The natural environment and history of Kalispell’s West Valley area
by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
Dragonflies have interested me since my early childhood (and still ongoing) fascination with dinosaurs. So many of the illustrations in my myriad of dino books included swampy scenes with huge dragonflies swarming around, looking like fighter planes or helicopters. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned that the insects in those illustrations weren’t really dragonflies as we know them, but very distant ancestors.
Continue Reading →by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
These moths appear in the early evening hours and later. They seem particularly drawn to the phlox in our yard. The back wings appear to be almost clear, although that may be an illusion from the photo.
Any ideas?
by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
This is part three of a photo essay of barns in the West Valley area of Flathead Valley. Additional parts may be viewed here:
Barns Are Noble (Part One)
Barns, Part Two
Barns, Part Three
Note: These images were taken on the same day along McMannamy Draw.
Continue Reading →by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
Tris Hoffman’s wonderful article A Very Special Bee (published here earlier this spring) prompted me to finally get serious about being able to identify a few of the plethora of native bee species we see here in the West Valley area of the Flathead. It’s an ongoing process, but with Tris’ help, iNaturalist, and other local and online sources, I’ve been able to catalog the following species this summer. It’s the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, given that Montana has more than 20 species of native bumblebees (not to mention the native sweat bees, miner bees, leaf cutter bees, mason bees, and others) but it’s a start.
Continue Reading →by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
Here’s one for the “you learn something new every day” file: a quick look at the European wool carder bee.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
Robins are so familiar they stop being a curiosity. That is, until they do something like building their nest where we can look into it whenever we sit on the deck as they did in 2018. The following article includes photos and observations about Robins gathering food for their family in 2021.
Continue Reading →by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com
W.P. McMannamy Sr. moved from Missouri to Helena in the late 1880’s where he ran a sawmill for several years. Then in 1890 he moved the machinery to Kalispell and started a planer mill, located on 7th Ave. West and 11th street.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
If you drive past the West Valley Ponds at most any time of day from early spring to fall, you can see Swallows performing aerial acrobatics as they scoop up flying insects. We have several species of Swallows that find the West Valley a welcoming summer home with plenty of habitat for nests of various types and flying insects for food to sustain them and their growing offspring. Some of the swallows forage over open fields and meadows with low vegetation. In early spring, I often see all the species at the West Valley Ponds; early in the morning they line up on power lines until the lines sag. It’s a great place to learn what they all look like. Before long, they sort things out and move out to their preferred habitat for nesting.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
Over the years, the State has adopted plants, animals, stones, songs, and other artifacts as symbolic of Montana. Here are several that I have collected just because I found them interesting, beautiful, awesome, and wonderful. Only recently have I discovered that these have gained such stature. Scroll down to see if the images inspire a reaction in you!
Continue Reading →by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
White-lined sphinx moths (Hyles lineata) are one of over a thousand varieties of sphinx moths, most of which occur in tropical zones. This one is common throughout most of Central America and North America to southern Canada. Hyles lineata is a type of hawk moth, but they are often called hummingbird moths because they resemble hummingbirds in appearance, size, and actions. They are generally common here in the valley, although their population numbers and locations vary from year to year.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
Little gnomes of the forest have misplaced their slippers in many locations. From the time I’ve spent looking at them, it occurs to me that in some past life I might have lost my shoes and feel compelled to continue looking for them! Orchids have been my favorite plant family for years, but I had never seen a Calypso bulbosa before arriving in the West Valley. Since then, I’ve learned a lot about them, and this year I’ve come to understand how some of those facts fit together. In this article, I will share my pictures and the information I’ve learned about two Calypso bulbosa varieties, one nothovariety, and a variant that I have found.
by Jeanine Buettner
nammy@montanasky.com
The Spring Creek Cemetery first opened in 1895 on the site of the Spring Creek Methodist Church. The church and cemetery were established by Mr. John Milton Eastland. Mr. Eastland was not an educated man, but old-timers here in the valley remember him as a good gospel singer and a talented speaker.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org
The Spring Creek Cemetery was set aside from the unplowed prairie in the West Valley and remains largely unchanged. The following gallery of pictures are some of the plants that still grow among the mounds of Bluebunch wheatgrass in that reserved lot.
Continue Reading →by Pat Jaquith
Spring is in full swing! Everywhere you look, something is bursting with color, singing exuberantly, or growing so fast you can almost hear the cells expanding! I could almost hear the bells ringing as I lay in the damp grass looking at a patch of Twin flowers! Here are some of my favorite images taken in the third month of Spring.
Continue Reading →By Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org
This four-spotted skimmer (female, I think) was observed on May 18 2021 perched on some chives in our garden. This dragonfly is not at all uncommon here, but it IS uncommonly beautiful.
