02-24-14 Bird Field Note

02-24-14 Bird Field Note

February 24, 2014

Kate Stone's Field Note describes the Great Backyard Bird Count, winter point counts, and new species discovered via acoustic monitoring.

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Kate Stone Field Note 2/21/14

On Monday February 17th, a group of 17 birders from Bitterroot and Five Valleys Audubon Societies gathered at the MPG Ranch to count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Birds counted on the MPG Ranch Great Backyard Bird Count, February 17th 2014.

5 Our birding visitors got to see the Bald Eagle pair hanging out in and around the artificial nesting platform. The nest continues to grow in size.

We did our second month of point counts at low-elevation sites.

Small flocks of American Robins migrated through this week.

The footprints of Mallards still cover the corn field, though little corn remains.

remains. Large amounts of runoff continue to pour downhill as we alternate between accumulating snow and warm afternoon temperatures. These ice bubbles covered the road above the Top House at sunrise. By noon they had melted.

Little does the elk herd know that in just a few hours they will take part in the North Valley Elk Study.

Study. The wild horses have made mini hay piles in the areas where they browse the bottoms of bunchgrasses. This whole hillside was littered with grass piles.