Serving North Central Montana since 1981
Become a Member
We invite you to become a member of the local Upper Missouri Breaks Audubon. Members enjoy mutual support and an increased awareness of birds and habitat.
Monthly Meeting
Monday, September 14 at 7pm
In person and Zoom
Zoom meeting:
https://tinyurl.com/bdt6vbfz
Conservation Ranching –
Win-Win
This presentation will give an overview of the ACR program successes in Montana, demonstrate the connect-edness of working lands and native bird communities, and share some of Peter’s personal experiences sur-veying ranches across Montana. Montana Audubon’s “Audubon Conservation Ranching” (ACR) has enrolled 29 ranches and 500,00 acres in Montana. You will learn about “bird friendly” certification. Why conservation ranching? Is this similar to regenerative ranching? Is it just for cattle? Are there any ranches in central Mon-tana? How is it monitored? (55 bird surveys on 25 ranches between Mid-May and mid-July in 2026).
Join us via Zoom – bring your questions – learn more about this wildly successful program from Montana Audubon.
Fall 2026 Calendar
Sept 14—Conservaton Ranching with Peter Dudley, 7 pm via Zoom (see above)
Sept 23, 30—Giant Springs Bird Walk, 8 am, meet at ranger staton
Oct 5—UMBA board meetng, 6:30-7:30 pm, meetng via Zoom
Oct 10—World Migratory Bird Day, October Big Day of Birding
Oct 10—Lake Francis field trip, look for loons and other fall migrants
Oct 12—Lou Bruno—Trumpeter Swans east of the divide, current status/challenges
Nov—March—Winter Raptor Surveys, 5 routes surveyed once a month. Watch for more informaton
Dec 19—Christmas Bird Count, save the date
eBird Montana
A real-time, online checklist program, eBird and Montana Audubon have set up a unique page just for Montana bird sightings.
What's New
UMBA at State Fair 2026
It was a very hot fair this year (all days above 90 degrees) which might explain the lighter traffic through Nature’s Den. A big THANK-YOU to all the volunteers that kept things running for the 80 hours that the building was open. We tried something new this year – a slide show of birds (still and videos) that ran continuously on a 32” TV. We keep upping the tech at the UMBA fair space each year. This method of giving a show makes giving a slide show portable where a projector cannot be used (and can be done without a laptop as well!). The people that stop by and chat are the real stars. We meet some of the most interesting folks (kids and adults) from all over the globe.
(Anyone willing to lend a portable swamp cooler for use at the fair next year? One fan isn’t enough. Even one more large fan would help. Contact Beth Hill – grizhill@gmail.com)
Bird Forecast —
SUMMER Re-Cap
Summer is quickly fading as the songsters have gone quiet and fall migrants are slipping thorough Montana. Suddenly all the birds that were waking us up an hour before sunrise are silent. During the day the sound of the young Black-headed Grosbeaks has gone as well, although one is stll slipping into the feeder area for a snack of sunflower seeds.
Preventing Window
Strikes
How this “Bird-Friendly Yard”
Site is Different
Most bird-friendly yard websites only urge homeowners to add native plants to increase songbird survival. Of course, this site does also. But the other sites do not show homeowners how to make their yard safe for birds. This website does.
How to Choose a Bird Window Collision System: Compare costs, effectiveness
By Jim Cubie
This video shows you how to choose a good system to stop bird window collisions and what system to avoid. It compares their costs, effect on the view out the window, and explains how they work. It has links to all the vendors and DIY directions for all approved systems
Save the Date
Wings Over The Big Sky
Bird Festival
Kalispell, MT
June 12 – 14, 2026
Relax with the
Cornell Lab's
21 Favorite Bird Videos
from 2024
American Kestrel
Nest Box Success
2025 was a lot different than 2024 for nesting kestrels. Last year we had 12 of 14 boxes placed. None were occupied by kestrels. Most were used by starlings. This year we had 14 boxes in place. Five of the 14 were claimed by kestrels. One box was abandoned for uncertain reasons. 4 boxes produced a total of 15 fledg‐ lings. Nine boxes produced a lot of starlings. Two of the successful boxes were closely monitored and photo‐ graphed due to accessibility. After about 7-10 days the young birds were seemingly off on their own, no long‐ er hanging around their nest box area. This type of behavior was repeated at 2 other natural nesting sites that were recognized.
