Winter weather in Montana can be a little bothersome sometimes. But there are usually a few days that make up for a lot of the cold, snowy, and cloudy ones. The third of January was just such a day. Our home on the south side of Helena lies several hundred feet above the valley floor. As the sun climbed into a gorgeous, deep blue sky that day, I looked out the picture window facing north and was disappointed to see that the lower portions of the valley were pretty much shrouded in fog. But I had been housebound for several weeks and really needed to get out to do some windshield birding. Days with dense fog can be frustrating for birding because of reduced visibilities, and indeed, I encountered some of that frustration on my drive into the valley that morning. But the upside to the fog, that had apparently persisted throughout the night, was a coating of white frost on essentially all inanimate and vegetative features over the entire valley. It was absolutely gorgeous! If I had thought to bring a good pair of boots along for walking in the snow, I would have concentrated on landscape photography that morning,
but in my rush to get out of the house I forgot boots, so my usual pursuit of birds would have to suffice. To my surprise, there were birds about and they provided some rewarding opportunities for photos. The following images were ones I acquired that beautiful morning. My first encounter was with a prairie falcon that sat calmly on a power pole for a relatively close approach, an unusual case for this species.
Next up, a dark phase rough-legged hawk flushed out of a cottonwood tree upon my approach, but didn't get far before my camera caught up with it.
There is one side road where I frequently find a bald eagle perched this time of year, so I tured there to take a quick look. I was rewarded with an adult eagle sitting on the same old snag where I usually find one,
and as a bonus, a female rough-legged hawk was perched nearby.
At this point in the morning, the fog began to lift and the bright sun highlighted the frost encrusted vegetation so that it looked like fine embroidered lace. As I passed by a weedy field, I caught a glimpse of some small birds flitting among the stems looking for seeds to eat. They were American tree sparrows, a fixture in our valley in the winter, arriving early from their breeding areas far to the north. They are usually in small bunches, but as I stopped my vehicle, more and more of them appeared. There were dozens of them. Something made them nervous, perhaps me watching them, and suddenly they all flushed to a nearby caragana hedge. I backed up, stopped near the hedge, and did some "pishing" to try to coax them into the open. Slowly, several of them began to hop up to the higher branches of the shrubbery. During the next hour, I clicked the shutter of my camera perhaps a hundred times trying to get that perfect shot of one of these neat little sparrows - perched on a lace covered stem silhouetted against the clear blue sky.
That one great morning in the Helena Valley has quieted my need in the past week to venture out for some winter birding again. But I can feel that urge growing in me, so hopefully our new snow of today and falling temperatures will again combine to provide another of those memorable days. Sitting and looking at this computer all day just doesn't do it for me!
but in my rush to get out of the house I forgot boots, so my usual pursuit of birds would have to suffice. To my surprise, there were birds about and they provided some rewarding opportunities for photos. The following images were ones I acquired that beautiful morning. My first encounter was with a prairie falcon that sat calmly on a power pole for a relatively close approach, an unusual case for this species.
Next up, a dark phase rough-legged hawk flushed out of a cottonwood tree upon my approach, but didn't get far before my camera caught up with it. 
There is one side road where I frequently find a bald eagle perched this time of year, so I tured there to take a quick look. I was rewarded with an adult eagle sitting on the same old snag where I usually find one, 
and as a bonus, a female rough-legged hawk was perched nearby. 
At this point in the morning, the fog began to lift and the bright sun highlighted the frost encrusted vegetation so that it looked like fine embroidered lace. As I passed by a weedy field, I caught a glimpse of some small birds flitting among the stems looking for seeds to eat. They were American tree sparrows, a fixture in our valley in the winter, arriving early from their breeding areas far to the north. They are usually in small bunches, but as I stopped my vehicle, more and more of them appeared. There were dozens of them. Something made them nervous, perhaps me watching them, and suddenly they all flushed to a nearby caragana hedge. I backed up, stopped near the hedge, and did some "pishing" to try to coax them into the open. Slowly, several of them began to hop up to the higher branches of the shrubbery. During the next hour, I clicked the shutter of my camera perhaps a hundred times trying to get that perfect shot of one of these neat little sparrows - perched on a lace covered stem silhouetted against the clear blue sky. 
That one great morning in the Helena Valley has quieted my need in the past week to venture out for some winter birding again. But I can feel that urge growing in me, so hopefully our new snow of today and falling temperatures will again combine to provide another of those memorable days. Sitting and looking at this computer all day just doesn't do it for me!
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