Author: skip

Fall Bird Migration

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by Laura Katzman, Land Protection Specialist, Flathead Land Trust
lkatzman@flatheadlandtrust.org

Fall bird migration is in full swing in the West Valley. Last week 800 snow geese, 1,000 Canada geese, 150 sandhill cranes and hundreds of ducks were seen at the West Valley Wildlife Viewing area. With the cold weather over the weekend the West Valley Wetland ponds have become mostly ice-covered, but yesterday hundreds of snow geese and a couple hundred sandhill cranes were seen feeding in the nearby fields so birds still can be seen in the area.

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Turkeys en regalia

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynatauralists.org

In the fall, the valley’s wild turkey population forms flocks that will stay together all winter. Interestingly, these flocks do not usually interact with each other, respecting each others’ territory. They do, however, interact with each other within the flock, largely to establish dominance and breeding preferences for the next spring.

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Swan Song

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

The fall migration season in the valley is a busy time for waterfowl observers. Sandhill cranes, Canada geese, snow geese, and various others ducks and waterfowl arrive in great numbers, stopping in valley ponds and fields to fuel up for their journey south. Arriving in somewhat smaller numbers are the tundra swans, and it’s always a treat to encounter them en masse. But unlike geese and cranes, they’re not typically as vociferous. Yesterday was an exception.

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The Shoveler Mating Game

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Northern shovelers are common inhabitants of our local wetlands and marshes during the spring and summer, where they mate and nest. They’re gorgeous birds, the males being easily recognizable by their bright green head, yellow eyes, chestnut and white bodies, black back, and most prominently their long, broad bills. It’s these oversized bills that give them their name, and they are prominent on both males and females.

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Geology Field Trip

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by Dr. Lex Blood, Community Activist, Conservationist, Professor Emeritus/Flathead Valley Community College

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

The West Valley Naturalists sponsored a geology field trip in May 2014.  Dr. Lex Blood led this field trip; for more than 40 years Lex Blood has served as Flathead Valley geologist, geographer, educator, conservationist. After a brief introduction we car-pooled and explained the “story behind the landscape” as we traveled through the West Valley area.  For background information on the geology of the Flathead Valley please visit: http://www.flatheadwatershed.org/natural_history/geology.shtml

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Flathead Valley Water Resources

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

Mike Koopal, Executive Director of the Whitefish Lake Institute, pointed us to some exceptional resources for learning more about the Flathead Valley watershed and the numerous lakes and streams that make up some of the most beautiful areas of the west valley area and the rest of Montana.

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Eastern Bluejays

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By Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Back east (I grew up in NC), bluejays were a common and not always appreciated sight around the bird feeders. They tend to be noisy and aggressive toward other birds. Yet they are distinctly beautiful birds and the story of their expansion into Montana is fascinating, and that’s why we’re starting to see them here in the valley.

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Calypso Orchids

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By Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Although most people think of orchids as tropical plants, Montana is home to 31 species of orchids, almost all of which are found in the western part of the state. In the West Valley area of the Flathead Valley, the orchid you are most likely to encounter is the beautiful Calypso orchid. “Most likely” in this case does not mean common–they’re still a rare treat to encounter on a hike.

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Kuhns’ School, 1913

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

From Linda de Kort (linda@westvalleynaturalists.org): Reta Sweeney shared some photos from her mother in law’s (Merle) collection. Merle put them together for her 90th birthday celebration. Merle taught at Kuhns for one year. Her photo is included. Apparently Bowser Lake was the place to go for “outings.” The school was moved to its present location on Lost Creek in 1962. There are also some photos I took this week of the old Kuhns school as well as the original outhouse.

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All About Argillite

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by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

To take a virtual tour of the West Valley area, click here

You see it everywhere in the valley–lining the bottom of creek beds, along hiking trails, layered throughout road cuts, on the shores surrounding Tally Lake, in the cliffs around Flathead Lake, piled at the corners of plowed fields, covering fireplace hearths and floors, in the pavement of many area roads and parking lots, and often in your yard when you are trying to dig a new garden bed (especially if you live on a glacial drumlin, as I do). It’s the predominant rock in Glacier National Park a few miles to our east, as shown in this Google Earth image, below:

It’s argillite, the colorful rocks and tiered strata that were formed during the Precambrian period well over 500 million years ago–and western Montana is one of the best places in the world to see it.

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