Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 17 M ONTANA MAY NOT STRIKE YOU AS THE PERFECT PLACE TO SPEND THE WINTER, BUT EVERY YEAR THOUSANDS OF TRAVEL- ERS DISAGREE. Most of the feathered ones from the north flit past, true, but others recognize the Treasure State as the ultimate place to chill out for months. ey migrate here every year: rough-legged hawk, snowy owl, northern shrike, common and hoary redpoll, American tree sparrow, Bohemian waxwing, snow bunting and Lapland longspur. by LIZ LARCOM Have these birds taken leave of their senses? Well, no. But in every case, they've taken leave of their Arctic breeding grounds to get here. Take the rough-legged hawk. Its feathers cover its legs to the toes, and a small bill and feet keep the heat loss down. But as the days shorten, these hardiest hawks flee south, stopping only when they get to a narrow strip of south- ern Alberta, the state of Montana, or the lands beyond. Montana's average winter temperatures run about 40 degrees warmer than the tundra and uplands that the "roughies" left behind. More importantly, the supply of voles, even when shared with red- tailed hawks, will get the rough-legs through winter. While red-tails opt to hunt from a tree, rough-legs prevail in open country, so similar to the tundra. ey don't disdain a perch for hunting—a power pole is a popular choice—but they can hover and kite with ease over a perch- less grassland. When the rodent supply falters or gets buried in snow, carrion and roadkill fill the gaps, along with prey stolen from other raptors. All together, they carry the roughies to spring. How different from the snowy owl. A substantial bird, this open-country predator also feeds primarily on voles in winter, at least in Montana. But instead of joining the rough-legs south of Alberta, the snowies fill the space to the north, all the way to the tundra. A wedge running along the northern edge of Montana adds to the snowy's normal winter range. When a booming population brings an irruption year, the owls spill across our entire state and well into the lower 48. e snowy owl comes well-equipped to winter north of the rough-legged hawk. Larger and more compact than the hawk, the owl can also hunt by day or by night, helpful in the long Arctic darkness. Its feathers protect more of it (bill and mouth obscured, feet cov- American Tree Sparrow Snowy Owl LIZ LARCOM STEVE AKRE Birds Winter That Love

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