Join volunteer birders who lead free birdwatching trips year round. Identify owls and hawks, help count loons, or identify neo-tropical migrants by sight and by ear. Learn why the Crown of the Continent provides premier habitat for a wide diversity of birds. The annual Christmas bird count contributes scientific information to a national database.

Summer 2009 events include:

NATIVE PLANTS OF THE WILD MILE: TUESDAYS, MAY & JUNE, 2009

Join Anne Morley of the Montana Native Plant Society for two hours of native plant identification along Bigfork's Wild Mile Nature Trail. This trail is level, easy walking and appropriate for all ages. Bring a hand lens, if possible. Meet at 10 a.m. at Showthyme in downtown Bigfork. Questions? Call Anne at 886-2242.


BIRDS OF THE WILD MILE: WEDNESDAYS, MAY & JUNE, 2009

Join Neal Brown of Flathead Audubon for two hours of birding along Bigfork's Wild Mile Nature Trail. This trail is level and appropriate for all ages.

Meet at 9 a.m. at the EAST trailhead of the Wild Mile Nature Trail. Bring binoculars, if possible. (From Bigfork, travel east on MT Highway 209 to the Kearney Rapids Bridge. Limited parking is available on the north shore of the Swan River.) Carpooling from downtown Bigfork is encouraged. (Carpoolers should meet at 8:30 a.m. at Showthyme!) Call Neal Brown at 837-5018 for more information.


FAMILY FORESTRY EXPO: MONDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 4-10, 2009

T-I-M-B-E-R ... and BIRDS! The 20th anniversary Family Forestry Expo is coming soon to the Stoltze Trumbull Creek Experimental Forest. This free annual event is sponsored by many local forest industry and recreation groups. It has exhibits on forest management, wildlife and fisheries and an assortment of recreational interests from around the Flathead Valley.

About 1,200 local 5th graders will tour the field exhibits and nearby lumber mills through the week. The public may attend on May 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on May 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The weekend highlight is the logger sports and equipment demonstrations. There are other great exhibits, including that of Flathead Audubon.

Many people visit the Audubon station to learn more about birds of the Flathead and to share stories of their own birding adventures. This is a wonderful opportunity for Audubon members to share their knowledge and love of birds with others. We would love for you to help. Please contact Nancy Zapotocki at naz@centurytel.net to get on board.


FLATHEAD AUDUBON ANNUAL POTLUCK & GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: MONDAY, MAY 11 , 2009

Annual potluck, silent auction and meeting. Meeting time and place and program to be announced. All are welcome.


PLANTING A SHADY MONTANE GARDEN: WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 , 2009

Join the Flathead Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society and Terry Divoky in planting a shady montane native plant forest garden at Discovery Square in Columbia Falls. Volunteers needed! Bring a sack dinner and come and go as you like. Call Terry Divoky at 387-5527 or email tddivoky@centurytel.net for more information.


NATIVE PLANT GARDEN TOUR: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2009

Join the Flathead Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society and native plant gardener Bill McClaren on a tour of the Flathead Valley Community College native plant gardens. This will be followed by a tour of the newly-established gardens at the Museum at Central School.

Meet at FVCC, behind Blake Hall at 7 p.m. (If it is raining, meet inside Blake Hall.) Contact Bill McClaren at 257-2540 or email mccl@bresnan.net for details. No RSVP necessary. The tour is wheelchair accessible.

WINGS ACROSS THE BIG SKY: FRIDAY- SUNDAY, JUNE 5-7, 2009

Montana Audubon and Upper Missouri River Breaks Audubon Society are joining together to sponsor the 2009 MONTANA BIRD FESTIVAL. This year the festival will feature the grasslands, mountains and marshes of north central Montana, and include field trips to favorite places like Freezout Lake, Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountain Front.

For information and to register, visit www.mtaudubon.org/birdwatching/festival or call Montana Audubon at (406) 443-3949. Register by April 15 and have a chance to win two nights of lodging at the Holiday Inn during the festival.

The festival's featured speaker is DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY, the author and illustrator of the comprehensive SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS and other books, such as, SIBLEY'S BIRDING BASICS. Vince Yannone, retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist and educator, who has appeared on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, opens the festival Friday evening with live birds.

Choose from 28 different field trips to wildlife refuges and birding hotspots from the Rocky Mountain Front to the prairie, marshes and storied Missouri River, rich in birds, other wildlife and history. Birds of interest include: McCown's & Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Sprague's Pipit, Burrowing Owl, Calliope Hummingbird, Baird's Sparrow, American Avocet and Ferruginous Hawk.

Attend birdwatchers' and bird conservation presentations and workshops. Bring the whole family and enjoy a morning of games, a bird banding demonstration, guided hikes and activities involving birds and birding. This festival will bring you and your family up close and personal with the birds of Montana and their magnificent habitat!

Add to your festival experience by participating in the pre-festival canoe trip through the WHITE CLIFFS OF THE MISSOURI in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, or one of the two post-festival field trips to GLACIER NATIONAL PARK and SQUARE BUTTE NATURAL AREA. Audubon members will receive an illustrated brochure after April 1. We look forward to seeing you!


MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD TRAILS 35TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: FRIDAY- SUNDAY, JUNE 12-14, 2009

Mountain Bluebird Trails fosters the preservation of bluebirds and other cavity nesting birds through education, nestbox programs and research. Mountain Bluebird Trails convention will be headquartered at the Holiday Inn in Great Falls. Go to www.mountainbluebirdtrails.com for the agenda, which includes nationally-known speakers, and registration form.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK NURSERY VOLUNTEER DAYS: TUESDAYS, MID-JUNE THRU AUGUST, 2009

Learn how native plants are collected, propagated, and used by Glacier National Park staff and volunteers. Volunteers may work at the park Nursery every Tuesday from mid-June thru August. Activities include seeding, transplanting, weeding and cleaning. Or, you may help with data management, research or experimental projects.

Bring a sack lunch, work gloves and work clothes. Just drop in and work an hour or stay the entire day. Meet at the Native Plant Nursery at Glacier National Park. Contact Joyce Lapp at 888-7817 for details.


Flathead Audubon Society's outing schedules are regularly updated on the Flathead Audubon web site: http://www.flatheadaudubon.org/content/events/index.htm

Flathead Audubon Society

Moderate

Most events are open to all ages

Willingness to explore, enjoy and engage