Montana bird watching

State Checklists:
Thayer Birding Software
NPWRC Bird Checklists - Montana

Species Seen in Montana: 395

State Ornithological Society: None

Rare Bird Alerts:
(406) 721-9799   Statewide
(406) 756-5595   Big Fork
Transcripts

Maps:
Montana
Montana Maps
Map of Counties

Retail Birding Stores
Travel Guide by City

Birding Links for Montana:
Birding Festivals
Christmas Bird Count Database
Birding Trip Reports
Montana Owl Identification
Montana Audubon Field Trips
Breeding Bird Biology and Monitoring Database
VENT Tours to Montana

Montana Organizations:
Audubon Chapters in Montana
   Bitteroot Audubon Society   Hamilton
   Five Valleys Audubon Society  Missoula
Montana Audubon
The Nature Conservancy - Montana
Owl Research Institute

Important Birding Locations in Montana:
Hot Spots
Birding in Bitterroot
Medicine Lake NWR
Bowdoin NWR
Red Rocks Lakes NWR
Montana Wildlife Management Areas
Yellowstone National Park
US Fish & Wildlife Service Refuges - Montana

Pete Thayer's Favorite Hot Spots:
Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge
48.45 N  107.82 W
This is prairie country. Look here for Baird's Sparrow, Sprague's Pipit and McCown's Longspur. Lake Bowdoin can be productive for Grebes and Pelicans

Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area
47.62 N   112.02 W
Spring and fall migrations can be spectacular. Shorebirds are abundant in April and May. Check the grasslands for Short-eared Owls and Clay-colored Sparrows.

Glacier National Park
48.75 N   113.72 W
As you travel over Logan Pass, stop at picnic areas to find higher-elevation species. American Dippers live under the bridge just north of Lake McDonald. The cliffs near Avalanche Creek may turn up a Black Swift.

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge
48.30 N  104.18 W
Site of one of the largest American White Pelican rookeries. 250,000 waterfowl may stop over during migration. The prairie grasslands are a good spot to find McCown's and Chestnut-collared Longspurs.