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, May 11 at 7pm
In person and Zoom
Zoom meeting:
https://tinyurl.com/36y8acdm
Bear Aware for Birders
Tailored for birders and outdoor enthusiasts, this talk will cover the basics of bear ecology and behavior, where bears are most encountered along the Rocky Mountain Front and Central Montana, and why these areas may overlap with birding activity. We will also discuss how to recognize and avoid bear encounters and how to stay safe in bear country. This presentation will include a bear spray demonstration with an opportunity to spray our inert practice sprays.
Mayson Whitlock has spent the past nine months working as a Bear Conflict Technician with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Conrad. In this position, she focuses on preventing and responding to human-bear conflicts, as well as educating the public on living safely with bears. Originally from Minnesota, Mayson earned a degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana in May of 2025 before joining FWP.
Join us in person at FWP on Giant Springs Rd at 7 pm or by Zoom if you can’t make it in person.
Spring Calendar
May 4—UMBA board meeting, 6:30 pm, Zoom
May 11—UMBA monthly program—Bear Aware for Birders, 7 PM, in person and Zoom
May 21—6:30 PM, Great Falls Public Library, Sun River Watershed Group speaker series, Amy Grisak, more Stories from the Sun River—Conservation, Community and Place
May 29—Bashin’ Trash Clean-up, Giant Springs SP, 3 PM, Sun River Watershed sponsor, just come
May 30—Birding Big Day, how many birds can we see in one day? Join others for a dawn to dusk birding adventure, anyone can come. Re
June 12-14—Wings Over the Big Sky bird festival, Kalispell, MT. Registration is open.
July 24 – Aug 1—State Fair, mark your calendars to help this summer, details in June newsletter
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
Big Day of Birding - May 30th
We are organizing a field trip which we hope will involve several carloads of folks, birders or perhaps soon-to-become birders. Bring your own sack lunch, water, binoculars, & sense of humor! This was a fun May UMBA tradition for many years. We hope to revive it this year. The route is still in development, but will probably begin at Giant Springs and possibly include Benton Lake NWR, Freezout Lake WMA, Bellevue Road loop past Pine Butte Swamp, Canyon Rd to Eureka Reservoir &/or Bynum Reservoir.
We will start early in the morning and possibly be gone most of the day. More details to follow through UMBA Group Share.
You can register here: https://www.mobilize.us/audubon-chapters/event/945929/
April Bird Report
April 1 – BLWR – Far fewer snowgeese on the second pond; more ducks on the first/large pond today. today I was surprised by what I’m pretty sure was a northern harrier hawk that flew up from the grass/weeds along the pond where I observed the snow goose yesterday. lots more horned larks today and fewer meadowlarks than yesterday. the best viewing was a pair of sandhill cranes slowly walking down the road along the big pond where I’d seen them before (also saw coyote in that area where I’d observed it before) – Bev Axelson
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.
