113th CBC Montana Regional Summary

By Daniel Casey

Far and away the highlight of this CBC season in Montana was the state-first CBC and winter record of a Swainson’s Thrush, photographed on the Missoula count, where a state CBC-first Lesser Goldfinch was also reported. These and the Lesser Black-backed Gull reported at Fort Peck were the first additions to the cumulative CBC species list since 2009, bringing the list to 210 species.  There were another 34 individual count firsts around the state during a CBC season which was characterized by calm weather, moderate temperatures, much open water and little snow cover.  They included a Cackling Goose and a Spotted Sandpiper at Bigfork, a Pied-billed Grebe on the state’s longest-running count at Bozeman, two American Dippers at Musselshell Valley, a Gray Catbird at Missoula, and Hoary Redpolls on several counts.  For the first time, five different counts reported 80 or more species.  Stevensville led the way with 89 species, followed by Bigfork (88), Missoula (87), Kalispell (83) and Ninepipe N.W.R. (80).  All but the Bigfork total were new benchmarks for these counts.

Fourteen Cackling Geese were reported, from three counts (10 at Billings).  Canada Geese numbers continue to increase, with new high totals on eight counts, including 16,722 at Great Falls.   This was far and away the most abundant species statewide, with 67,041 individuals on 26 (of 32) counts.  Trumpeter Swans (274 on 5 counts) outnumbered Tundra Swans (182 on 7 counts). Missoula observers erred on the side of caution and reported a single Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal; neither species has been very well documented on Montana counts, although both have been reported previously. Although Greater Scaup (314) outnumbered Lesser Scaup (123) statewide, all of the former were at Bigfork; new highs were set for five of the 11 counts reporting the latter.  Five counts also set new highs for Ring-necked Duck, and the species was new to both the Kalispell and Troy counts. Great Falls once again had the only White-winged Scoter and (two) Long-tailed Ducks. California Quail edged closer to acceptance on the official list of Montana birds, with record high counts at both Hamilton (494) and Stevensville (797).  They have now occurred on 10 of the last 11 counts at Hamilton, and 12 of the last 13 at Stevensville, with pronounced increases since the winter of 2006-2007. 

Eight Common Loons were found on four counts, a new state high. Five of these were on Flathead Lake in the Bigfork circle. One on Foy’s Lake at Kalispell was new to that count, and appeared to be injured. This was also the case for the American White Pelican found at Great Falls, which survived until at least mid-February.  Two more pelicans at Helena many merely have been very delayed migrants.  Golden Eagles (119) were found on all but two Flathead Valley counts (and count week at West Yellowstone), but no new count highs were established. On the other hand, new highs were established for Bald Eagles at the Big Hole (11), Bozeman (69), and Warm Springs (41) counts, with 871 reported statewide. Red-tailed Hawks continue to increase during winter in Montana, and 723 were counted this year, including 43 (6%) “Harlan’s Hawks”.  Seven counts had record numbers of the latter, with Bigfork and Bozeman each reporting six. Five Ferruginous Hawks were counted at Lewistown, and four at Missoula, where they were a count first. Surprisingly, the three Virginia Rails found on the Missoula count also represented new species there; three were also on the Ninepipe N.W.R. count (11 statewide). The Spotted Sandpiper at Bigfork was a first there, and just the fifth CBC record for the state. Overall gull numbers were well down, with <100 at Kalispell, 235 at Bigfork, 20 at Helena, 12 at Billings, and a single Ring-billed at Clark Canyon Dam, where it was new to the count.  Fort Peck had the greatest variety, with 148 gulls of five species, including the only Thayer’s (5) and Glaucous (2) Gulls counted this year, in addition to the state-first Lesser Black-backed. The latter was just the sixth record of the species in the state at any season.

New highs were established for Eurasian Collared-Doves at nine of the 23 counts where they were recorded, with 643 at Bozeman.  Though down a bit from last year, Snowy Owls made a good showing, with 11 on four counts, with two at Bowdoin N.W.R., three at Chester, five at Fort Peck, and one at McNeil Slough. Eureka reported one during count week. New high counts of Northern Pygmy-Owls at Bigfork (8), Eureka (2), and Kalispell (4) contributed to a statewide total of 26. Single Northern Saw-whet Owls were new to both the Kalispell and Eureka counts; Missoula tallied four.  American Three-toed Woodpecker habitats are clearly under-sampled by the CBC. This year the only one reported was from Helena (where surrounding forests have been hit pretty hard by mountain pine beetles).  With Montana being squarely in the zone of intergradation, we have the opportunity to assess the makeup of Northern Flicker populations.  This year 1784 flickers were reported, but unfortunately only 690 of them to form (2% Yellow-shafted).  Compilers of counts with large numbers of unclassified flickers (including this editor) should encourage observers to more carefully document these birds. This year, the highest numbers of unclassified birds were at Kalispell (290), Stevensville (222), Bigfork (150), and Billings (116). Stevensville had an impressive 28 American Kestrels. The only two Gyrfalcons were reported from the Ninepipe N.W.R. (where they have been regular in winter) and Lewistown counts.

Corvids seem on the upswing, with 16 new high count totals for Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, and/or Common Raven established across the state, most notably the 1162 magpies at Bozeman, which should contend for the national high count. Estimates for an unusually large flock of Horned Larks found in the southern portion of the Three Forks circle “ranged from 10,000 to 30,000 birds, so the most conservative estimate was used”. Interestingly, just two Lapland Longspurs and 65 Snow Buntings were reported from that count.  Billings observers were also confronted with estimating large numbers, reporting a record high 11,699 European Starlings.  At the other end of the spectrum, the Swainson’s Thrush photographed by Gordon Scaggs at Missoula was certainly one of the least expected species ever recorded on a Montana count.  Scant previous reports lacking details or photos have (rightfully) been assumed to be Hermit Thrushes; the latest previous record supported by a photograph was from early October. 

Billings once again hosted the only (2) Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Zonotrichia sparrows were reported in low numbers statewide: five White-throated (two at Bozeman), four Harris’s (two at Missoula), and four White-crowned (three at Stevensville). With juncos being hard to classify with confidence, it is admirable that 468 (42%) of the 1121 counted were reported to form. Of these, 314 (67%) were listed as “Oregon”, 6 (1%) as “Pink-sided”, and 148 (32%) as “Slate-colored”.  Twenty Rusty Blackbirds at Billings were expected based on precedent, but a female found count day and eventually photographed a few days later along the Bitterroot River in the Stevensville circle was a rare find.  There are just a handful of previous winter records from western valley sites.  Red Crossbill numbers (580) were above the 10-year mean, and the total count for White-winged Crossbills (205) was the second-highest since 1987. Bozeman and Great Falls each had record high numbers of both. Common Redpolls were both widespread (31 counts, plus count week at Billings) and abundant (7851 counted), second only to the 9562 counted in 2002-2003.  Record numbers were recorded on 10 counts, led by the 705 at Ennis.  In spite of these numbers, Hoary Redpolls were rather sparsely reported, with just 24 statewide on seven counts, including 11 at Hamilton.  They were new to the counts at Missoula (3), Lewistown (2), and Chester, with a very nice photo documenting the latter bird.

I continue to be impressed by the efforts put forth by Montana observers and compilers, particularly in their efforts to document local, regional and statewide rarities as needed.  Our totals for observers, party-hours and party-miles totals continue to climb, improving the quality and quantity of data collected.  This was especially noted by the compilers at Eureka, Kalispell, and Stevensville.  But we still need to encourage more people to get involved in counts in less populated areas! This year 20 of the 32 counts had fewer than 20 observers, and nine counts had fewer than 10.  Perhaps folks should plan ahead for a new holiday adventure next count season.