Meadowlarks and Marsh Wrens: The Seasons and Surprises of One Place and Over 140 Bird Species

On any day of the year in Helena – regardless of the season – birds are doing something interesting outside. In March when the sun reflects intensely from the last patches of wet snow, a brilliant yellow Western Meadowlark sings the coming of spring from a high perch. Late May finds six species of swallows darting over a pond, feeding on an insect hatch. On a crisp September morning, robins warn of a Sharp-shinned Hawk high overhead, migrating and alert for an easy meal. A Northern Shrike perches on a twig over a crisp January stream, searching for voles.

Stories such as these are part of the essence of Helena, a particular fingerprint of seasons, birds, and landscape that is unique to our home. For the past two and a half years, naturalist and Carroll College student Shane Sater has been watching these stories unfold on a stream restoration site only a few miles from town.

Shane will tell the story of this landscape of grassland, thicket, and stream through the birds that live here, based on observations and photographs from over 100 bird surveys. Please come glimpse the remarkable lives of the birds that share this valley with us – and through them, celebrate our shared home.