The Daily Inter Lake posted a pretty thorough article on the regional annual bird count. Our own Steve Gniadek gets a mention . . .
Rare visitors to Montana, a pair of Pacific loons bobbed along in the gentle swells of Flathead Lake on a chilly morning Dec. 19.
About 1,000 feet from the shore, the vivid black-and-white stripes along the birds’ backs and necks would appear momentarily in Craig Hohenberger’s spotting scope, then vanish behind another wave.
“They’re more of a fall bird,” Hohenberger, a retired ornithologist, explained, automatically adding “golden-crowned kinglet” as he picked up the barely audible call from an unseen bird. “It’s normally around October you might see them.”