Kalispell bird count takes place on Sunday

The National Audubon Society's Christmas bird count continues in the Flathead on Sunday, with the sixth annual Kalispell count.

Last year, participants identified 60 bird species and spotted more than 11,000 birds. Despite temperatures as low as 13 degrees below zero, new records were set or tied for 18 species.

During Sunday's event, separate bird-watching teams will visit specific areas. In some locations they will just drive along, counting all the birds they see; in others they will get out and walk.

Dan Casey with the American Bird Conservancy organized the Kalispell count. He said expert and beginning birders alike are welcome to participate; people can also stay home and tally the species they see at their own bird feeders.

The Kalispell count covers everything within city limits as well as Evergreen. It stretches south to Foy's Lake, west to McMannamy Draw, north to Happy Valley, and includes such areas as Herron, Lawrence and Woodland parks, Lone Pine State Park and the Kuhns Wildlife Management Area.

"If someone lives within that area and wants to count birds at their feeder, they can call me to find out how it works," Casey said.

Anyone interested in going into the field is also encouraged to call ahead of time, just so Casey has an idea what to expect. He can be reached at 756-2681 or 857-3143.

However, people who show up the morning of the count can still be included.

"We'll meet at Finnegan's restaurant at 7:30 a.m. and assign teams that morning," Casey said. "People can participate for as little or as much of the day as they'd like."

The Audubon Society asks that field counters (not bird feeder counters) contribute a $5 fee to help cover the cost of data compilation and online publishing.

This is the 105th year of the Christmas bird count, making it the longest ornithological database in existence. The event is held throughout North America and Central America, providing information about early winter bird populations and population trends throughout the region.

Last year, more than 56,000 people participated, identifying 660 species in Canada and the United States and about 2,000 species elsewhere.

Information is collected from about 2,000 separate locations. For example, Casey and about 30 other people participated in the Bigfork bird count on Dec. 18. They spotted 81 species and 7,900 individual birds, including a female snowy owl, a northern pygmy owl, almost 250 tundra swans, more than 400 Bohemian waxwings, 18 blue jays, two snow buntings and 30 red crossbills.

The Bigfork event is regularly the most diverse Christmas bird count in Montana, Casey said. Since it started in 1974, a total of 142 bird species have been found, with an annual average of 82 species.

The Kalispell count typically sees an average of 60 species, he said, with a total of 95 species being seen over the last five years.

"Kalispell's claim to fame was spotting more than 11,000 Bohemian waxwings a few years ago," Casey said. "That was the continental high and we probably still undercounted them."

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com