellowstone Region Presented by Michael Leach