September 2026

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. The Northern House Wrens are stll around but surprisingly quiet. The singing of the Vesper, Savannah and Clay-colored Sparrows has been reduced to a “chip”. If I’m lucky I see one now and then. The young Red-tail Hawks, Merlins have all spread out rarely to be seen or heard. The Cooper’s Hawk family that we watched from the final nest building to the 2 surviving fledglings catching their own meals are also tough to find now. What a summer. Although we didn’t have American Kestrels nestng in the box provided 3 fledglings were seen once. It was interestng and fun to watch the Cooper’s through their entre cycle of finishing a nest, laying eggs, hatching, fledging and learning to fly. They pair fledged three, but one died of unknow causes (his body was found). “Mom” was such a big bird and fierce. There was never mistaking them for Sharp-shinned Hawks – attude as much as anything was starkly more aggressive. While observing the Cooper’s we also found several pairs of Lazuli Buntngs that must have nested – they were seen feeding young birds just learning to fly. Several Brewer’s Sparrows were also found for a pe-riod of several days – they showed up singing. Since they stand from the tops of grasses they could be seen while singing. We found that they responded to playback unintentonally when their song was played to compare and confirm the identficaton. This plain faced litle sparrow had a song that was quite different than the other 3 summer resident sparrows we were hearing. We never had to go far from home this sum-mer to find something to photograph or observe. Surrounded by a cultvated landscape we found a few pockets that atract wildlife of all sorts. What can we find this fall and winter? – Beth and Russell Hill

Baby birds abound.

Top: July 19 a young Cooper’s Hawk doesn’t stray far from it’s nest site in a thicket of box elders.
Middle: July 30 the young Cooper’s is navigating like a pro through the box elder/willow/chokecherry thickets.
Bottom: Young Eastern Kingbirds (below) could catch bugs on their own, but insist on getting fed by the adults. They grow up so fast! Photos—Beth Hill