MT Audubon/Centennial Valley Birding Trip

All's Well that Ends Well!! That cliche is a very apt description of our Montana Audubon sponsored Memorial Day Weekend birding excursion into the fantastic Centennial Valley of southwestern Montana. The beginning of our weekend in the Valley was a little on the "iffy" side. As we progressed toward our destination - Elk Lake Resort - the roads began to get progressively more muddy. Then, about 4 miles from the resort, we entered an especially notorious portion of the road. And sure enough, our 12-passenger, 2-wheel drive van became hopelessly stuck! We exited and took a quick look at the situation, tried to back out of the problem, and concluded that we weren't going anywhere. On a whim, I reached for my cell phone, not really expecting to have coverage in this remote part of Montana. But success was at hand! I quickly reached Lerrina and Craig Collins at the resort. In about about 10 minutes, Craig came to our rescue and handily pulled us through the remainder of the bad portions of the road. He waited for the other van that was part of our group and helped them also. This is just one example of the super service and hospitality that Craig and Lerrina provide on a regular basis. The great food and accommodations are something we look forward to each year!
We did a little birding that evening near the resort and had the usual great meal before retiring for the evening.

The weather remained on the marginal side with some showers and a little frozen precip, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of this great group of birders. The next day, we spent most of our time in and around the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. This is a huge lake/wetland complex with some associated sagebrush, grasslands, and mountain foothill habitat, with lowest elevations almost 7000 feet. Breeding Trumpeter Swans are the major attraction at this refuge but there are many other great birding opportunities there also.

Some of the highlights of the trip, as expressed by the participants, were Trumpeter swans in a number of locations, Ferruginous Hawks, a nice gathering of sandhill Cranes with some engaging in their unique courtship dance, and Greater Sage-Grouse on a breeding lek on our return to the lodge one evening from a meal at the J BAR L Ranch! Sage Grouse are not usually observed displaying this late in the year or in the evenings, so this was a real bonus for us.

Birding in the vicinity of the lodge was also quite good with species such as Cassin's Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and American Goldfinches easy to spot. Our total bird tally for the trip was about 110 species. However, with all the great birding we experienced, a trip such as this is much more enjoyable with a great bunch of people - and that is what we had accompanying us. And though the weather might have provided some reason, there was not a "whiner" in the bunch!!!Thanks to all of you!! And I hope to see you again soon - with binoculars in hand!! Additional pictures from this trip are available at my Flickr Site!