Winnett, Montana (population 206) is left of the butte.
Pronounced WIN-it. Not Wi-NET, like I’ve been saying for three years.
My second survey was on a farm.
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlews are easy to count.
50/50 chance you can get gas in Winnett.
My first survey was by the million acre wildlife refuge, north of Winnett. There are 15 larger wildlife refuges in the US, but 14 are in Alaska. In the lower 48, the Charlie Russel is second to the Desert Wildlife Refuge in Nevada.
Go past Tin Can Hill Road.
Western Meadowlark
Good car birding.
Go another 26 miles.
19 more miles.
Western Kingbird
27 more miles.
Montanans think nothing of driving 83 miles from Jordan to Miles City for dinner. Kim drove to the Dakotas for the day. Tom Steele thinks 8 hours and 10 stream crossings is a shortcut.
After three hours, I made it to the refuge.
Requisite Lewis and Clark placard.
I turned right onto a 2-track. Went 5 miles through three gates, one difficult.
Got to camp and realized I had done this survey in 2019. But I got lost that year and walked in from the south (faster than driving around to the north).
It is much drier than I remember. They get 11 inches of rain per year; 2 inches more than desert conditions.
One side of the valley is a burned forest. Birds love it here: Bullock’s Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Red-headed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Western Kingbird.
On the drive out, a guy and dog overtook me in a 4-wheeler. His great-grandfather homesteaded here. When I complained about how dry it is, he said, “You should have seen it last year. That was terrible.”
Homestead and empty reservoir.
Rain was forecast in Jordan, so I had a day off. Kim was at a wedding in the Dakotas.
McCown’s Longspur has been renamed Thick-billed Longspur. McCown was a Major in the Confederate Army and waged war against native tribes.
Organized my gear: missing major things, like a thermos.
$1.99 at Goodwill
The pot I got at Goodwill came with this inside. I donated it to the back of Kim’s bottom kitchen drawer.
Colt
Gizhe (cat’s name)
Woke up in Florida at 0230; went to bed in north Idaho at 0100 the next day. Picked up rental vehicle and went to storage where my field gear has been stored for two years.
Found a box of socks.
Got groceries.
Drove to Great Falls, via the Clearwater Kwik Stop where I met my new field organizer. Got more gear.
Kim’s house by 8 pm.
The black dots are my surveys. Starting in the east: T-Rex country.
1 in the most NW of the state; 3 in the most SE of the state. 3 in Grizzly country around Kalispell and Polebridge.
After two years, I’m heading back to Montana.
May 28th
My mother sent me this:
Winnett
I drove a lot this season.
Missouri Breaks
MT-19 between Grass Range and Malta
Hinsdale
Glasgow
Glasgow
Fort Peck Dam
Jordan
Jordan
Jordan
Jordan
Forsyth
Forsyth
Forsyth
Forsyth
Forsyth
Ismay
Ismay
Ekalaka
Ekalaka
Ashland
Otter
Otter
Forest Grove
Highwood
Yellowstone
Yellowstone
Scotch Bonnet
Scotch Bonnet
Cody, Wyoming
The Beartooth Highway
Belfry
Belfry
Bear Creek
The Beartooth Highway
Hellroaring Road
The Good Food Store, Missoula
The Pollard Hotel, Red Lodge
Honey’s, Red Lodge
Coffee Roasters, Red Lodge
Red Lodge Public Library
Belt Public Library
Kim’s House
Winnett Public Library
Laurel Public Library
4Runner
Ekalaka Library (Closed)
Pip’s Diner, Saco
Hilltop Cafe, Jordan
Express Laundry, Miles City
Miles City Public Library
Forsyth Public Library
Broadus Public Library
I was the only patron. The librarian left me alone for a half an hour while she went to the courthouse.
Malta Public Library
I drove from the Beartooths to Missoula Fish and Game.
Got my car.
Cleaned the 4Runner.
Gave it back.
Then, turned in my data and gear.
I’m always surprised by how thin this binder is at the end of every season, considering how much work it took to fill it.
It’s the flat top of that mountain in the distance.
Dithered about whether to walk up the road or try to drive up the road: 6 miles to the trailhead and then 2 miles to the survey ~ 3,000 feet up. The biologist from 2017 recommended against driving.
The campground host said he won’t drive his truck up there: boulders, scree over the road, no shoulder, 1,000 foot drop-offs, rutted, full of holes, washed out. But, he said, it was clear.
“Of snow?”
“Yes. And the two bridges are intact.”
He had an ATV with a trailer hauling outhouse cleaning stuff. I thought about going to Red Lodge and renting an ATV.
Back at the truck, a group of people on ATVs were just coming off the mountain. The older man looked at my car and said he thought I could make it. The younger man stood in back, looked at my car, and shook his head.
Decided to leave the car below and walk up.
My legs are shot but not completely shot.
I packed light.
A jeep with two men came down the hill.
“Do you think I could make it in that?” I pointed to the 4Runner.
Driver, “I think so.”
The guy in the passenger seat looked at the 4Runner and made a scared face.
Driver, “The only thing I might worry about is your tires, they look like highway tires.” His jeep had new-looking, deeply treaded tires. He said, “If you had been here an hour and a half ago, I would have given you a ride up.”
Thought about waiting until tomorrow and hitch-hiking up with ATVers; but there was another severe weather advisory for tomorrow.
As I walked up the road, it didn’t seem too bad.
Another group of ATVers came down. They said the road was fine all the way to the top, and that a jeep was coming down behind them. One of the guys looked at me and said, “You know it’s six miles up, right?”
Next, the jeep came around the corner - a small, low clearance, mini-van-like jeep with highway tires. The guy said, “Oh yeah, a 4Runner could make it no problem. There’s even a Ford F150 up there.”
My backpacking trip: walked up the road, changed my mind, and walked back. The car is at the green arrow.
If a big fat cow like a Ford F150 could make it, then my agile little 4Runner could make it too. I turned around and walked back to the car.
Jagged rocks in the center of the road seemed to bounce the 4Runner toward the edge.
No guardrails.
A website called Dangerous Roads features Hellroaring Road.
After two hours, crying, I made it to the top.
I will do anything to avoid sleeping outside.
Next morning, I left at 0400.
It was a flat walk across the plateau and I got to the survey at 0540.
I remembered my gaiters.
This is the land of Lincoln’s Sparrows.
To me, their song sounds like “Abe Lincoln was a VERY smart man, ooo eee.”
Lincoln’s Sparrow
by ADJ82
I saw two Golden Eagles soaring on the updrafts.
Golden Eagle
Black Rosy-Finch live here and almost nowhere else.
Black Rosy-Finch
by Shawn Billerman
I’ve only found them one other time, in Wyoming years ago, so when I heard them, I didn’t know what they were. When I saw them, I was so happy - the effort to get here was worth it.
Found a six-pack on my way out and partied.
Put the empties in my pack, which now smells like beer.
The car is the red balloon with the white square. The survey is #s 3, 4, 5.
Made it back to the car around noon.
And back to Red Lodge around 3.
I sat in front of the fire at the Pollard Hotel and stared for hours.
My last survey in the Beartooths is an 8 mile backpacker uphill. I took the day off in Red Lodge to procrastinate, watch the women’s World Cup, and hope for the weather to improve.
The survey is southwest of Red Lodge.
I hate backpacking because I don’t like sleeping outside (bears) and I don’t like carrying a backpack.
Pretending like I don’t have to do it.
Rapinoe!
8 points in Wyoming; 6 points in Montana; 2 points on private land.
Wyoming said yes.
Montana said yes.
The private land owner said no, with emphasis.
Very unpleasant to contact.
Of course, I could see the guy’s huge house from every point.
3 points were along his fence.
I imagined him stomping out on his huge deck with his 9 gauge.
I stood on the public side of the fence, faced away from his house, counted birds, and no shots were fired.
It’s ok to hate me, but get to know me first.
When I got to the top of the survey, 2 things happened:
1). I heard a truck door slam below, and then saw his truck speed off up the dirt road and around the corner out of sight, which freaked me out. I imagined he was on his way to vandalize my car. Next, I would call the police in Red Lodge, I’d have to wait until they arrived so they could see I was parked on public land…
2). Then I saw this, which made my day:
And a group of Brewer’s Blackbirds hung out with me.
Brewer’s Blackbird
by Alan D. Wilson
I did a survey in an RV park.
River noise made it hard to hear many birds.
I missed the Harley Rally.
Moss before rain.
Moss after rain.
Open from mid-May to mid-October, the Beartooth Highway goes 70 miles from Cooke City to Red Lodge over the Beartooth Mountains ~ 11,000 feet.
It was built in 1936.
The posts show the snow plow drivers where to plow between.
The night before, I slept 1.5 km away from the survey because snow blocked the road.
In the prairie, 1.5 km would take 30 minutes to walk; here, I gave myself 45 minutes because, after looking at the topo, I saw that the road went right to the first point, and I didn’t think the snow or elevation would be a problem.
The white lines are 2-tracks.
See how dark the map is south of the points: that means it’s steep. I know that, but it didn’t bother me the night before.
Sunrise was 0537.
I left the car at 0450. As it began to get light, I saw a mountain in front of me. The survey was on the other side.
I panicked that I would be late, but I couldn’t go faster; I punched through the snow in places where it was hard enough to walk on top, and swam through the slush where it wasn’t.
I finally got to the eastern saddle at 0600, 23 minutes late.
When I looked over, surprise, the survey was covered in snow.
Below is the view of the saddle from the survey (see the saddle on the right).
After the sun came out:
I had thought to wear my snow pants, but not my gaiters, and snow got in my boots. My feet were so cold it made me cry.
My Warren Miller film:
The Highwood barbed wire ripped a hole in the butt of my snow pants; Scotch Bonnet ripped off the duct tape I had used to repair it.
American Pipets were here eating bugs off the snow.
American Pipet
by Michael J Good
Snow Scorpionfly
Empty
After I finished the lower points and started climbing to the higher points, the snow in my boots melted, the water around my feet warmed up, and I was happier.
Mountain Chickadees live here.
Mountain Chickadee
And Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Robin
Pika live in the rocks here.
Pika
See the trees on the left below, I held on to them and did a controlled fall down to the road.
Found a miner’s cell phone.
5 more surveys to finish before July 10th; 4 in the Beartooth. The forecast was for rain except near Cooke City.
I checked for snow, and it was there. But I decided to try it anyway.
See the maroon spots northeast of Cooke City: that’s where my survey is.
Drove from Great Falls to Cooke City through Yellowstone.
Because the weather was bad, the traffic was bad instead of terrible.
2 little Pronghorns threw us into chaos.
I should have jumped out, grabbed this guy’s camera, jumped back in the car, locked the door, and looked straight ahead like nothing happened.
She has her hand on her head, as if to say, “Put that $20,000 camera away before that homeless-looking girl in the 4Runner jumps out and grabs it.”
Got to Cooke City before dark.
Drove up this road toward the survey.
And ran into this.
After the Highwoods, I drove to Great Falls and took 2 days off at my friend Kim’s house.
1). Cleaned car.
2). Got groceries and water.
3). Did laundry.
4). Entered data.
Kim made this delicious salad.
I slept in a bed for the first time since June 2, and I washed my hair for the first time since Sleeping Buffalo.
Tried to fix my water thing.
Didn’t work.
Still didn’t work.
Me and Kim when we were kids. Aunt Leslie on the left, Grampa Bob on the right.
I drove 5 hours from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation survey to the Highwoods survey.
And did the Highwoods survey for the 3rd time in 2 years.
2018
2019
Last year, 1st time (got rained out after five points): Tom sent me on a 7 hour short cut with 12 creek crossing.
Last year, 2nd time: barbed wire injury
2019: barbed wire scar
I did different points this time, and one point was on a rock.
There’s the rock on the left.
Much easier to see and hear from on top of a rock.
I should carry a ladder.
A Spotted Towhee scolding.
Spotted Towhee
Although they seem to be everywhere (their song is so beautiful), Swainson’s Thrush keep hidden; in all these years, I’ve only seen one a few times.
Swainson’s Thrush look like Hermit’s Thrush, except SWTH don’t have a contrasting red tail.
by TonyCastro
Barbed wire ripped a hole in my pants this year.
I drove up that rim road until I left the prairie and arrived at the forest ~ 6,000 feet.
The survey was adjacent to Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation land.
Founded by people in Troy, Montana, the RMEF has conserved ~ 7 million acres of habitat since it’s start in 1984, and it has helped reestablish elk herds in Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ontario, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
About 50 elk ran by, and I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo until the last minute.
Hermit Thrush have a contrasting red tail.
Hermit Thrush
by Matt MacGillivray
Wikipedia’s photo of an Ovenbird.
by Cephas
My photo of an Ovenbird.
We count Red Squirrels too. Far away, they can sound like woodpeckers and confuse me.
I drove along a rim northwest of Roundup.
Then I drove off the rim on this manky road.
Next morning: Common Nighthawks.
Common Nighthawk
by Gary Clark
Willson’s Phalaropes blow tiny horns.
Unlike most birds, female Wilson’s Phalaropes are more colorful than males.
A muskrat and Blue-winged Teal.
Blue-winged Teal
by Dan Pancamo
After the survey, I drove back up to the rim road and farther west (away from the highway).
Horned Larks and Grasshopper Sparrows were perched along the fence. The car acted like a blind; I rolled down the window and got close.
Horned Lark
Grasshopper Sparrows are ~ 5 inches long
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Horned Lark
