Happy Start to the New Year...Wildlife Wise

As usual, went out to find wildlife on the first day of the new year. First stop, our deck at about daybreak (~18F); looked across the Bitterroot Valley and spied wintering Elk (Cervus elaphus) grazing on mountainside (hard to see on photo):

Daybreak at Lolo, MT

Shortly thereafter heard first bird of the year, a black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) calling. Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) and house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) were also heard calling in the next seven minutes. Retired inside for couple of hours, then gathered gear, and drove to Missoula to find one of several ferruginous hawks 'wintering' there. No luck, but did find common redpoll (Acanthis flammea) and northern shrike (Lanius excubitor) both hunting weedy fields.

Northern Shrike

Common Redpoll

Exited stage left and stopped at Maclay Flat (USFS). Found a nice grouping of 14 pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) including white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatch on the flanks of the flock.
A second smaller flock of black-capped chickadee and golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa) flushed a Northern pygmy-owl (Glaucidium gnoma) roughly 120 yards from the parking area (typical location). On the drive home quickly pulled over with the appearance of a small, dark raptor atop power pole...yep, a merlin (Falco columbarius), probably the dark, taiga subspecies. Had incredible luck over a three-hour period of birding for the first day of the year. Hoping you also found something great :-)

Merlin

Bohemian Waxwing...Back in the Neighborhood

Bohemian (Bombycilla garrulus) and smaller numbers of cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedorum) descended on our yard to ingest chokecherry berries. These birds are reliably seen every fall through spring because of many accent plantings of fruit bearing trees and shrubs. A Eurasian cultivar, mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia), seems to be the commonest yard planting here in Montana urban landscapes and a favorite of waxwings. Here's a video of these birds in action on what I believe is a crabapple in February:

Identification is straightforward: bulky, gray chest/upperbody along with the burnt orange undertail coverts. Vocalizations are distinct. Mr. Swarth describes (1922, from Life Histories of North American Wagtails, Shrikes, Vireos, and their Allies; author-Cleveland Arthur Bent, reprint from Dover 1965) the voice of the Bohemian as a "buzz...coarser...as a series of slightly separated notes". And yes, they are 'garrulus' calling most of the time from flight or day-time roost.

Invariably, because of their flock size and vocalizations, merlin (Falco columbarius) isn't far away.

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Getting video and photographs is difficult at times because the birds are skittish. However, it is a minor challenge when considering how accessible this wildlife is...right out the front door of our home. Stake out some berry-laden plantings in or near your neighborhood this fall/winter and see what you discover.