LCAS member Jim Greene is once again coordinating numerous field trips in April through June. If you are interested in leading a trip, please contact Jim at 495-9270 or greenevogt@imt.net.
April 7, Saturday - Warm Springs Ponds: Meet Scott Brown at 7:00 am at the northwest end of the Lundy Center parking lot for this annual trip to these rewarding ponds, the historical first trip of the season. Last year they watched a peregrine falcon eating its prey, a rock dove, for 30 minutes. Bring warm clothing, lunch, binoculars, guidebooks, and a scope if you have one. Return mid-afternoon. Call Scott at 442-3714 for details.
April 21, Saturday - BLM’s McMaster Hills, at the mouth of Spokane Creek: Join Cedron Jones for this new birding adventure. It will be a partly off-trail walk of about 5 miles round trip, with occasional steep and/or rocky slopes. Highlights are a lush riparian habitat at the mouth of Spokane Creek, views of Hauser Reservoir, an intriguing wooded and rocky canyon, and open grasslands. Pre-register (and learn the meeting place!) by calling Cedron at 442-1271.
May 5, Saturday, and May 12, Saturday - LCAS Birding Class: Field trips for those participating in our chapter’s renowned birding class. Call Jo Lace at 443-6640 to enroll.
May 19, Saturday - Benton Lake: Jo Lace and Brian Shovers will lead a group to Benton Lake near Great Falls. This is an excellent opportunity to see waterfowl and burrowing owls. Meet at the DOT parking lot at 7:00 am, returning about 4 pm. Bring a lunch, water, binoculars, spotting scope, and dress for any weather. Call 443-6640 to reserve a spot, 15 people maximum.
May 21, Tuesday - Evening Last Chance Gulch Bird Walk: Join Cary Lund at the Lewis and Clark Library at 5:30 pm for an easy stroll around the neighborhood close to the library, looking for a variety of local species. Call Cary at 449-3180 to sign up.
June 1-3, Friday through Sunday - Audubon Birding Festival: This weekend is the state Audubon Birding Festival. There will be no Helena area trips scheduled, so sign up and plan to go birding in the Ennis area! Montana Audubon at 443-3949 or cobryant@mtaudubon.org.
NOTE: The first week of June is the tentative release week for trumpeter swans in the Nevada Valley, as discussed at the Trumpeter Swan talk in January. If you’re interested, keep that week open, and call Nancy Tunnicliff at 442-5024 or Jim Greene at 495-9270. You will be put on a call list and notified as soon as the exact release date is known.
June 9, Saturday - H2-O Ranch near Helmville: This ranch adjoins the meandering Blackfoot River in an area of abundant natural wetlands, with mixed woodlands on the periphery. A part of the Blackfoot Challenge project, it offers a wonderful diversity of habitats and potential avifauna sightings. We will meet at the northwest end of the Lundy Center at 7:00 for an approximate 70-minute drive to the ranch. Bring lunch, water, appropriate birding equipment and clothes for any kind of weather, to include waterproof boots. Call Jim Greene at 495-9270 for details and to reserve a spot.
June 16, Saturday - Little Prickly Pear Creek: Set your alarm clock and join early bird Dan Sullivan at 6:50 am to enjoy some fantastic birding from Silver City to the Sieben Ranch, where Little Prickly Pear Creek winds through a narrow valley of grass-covered hills and rocky outcroppings. There is a good chance for hawks, rock wrens, cranes, bobolinks, thrushes, orioles, and warblers. Call Dan at 443-4229 for details and meeting place.
June 23, Saturday - Phantom Springs Ranch: Join Nancy Tunnicliff, Jim Greene, and Martha Vogt for a tour of Bob and Poo Putsch’s Phantom Springs Ranch on Canyon Creek. The ranch includes wetlands, meadows, aspen groves and pine-forested draws, for a plethora of potential avian sightings. Meet at the northwest end of the Lundy Center parking lot at 7:00 am, with water, snacks, and dressed for the weather. Call Nancy, 442-5024, to reserve a spot.
June 30, Saturday - Grizzly and Lump Gulch (tentative): Don Skaar is still in the planning stages for this trip, but knowing Don, it will be a dandy! Call him closer to the trip date to learn details at 442-3254.