Bird Populations Flying High in Montana

In early January, a holiday tradition commenced as 41 people gathered in Kalispell and explored the city with binoculars and field guides. Through single-digit temperatures, this group spent the entire day tallying the various bird species that call this city home.

The results were bountiful: 19,380 birds were counted and 78 different species. The 17th annual Kalispell Christmas Bird Count, organized through the Flathead Audubon, ventured within a 15-mile diameter circle around Kalispell, including Evergreen, parts of the Flathead River corridor, the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area Happy Valley, Herron Park and Kuhn’s Wildlife Area.

“It’s mostly for fun but it also gains interesting data about bird trends and the distribution,” said Pete Fisher, who compiled the data for Flathead Audubon.

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