Vagrancy in Birds

A vagrant bird is an individual that appears in an area well outside of the known range for that species. Several weeks ago, a Carolina wren was ID'ed near Arlee, MT, about 25 miles north of Missoula. Pending acceptance by the Montana Bird Records Committee, this will be the first recorded appearance of this species in Montana, and will grow the Montana bird list to 425 species. The species has previously been recorded for Alberta, and southern WY and SD. These were also very rare sightings. Some may question the significance of such a record, but it is important to track these occurrences so that vagrancy is not confused with the range expansion that is occurring in MT with some other species. High quality photo images of the wren were difficult to get because of low light conditions in the riparian habitat where it was located. But I did manage to get a few!
Last summer, another unusual vagrancy occurred when an Eastern Meadowlark was found in the Madison River Valley just south of Ennis. If this species were to be spotted in MT, it would seem most likely that it would be found along the eastern border with the Dakotas rather than 400 miles to the west. This record is just as or perhaps more unusual than the Carolina wren. In both of these instances, the birds' song was the factor that lead to the initial discovery of the species. While the plumage patterns and colors of the wren are quite distinctive, the eastern Meadowlark appears very much like its eastern counterpart, and so would likely be more easily overlooked if it were not for its distinctive song.

Sightings of rare and/or vagrant bird in MT will continue to spark the interest of dedicated birders. And the "listers" among us will continue to put mileage on their vehicles in the hopes that they can add one more notch to their Montana Bird Lists! That keeps the interest and excitement going in this great avocation.

Happy Birthday Brother Clifford!!

A Change of Pace!

In recent years, a pine bark beetle epidemic in the Northern Rocky Mountains has devastated stands of Ponderosa and Lodgepole Pine. I must admit that when this huge infestation hit our area around Helena, I was skeptical that it would or could do the damage that others had predicted. But all I have to do is look out my office window to the south to see what nature has wrought! Just to the south of our home in Helena, no more than 75 yards or so, there is or was a stand of Ponderosa Pine that several years ago seemed to be reasonably healthy. Then about 3-4 years ago, some of the trees began dying. This was not unexpected because that happens in nature, especially in forest stands that are too dense and in need of some natural thinning. But over that 3 or 4 year period, it appears that nearly 90 percent of the trees have died from the beetles, and the epidemic may not be over.

Over the past few weeks, the whining and buzzing of chainsaws could be heard throughout the day as dead trees were being felled and stacked for burning by crews employed by the city of Helena. Under other circumstances, my instinct would be to object to such an operation because dead trees are beneficial to many bird and other wildlife species. And indeed, the numbers and diversity of woodpecker species in other areas of dead and dying trees near Helena are noticeably greater than only several years ago. But these dead trees above our home actually border the back yards of our neighbors and likely pose a significant danger of wildfire during the hot days of summer.

This morning, as I returned home from visiting a friend, smoke billowed upwards from the remains of the Ponderosa Pine forest just to the south of our home. Fire crews were igniting and tending to the numerous piles of slash that remained from the weeks of chainsaw action. And I concluded that in this instance, that is a good thing! As you might expect, there is some debate about the conclusion by some experts that this insect infestation has been exacerbated by the trend to warmer temperatures in our area over the past several decades. They say these Pine Bark Beetles do not fare well during periods of intense cold that use to be the norm around here. I don't know whether this is the case or not. But I do know that this insect epidemic seems to be the worst to hit forests in the Northern Rocky Mountains in recorded history - so there is certainly something going on in nature that should have a rational explanation!

I took the following series of photos to record the happenings of the day to compare them with what the area will look like several years down the road. Hopefully, there will be some natural tree regeneration resulting from seeds produced by the fortunate few mature trees that remain.