I just posted a couple of pictures of a toad (there were two toads) we saw in
the
Charles M. Russell NWR.  The toads were near a pond on the north side of the
Missouri just west of the boat ramp at the junction of NWRs 202 and 201,about 10
miles east of Highway 191.  Figure it to be a Woodhouse's Toad, but would
appreciate
some local input.  Thanks

Curtis Manly
Spruce Grove

Well MT Bird folks,

Tomorrow it will be time to get up on the old buggy and drive to a summer destination for
filming... This year-- Canadian Arctic islands. I'll be able to get the Canon RAW images to
jpgs when I return.

Yesterday was interesting. When I returned from town on one occasion a Northern
Mockingbird was at the base of the first small hill. Treid to find and call John Nordrum to
no avail. Mike is still in Alaska so....

Then a few hours later a bird suddenly appeared outside of my working window, an
EAstern BLuebird was trying to eat spider eggs from a cobweb up in a corner. Today the
male is still hanging around and singing !

Amazing... last one I saw in MT was with Chuck Carlson in Ft. Peck. And the NOMO was a
new state bird !

So Happy trails and Great birding all you fine folks. See you later in the summer,

All my best,

Tim

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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Well MT Bird folks,

Tomorrow it will be time to get up on the old buggy and drive to a summer
destination for
filming... This year-- Canadian Arctic islands. I'll be able to get the Canon
RAW images to
jpgs when I return.

Yesterday was interesting. When I returned from town on one occasion a Northern
Mockingbird was at the base of the first small hill. Treid to find and call John
Nordrum to
no avail. Mike is still in Alaska so....

Then a few hours later a bird suddenly appeared outside of my working window, an
EAstern BLuebird was trying to eat spider eggs from a cobweb up in a corner.
Today the
male is still hanging around and singing !

Amazing... last one I saw in MT was with Chuck Carlson in Ft. Peck. And the NOMO
was a
new state bird !

So Happy trails and Great birding all you fine folks. See you later in the
summer,

All my best,

Tim

Mob-sters;

Got home yesterday from my loop trip, Somers-Glasgow-Baker-Sheridan
(WY)-Bear Canyon-Somers. I ended up with 165 species, 5 new for my
state list, but more importantly got to appreciate what a wealth of
bird habitat we have in our state. We are truly blessed to have such
intact grasslands, riparian areas, sage and open spaces. One fun
anecdote, the day after seeing both Black-billed Cuckoo and
Dickcissel in MT, I saw them both outside Sheridan, Wyoming.
Something is afoot!

Today I have uploaded several photos to my album and a couple to
the "Big Year" album.  Patrick, I also helped rearrange the photos
in the latter.  I noticed that several of the species missing from
that album are out there in others' albums...some examples include
Sora, Lewis's Woodpecker, Northern Goshawk, and Rufous Hummingbird,
to name a few.  I did not check dates, but assuming they are from
this year and from Montana, how do people feel about moving copies
into the Big Year album?  Likewise, there are a variety of different
quality photos out there among the albums...I have put a few poorer
quality shots in the Big Year folder just to fill gaps, but would
encourage submittal of better versions to replace them, as that
album is a great one-stop site to see the gamut of species reported.
Thoughts on just asking Patrick to select higher quality shots from
the other albums where they are available?

Lastly, I posted a couple of shots from Wyoming (LISP, YBCH)in my
own album.  I will take them out shortly, but have found that I like
the way Yahoo compresses the files, which I have now posted
separately on Surfbirds. I see that we're up around 60% utilization
on photo space...

Dan Casey
Somers

Hi folks,

I searched Duck Road, the Crow WPA, Ninepipe and Kicking Horse and all
of the ponds along the way for the Snowy egret without success
yesterday (7 June) from 4:30 to 7 pm.

Cheers,

Jim Rogers
Polson

Howdy all,
      Yesterday, I had a new bird for my yard on Fred Burr Creek in
Victor, a Varied Thrush; have not had one in the 4.5 years that I have
lived hee!  A few Olived-sided Flycatchers are around but not in great
numbers.  I do have lots of hummingbirds, mostly Calliopes, and
smaller numbers of rufous and 2 Black-chins so far.  I've heard
Black-headed Grosbeaks 2-3 time but have not yet seen them.

Patrick Toomey
Victor

Hi folks,

Has anyone seen the Snowy egret today (or how about yesterday)?

I plan on looking for it after work today.

Thanks for any help,

Jim Rogers
Polson

Richard,
Here is some info on reporting bands for you to share with customers:

Folks should report the marked birds to our national
Bird Banding Lab, the clearinghouse for all marked birds and data. You can
now easily do it online at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/, and then click on
'report a bird band' or 'report a color-marked bird' which ever the case
may be. It will take you to a quick form to fill out and submit.
Researchers who mark these birds will be enormously appreciative!
Alternatively, you can always call and report sightings by phone at
1-800-327-BAND.

Some people are hesitant to report incomplete color marker sightings. Even
if a
color band sighting isnt complete, e.g., you cant make out the codes, it
can still be very useful, or even if you are not 100% sure but tell them
the possibilities, they can sometimes figure out the bird based on what
combinations they put on, etc. Or color alone may tell which age class it
is or which general study area it came from. So don't discount partial
data from a sighting, go ahead and let them know what you saw. Once the
BBL gives the data to the appropriate researcher, that researcher may
contact you for more details.
Thank you for passing this info along to anyone interested.
Beth Madden
Medicine Lake




                       "RICHARD
                       MOUSEL"                  To:      "MOB"
<MOB-Montana@yahoogroups.com>, "umbreaks" <umbreaks@...>,
                       <rmousel@bresnan         cc:
                       .net>                    Subject: [MOB-Montana] banded
finch
                       Sent by:
                       MOB-Montana@yaho
                       ogroups.com


                       06/06/2006 04:14
                       PM
                       Please respond
                       to MOB-Montana





Hi Birders: Had a customer report a Male house finch with two bands a Red
on
his left leg and a Silver on his right.
Don't know who keeps track of these things, but I'm sure the customer would

like to know what information can be provided on his wear-abouts.
Thanks!
Sincerely;
Richard Mousel
Wild Bird Mercantile
1807 3rd St N.W.
Great Falls, MT 59404
www.4co.us
rmousel@...
406-452-9377

I may of seen a Great Egret yesterday.  I was traveling west on I-90
and while crossing the Beaverhead river I saw an all white bird the
size and shape of a Great Blue Heron.  Unfortunetely, I was driving a
large fish hatchery truck and could not stop, so at 65mph, I didn't
get as good a view as I would of liked.  I could tell that it was not
a Pelican.  It was alone, and to the south of the interstate a hundred
yards or so.
I was wondering if anyone else had seen the bird or could look for it?

Dave Ellis

Hi Birders: Had a customer report a Male house finch with two bands a Red on
his left leg and a Silver on his right.
Don't know who keeps track of these things, but I'm sure the customer would
like to know what information can be provided on his wear-abouts.
Thanks!
Sincerely;
Richard Mousel
Wild Bird Mercantile
1807 3rd St N.W.
Great Falls, MT  59404
www.4co.us
rmousel@...
406-452-9377

I'd love to get your two cents on favorite birding/photography blinds for this
project
described below. If you have a blind and would like a survey to fill out, please
let me know
and I'll send it to you--it's short.


FAVORITE BIRDING BLIND?

Do you have a favorite birding or photography blind? Is there a particular
design that you favor?

To meet the growing demands for birding and nature photography services,
Deborah Richie Oberbillig is working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife
to produce a guide to wildlife viewing and photography blinds (with a
special emphasis on states in the West). The guide is intended to assist
those in the wildlife-viewing and interpretive fields who are seeking ideas
and guidance on the planning, construction, and placement of such viewing
enhancements.

Currently, there is no central place to find comprehensive bird-blind
information. Viewing blinds of all shapes, sizes, and costs exist, but
searching for alternative designs is time-consuming. The guide should save
time and expense, with no more reinventing the wheel.

If you have a favorite blind or ideal design, you can help by filling out a
survey in the next couple of weeks. Contact Deborah: <debrichi@...>

Two issues have been giving users some headaches so far:
1.  MAKE SURE YOUR WEB BROWSER ALLOWS POP UPS (I.E. TURN OFF YOUR POP UP BLOCKER).
2.  AFTER YOU LOG IN CLICK ON THE "MAP TOOL" ICON IN ORDER TO VIEW AND ENTER BIRD OBSERVATIONS (we will update the website to automatically take folks directly to the map tool after signing on in the near future).

Below is an outline of steps for entering bird observations that may be useful for first time users of this site.
1. Read the information links on the sign in page http://nhp.nris.state.mt.us/NHIP/default.aspx  in order to save time and briefly learn more about the website.

2. Sign in (create a new user profile if necessary).  If you think you have a user profile, but can't remember your username or password email Bryce Maxell at bmaxell@... and I can look this information up and get it back to you.

3. Click on the Map Tool link 

4. View a variety of map layers and bird distribution information by selecting individual species or turning on and off map layers of interest.

5. Zoom in to a locality where you have made a bird observation using the magnifying glass or +/- tools. 

6. Click on the Add a new Bird Observation tool and then click on the map with your cursor on the location where you made the observation(s)

7. A pop up screen will open up (MAKE SURE POP UP BLOCKERS ARE TURNED OFF SO THAT THIS IS ALLOWED) showing you the exact latitude and longitude, QLL, and TRS of the location you digitized and asking for: (1) the date or range of dates for the observation, (2) a description of the locality, and (3) whether you are reporting only some of the birds you detected at the location or whether you are reporting all birds you detected - this is important because these two types of information can be used for very different purposes.

8. Click on the next button in the upper right of the screen and you will see a list of bird species that have been observed within 10 miles of the location you digitized (top of screen) as well as a list of all bird species ever reported in the state (bottom of screen).  You can then check all the birds you detected on either the top, bottom, or both lists.

9. Click next and enter the observation type (B, b, t, W, w) the number and type of observation, species comments, habitat comments, and how precise you think the location you digitized was from where the bird was observed (e.g., I am sure that all the birds I am reporting were within 200 meters of the location I digitized).  If you are reporting an observation of a rare bird you will be directed to submit thoroughly documented information to the Montana Bird Record Committee.

10. Click next and verify the information you just reported is correct and click next to submit the information.

If you have questions or comments you can send them to me at the email address below.

Bryce A. Maxell
Senior Zoologist
Montana Natural Heritage Program
P.O. Box 201800
1515 East Sixth Avenue
Helena, Montana 59620-1800
(406) 444-3655 (office)
(406) 461-1279 (cell)
(406) 444-0581 (fax)
bmaxell@...
http://mtnhp.org/

Patrick,

I had several Cordilleran Flycatchers along the Kim Williams trail in
Missoula on 29 May, and Brett Walker had Broad-tailed Hummingsbirds at
the feeders of Rand Herzberg and Janet Gale in Red Lodge on 4 June.
Both species were found during the Montana Audubon birding tour, which
concludes on 11 June. As of yesterday, we were at 196 species and
headed for Westby.

Brett also had several Dickcissels along the Tongue River Road between
Ashland and Miles City yesterday, 5 June.

Jeff Marks

I had a first at my feeder Sunday - an Eurasin Collared-Dove.

I would like to know if anyone has information/studies on mortality in
Burrowing Owls. The past two years I have found four separate pair in
the Dillon area and had expected to see some evedance of nesting.
However one of the pair (out of three) was found dead at the burrow
entrance a short time later. The carcuss looked as if it had been
killed ay an avian preadator or at least feed on by a raptor. In each
case the burrow was abandoned. The other pair just plain disappeared.
My question: is this an unusual high mortality rate or just the hazards
of migration. The second question; were they really planning to nest or
just moving through. All mortalitys occured in the 3rd or 4th week of
May.
Any information or thoughts? Thanks

A few sightings from Freezeout - Pine Butte area.

There was one Great Egret in the first pond north of the headquarters
at Freezeout 6/4/06.
There was what appeared to be a colony of McGown's Longspurs a
few miles west of Choteau on the gravel road that comes into Hwy 287
just south of Choteau.
At least four Upland Sandpipers that seem to be feeding with a number
of Marbled Godwits on the same road just East of the school house on
The Nature Conservancy land.

Bruce Tannehill

Mob-sters:

I, too, found some Dickcissels today (and got some nice shots, see
the photo section).  There were three singing males along Richland
Co. Rd 152, the road going upriver across (south of) the Culbertson
bridge.  They were about 0.5 mi in, 200m beyond the first group of
roadside trees and before the lot with parked trucks and equipment.
There were at least 3 singing males. I also saw a Black-billed
Cuckoo today, this one off Highway 7 north of Baker, in the first
group of trees along the side road to the east at mile marker ~63.5

Hving started the day co-leading a south Valley County trip, I ended
the day with 101 species (I'm writing from Miles City).  Lots of
Lark Buntings today, a couple of Burrowing Owls, a Red-headed
Woodpecker in "The Pines" burn south of Glasgow, and a Mountain
Plover pair with the female actively building the nest (see photos).
All in all a beautiful day on the prairie!  Tomrrow I will drive the
Rosebud, and Wed. will visit Bear Canyon...will report as possible.

Dan Casey
On the Road

Mobsters :

        Having lived in Oklahoma and hearing this quail often,
   we were all ears while hearing it again today 10 miles south
of Hamilton.
Is this bird as popular as the other quail (released or escaped
(Gambel's and California) we hear and see here in the
  Bitterroot Valley  ?  Are other sightings of the
  Northern Bobwhite known in Montana ?

Ned and Gigi Batchelder
Hamilton , MT.

Greetings,

Forgive the tardiness of this posting.

Last sunday there was an American Redstart north of Sidney.  Red-eyed
vireos have been present and calling in Sidney x 1 week;  I just had the
opportunity this a.m. to see one in the trees in my yard and can hear it
calling as I write this email. Common Nighthawks have been gracing the
sky above my house for more than a week as have Bonaparte's Gulls.

Chuck, now that I know you are keeping track of when the birds are
showing up for our area, I promise to be more timely with my postings.

Mo

Maureen O'Mara
Biological Science Technician
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
1500 North Central Ave.
Sidney, MT  59270
Phone: (406) 433-9497
www.sidney.ars.usda.gov/grasshopper/index.htm
www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/people/people.htm?personid=601