Birds

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

I had >100 species this season. But mostly Western Meadowlarks and Lark Buntings.

Downy Woodpecker
She’s banging this worm against the tree with her eyes closed.

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Offices

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

The librarians in eastern Montana are all political lefties. They were my social life for five weeks.

Conoco Miles City
I am a commercial driver for Boise State.

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Roads

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

I drove 4,203 miles in five weeks.

Willard Road between Miles City and Baker

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Libby

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

After the Grizzly survey, I went to Libby to spend a few days with Amanda and Tom Steele.

Tom and I wanted to float the Kootenai River. We got busy doing stuff and didn’t leave Libby until 7 PM.

On the drive up, I asked how long the float would take.

He said, four hours.

I made the mistake of going swimming right away. Snow-melt water. And then the sun went behind the mountains.

Tom brought his magnet fishing pole. In case there might be some interesting metal on the bottom of the river.

We caught nothing. Just hung up on rocks.

Up this draw is where the vermiculite mine used to be.

We had to paddle to make it back to Libby before dark.

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Grizzly

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

After the morning alder survey, we drove a half hour to a trailhead and backpacked straight up hill for an hour.

We camped in the mud next to Clayton Lake. Snow and cliffs everywhere.

There was a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. My bivvy leaked. My Goodwill sleeping bags sucked. No sleep.

In the morning, we split the survey like we had the day before. I took 3 points on one side of the creek, he started on the other side.

We planned to meet after 2 hours.

My first point was high on the mountain. It took me an hour to climb up there. Everything was wet and slippery.

Mountain Chickadee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Western Tanager, Varied Thrush, Brown Creeper, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Swainson’s Thrush, Townsend’s Solitaire, Fox Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Red Squirrel, Dusky Flycatcher

Worried about being late, I hurried to get across the creek.

On the other side, there were snow fields separated by dense brush.

As I skated towards a point, I heard my partner, from a long way off, shout, “Grizzly!”

A Grizzly Bear came out of the bushes. I was eye-level with its hump. Its legs were wet. I shouted. It turned and headed up a draw.

I kept shouting. “Survey is cancelled!” My partner kept shouting. Eventually, he appeared out of the bushes.

He said the bear took off toward the creek. I said the one I saw took off up the draw. So there must have been two.

We re-crossed the creek, broke camp, and ran back down to the cars.

Fresh bear poop on the trail.

That was the last survey I will ever do in Montana.

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Army Crawl Through Alder for 5 Hours

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

The first survey was on the side of the mountain above the reservoir. We each took 8 points: I took the uphill points.

Because we didn’t have radios, we decided to meet after 2 hours for a safety check.

In 2 hours, I only got 3 points done because it was so thick. And I had no radio to tell my partner.

I did 1 lower point hoping he wouldn’t be able to get to it before we met.

Turned out, he did, so that point got done twice.

The data we collected on that same point was so different, it could have been a different mountain range.

Poor viz because of fog.

Couldn’t see the birds. The fog threw their voices, so couldn’t tell where they were or how far away.

While crawling through alders, my bear spray went off. Got me in the nose and mouth.

Scrambling to get away, I lost it. Second canister that I’ve lost this season.

This was the thickest, most punishing survey I’ve done in years.

Swainson’s Thrush, Varied Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, Western Tanager, American Robin, Pacific Wren, Warbling Vireo, Golden-crowned Kingbird, Pine Siskin, Black-headed Grosbeak, MacGillivray's Warbler, Stellar’s Jay, Red Squirrel, Lazuli Bunting, Fox Sparrow, Dusky Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Olive-sided Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Wilson’s Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Willow Flycatcher, Ruffed Grouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Raven, Ruby-crowned Kingbird, Mountain Chickadee, House Wren, Harry Woodpecker, Veery

Boise State won’t pay for Rite in the Rain paper because they say we shouldn’t be surveying in the rain anyway. What about wet alders? I don’t think we should survey in those either.

My data sheet got so wet, my pencil tore through. Useless.

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Hungry Horse Reservoir

August 25, 2022 / Ms. J.

There’s a dam on the south fork of the Flathead River about 15 miles SW of Glacier National Park.

I have 2 surveys above the reservoir.

See the little bear in the upper right-hand side: that’s where my 2 surveys are.

Met my Grizzley-survey partner in the town of Hungry Horse the night before. He and I drove 25 miles up the dirt road along the reservoir. Then turned uphill on a logging road, drove 5 miles, and camped.

We had to saw logs out of this road for about 2 hours to get to the survey.

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Blackfeet Country

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

Blackfeet Nation is twice the size of Glacier Park and bigger than Delaware. It has 16,000 enrolled members and 10,000 years of oral history in this area.

I have 3 partner surveys west of here; all are in Grizzly habitat.

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4 Surveys in 1

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

This survey in the Highwood Mountains had everything: cliff, montane, riparian, sage.

Lodgepole, Doug Fir, Ponderosa Pine, snags, Juniper, Buffalo Berry, Sage, Snowberry, Cliff Rose, Choke Cherry, Saskatoon, Aspen, tall meadow grass

It even had high altitude trees like Limber Pine.

Elevation: 6,000 feet.

A flock of 17 Brewer’s Blackbirds (adults and juvies) were in these trees and rocks.

Female Brewer’s Blackbird
photo by Jeff Bleam

2 females and 2 males flew up and stood sentry while I counted.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird
photo by Jonathan Ekerson

Vesper Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow

Lazuli Bunting, Veery, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Dusky Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Ovenbird, Field Sparrow, Yellow Warbler

Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Rock Wren, Common Raven, Brown-headed Cowbird, Canada Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Common Nighthawk, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, Red Squirrel

Townsend’s Solitaire, Red Crossbill, Western Tanager, Mourning Dove, Cedar Waxwing, Pine Siskin, Mountain Bluebird, Golden Eagle, Mountain Chickadee

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Shonkin Cow Camp

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

Drove from Judith Gap to Geraldine east of the Highwood Mountains. Tom Steele used to live south of the Highwoods near Geyser (he and Amanda live in Libby now).

Camped next to this cabin.

Cottonwood Snow

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Aspen

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

Because of fire suppression, there are fewer Aspen in Montana.

I’ve surveyed dead Aspen stands: not many birds.

And healthy Aspen stands: many birds.

Elk, moose, and bear forage in Aspen stands.

The Forest Service, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the Safari Club are preserving Aspen Stands in the Snowies…

…by cutting, piling, and burning pines to stop their intrusion on Aspen stands.

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Partner Survey

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

Drove to Lewistown, got bear spray.

Drove to the survey by the Grizzly sow and met my partner, who came with a dog.

Kenyon, the Husky Shepherd mix, made me feel safer than I have all season.

My partner and I worked our way up the points, staying 250 meters apart, and Kenyon ran back and forth to check on us.

Some say hiking in Grizzly country with a dog is dangerous because the bear may chase the dog back to you. But Kenyon has the right temperament: calm, obedient.

Even tiny dogs have been known to scare black bears away.

Zero Grizzlies found.

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Grizzly Territory is Expanding Everywhere

July 31, 2022 / Ms. J.

Couldn’t get ahold of a landowner, after calling for weeks. So I drove 2 hours to his property.

At the end of a gravel road was a house, a barn, and large yard. A young couple came outside and said the landowner was in Arizona and never answered his phone.

I had planned to drive as far as I could on his land and then walk up to the Flathead National Forest. When I asked if that was ok, they said there was a Grizzly sow with 3 cubs in the area. The guy wanted to know if I had a pistol.

No, I didn’t.

He said Grizzlies are moving in everywhere, walking from the Rockies across the lowlands to the Snowies.

She said that was a great thing. This is a new generation of ranchers.

I have two surveys in the vicinity of this sow. Called to see if I could get a partner. Somebody is available for one survey but not both, and in return I must take one of her surveys across the highway.

I didn’t have time to drive to a library and print out the survey map for this new survey, so I stopped along the highway where I had bars and looked at the map online.

2 Gulches

Drove 2 hours into the forest, west of Judith Gap.

Grizzly sow and 3 cubs are in the mountains east of the red dot. I have 2 surveys there.

Drove as close to the first point as I could and got my pack out: no bear spray. Must have lost it yesterday crawling under barbed wire. It would be a 4 hour round trip to buy more.

In 9 years of surveying Montana, I have never used bear spray or been harmed by an animal (not even a tick). My only injuries have been from barbed wire and tripping.

Driving another 4 hours seemed more dangerous than surveying without spray. So I went to sleep and then waited for it to get light next morning before walking up the road.

Took my fire extinguisher and shovel as weapons and played Car Talk on volume 10 as I walked.

On the first point, a squirrel scolded me for 10 minutes.

The survey was thick, steep, scary, and no fun.

Battled 5 hours to get between points, and only completed 11 of 16.

Thought about the Kombucha waiting in the car.

Red Squirrel, Hermit Thrush, Ruffed Grouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Tanager, Mourning Dove, Mountain Chickadee, American Robin, Least Flycatcher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Ovenbird, Chipping Sparrow, Townsend’s Solitaire

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Hobson Library

July 17, 2022 / Ms. J.

Is also a salon.

Although I went for a swim in the reservoir the evening before, I had not washed my hair in 30 days. She was nice about it. Wash, trim, blow dry: $23.

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1934

July 17, 2022 / Ms. J.

I surveyed 10 miles north and 6 miles west of Roundup, Montana.

This cabin on the survey was signed by George W. H. of Roundup on 04/04/1934

In 1934, the highway between Grass Range and Roundup was an “Auto Trail” called the Banff Grand Canyon.

The road west from the highway is now a wide, maintained, gravel road; only a few years ago, it was gumbo.

The 4 mile long 2-track north from the gravel road, deteriorates into this path.

1934 was the middle of the Great Depression.

In March of 1934, John Dillinger and his gang robbed $52,000 from the First National Bank in Mason City, Iowa.

Gloria Steinem was born in March of 1934.

Marie Curie and John Dillinger died in July 1934.

The only tree is about a km away.

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Big Snowies

July 17, 2022 / Ms. J.

An island mountain range south of Lewistown, far east of and separated from the Rockies.

To avoid wind, I drove 6 hours from Triple Cross Road south of Glasgow to the Snowies.

Next morning, I started walking to the survey in the dark and heard this:

Thought it was a Saber-tooth Tiger, went back to the truck, and sat inside until it got light.

Officially, that was an Elk bugle.

>7,000 Elk live in the Snowies.

Found two kill sites on either side of this point.

Western Tanager, Dusky Flycatcher, Mountain Chickadee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler

Garmin pointing north in the opposite direction.

Cedar Waxwing, American Robin, Western Wood Peewee, Ovenbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Chipping Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Swainson’s Thrush, Townsend’s Solitaire, Dark-eyed Junco

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Garden of Yucca

July 10, 2022 / Ms. J.

The other surveyor had been waiting weeks for this road to dry out.

The description said it was an “easy” 45 minute walk to the transect. At 4:15, I walked up the hill and found this.

A badlands canyon between the car and the transect. Punked.

Both my Town Pump and my Goodwill flashlights broke.

Bought a new one in Miles City $29.99.

Worth every penny going through this in the dark.

On the other side of the canyon: rolling sage hills.

Grasshopper Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Brewer’s Sparrow

With riparian areas in the draws.

Brown Thrasher, Spotted Towhee, Yellow Warbler, House Wren, American Goldfinch, Yellow-breasted Chat, Field Sparrow

My photos don’t do it justice.

This was my favorite day of the season so far. Easy walking, perfect weather, bird-y but not overwhelming.

Blooming Yucca and Prickly Pear.

Mourning Dove, Western Meadowlark, Violet-green Swallow, Ring-neck Pheasant, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black-billed Magpie

Greater Sage Grouse, Eastern Kingbird, Northern Flicker, Upland Sandpiper, Common Nighthawk, Horned Lark

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Detour

July 09, 2022 / Ms. J.

The biologist working in NE Montana has been gumbo-ed out of many transects. Walking hours a day, sometimes leaving at 2 am.

Wet gumbo sticks to tires, gumbos up wheel wells, and then stops the car. Wait for it to dry out-24 hours-then chip out the wells and bang off the tires.

We had a sunny forecast so I went up to help.