W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A . C O M
9
PUBLISHER
PUBLISHER
S
pring in Montana is for the birds. Really.
The fi rst to give notice are the waterfowl, like
the snow geese fl apping on our cover (can't you just
hear them?), to an avian swirl of migratory ducks,
geese, and swan making their winged ways back; fi rst
in small, trickling fl ocks, then in a great blizzard of
feathers, honks, quacks, and shrieking clucks, the
epicenter of which is probably Freezout Lake, where
you might see tens of thousands of geese and other
water-birds mid-to-late March, every year sinceā¦
well, no one knows when.
Sandhill cranes, tundra swans, wigeons all come in
turn, seasonal harbingers making way for the song-
birds to follow. On a bright, cheery sort of March
day you may soon catch a wink of blue at the corner
of your eye as the mountain bluebird seeks its nest-
ing spot, followed intrepidly by the yellow-rumped
warbler, tailed closely by hummingbirds returning
from winter vacations in Mexico or South America.
The 427 species found in Montana come, go, or
stay year-round in a cycle of life that often fades to
invisibility when competing for attention among the
other wildlife and landscape marvels of Montana.
So, if you've never encountered a lesser scaup,
a laughing gull, a godwit, or bittern, spring is the
time of year to turn your attention to winged Mon-
tana, that part of our wildlife residing in the lakes
and rivers, the brush, treetops, and skies, connecting
us to more of what Montana has to offer. If you try,
you will start to notice them, observe them, wonder
at them, and enjoy their special place in our state's
vaunted biodiversity.
Be still. Here they come.
A NOTE FROM THE
PUBLISHER
BILL MUHLENFELD, PUBLISHER
bill@distinctlymontana.com
KWATUKNUK 1/2
"In order to see birds IT IS NECESSARY
TO BECOME A PART OF THE SILENCE." ~ROBERT LYND