Category Archives: Birding

March Gladness

Posted on March 14, 2015 by westerner54

The snow geese are landing, the eagles are in their nests, and the meadowlarks have found their favorite fence posts.  Nature keeps on truckin’, and all’s well in this little corner of the world… Happy spring!

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Now You See Me…

Posted on January 19, 2015 by westerner54

Yesterday’s task was to try and find a Great Horned Owl that we knew was hanging around some old cottonwoods not too far from our house.    We tramped around the slushy woods, looking for that distinctive owl silhouette on … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

The Eyes Have It

Posted on January 9, 2015 by westerner54

We all know that you’re not supposed to make eye contact with wild animals.    Or even with the neighborhood dogs.  Or cats. Which must be why it is so disconcerting when a wild critter makes eye contact with us. … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Life, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Winter Birds

Posted on December 29, 2014 by westerner54

It’s easy to think that there aren’t many birds left hanging around these cold northern woods by the end of December. But they’re there, huddled up in their little down coats, making an occasional foray to find some fermented berries … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Rocky Mountain Wildlife 2014: from Weird to Wonderful

Posted on December 11, 2014 by westerner54

Let’s start with the weird. A baby Great Horned Owl should be cute, right?  But this guy…just plain scary. Owls are often walking the line between cute and horrifying.  Not sure which side these two fall on:   Muskrats could be … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Hiking, Humor, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Good Grebe!

Posted on July 23, 2014 by westerner54

I’ve been watching a pair of Red-necked Grebes on a local lake since early this spring.   They mated and built a nest in May, but the nest must have failed, because no little grebes ever showed up.  They hung … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Exploring Rainy Lake

Posted on July 17, 2014 by westerner54

We have a new toy, and I’m just loving it.  The cool thing about our new kayak is that it’s inflatable, which means we can fold it up and put in the camper.  And it’s a cinch to blow up.  Check … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Camping, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

The Owls

Posted on June 6, 2014 by westerner54

This is the contemplative stillness that I seek when I’m meditating.  I get it sometimes for minutes at a time, but the owls…they’ve got for hours. I can walk right up to them.  They notice me.  Blink.  Blink again.  Then it’s back … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Life, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

A Tale of Two Eagle Nests

Posted on June 3, 2014 by westerner54

Back in January I wrote a post about watching the bald eagles at two different nests beginning the process of fixing up their nests for the spring.    The first couple – which I called the Hauser eagles because the nest … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Pelican Island and Other Wonders of a Blustery Saturday

Posted on April 15, 2014 by westerner54

A winter storm warning put a crimp in our plans for a long spring hike this past Saturday. Instead, we checked out the weather, saw the storm heading our way from the northwest and decided to head southeast and see … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments