University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab

Our Tree Swallows are hard at work raising their wriggling masses of babies! Across our nest box network, almost all nests now have nestlings, which means swallows are especially busy feeding babies and our field crew is especially busy monitoring and sampling! Compared to previous years, nesting phenology (timing) seems to be about a week ahead, likely due to our mild winter and early spring here in western MT.

Both adults attend the nestlings and frequently bring in wads of flying adult aquatic insects (mayflies, caddisflies, etc.)... they are essentially a feathered trout! 🐟 🪶 🐦

Video 1: female Tree Swallow watching the world go by from her nest hole
Video 2: food delivery 🚚!
Video 3: exiting to look for more food
Video 4: a pair checking that the coast is clear before delivering the food 🦟
Video 5: male Tree Swallow with food for the best
Photo 6: handsome male Tree Swallow

🗺️🪶 Last week, our BEVEP crew put in some special target netting effort to sample Bobolink in partnership with the Bird Genoscape Project (BGP). The bird genoscape project uses DNA from feather samples taken during the breeding season to map the extent of genetic variation across a species' breeding range. Feather samples can then be taken anywhere along the migratory or winter range and birds ascribed back to their breeding population! A genoscape is currently being developed for Bobolink🪶 🗺️

We used a 3D printed decoy and audio lure to quickly capture, sample, and release 6 male Bobolinks on their breeding grounds in western MT. There are many fun facts we could share about this Iconic Icteriid, but one of our favorites is that Bobolink are one of only a few NA species which do two complete molts a year. These male BOBO's underwent a complete molt in the fall, switching into a streaky brown plumage like the females and then sometime over the winter they replaced all their feathers again to this stunning black and buff alternate plumage! This is thought to be an adaptation for birds whose habitat preferences subject them to alot of wear and tear (e.g. high UV and abrasive vegetation). It's fun to imagine that the wear we are viewing on their feathers here on breeding grounds is a result of pushing through thick grass in the pampas and/or pantanal of South America, under the harsh tropical sun. 🌾🐦🪶🗺️

*All birds handled by trained professionals with appropriate permits*

Have you been wanting to visit one of our banding stations but can't make it during the work week? Well what are you doing the last Saturday in June?

Here's your opportunity to come see wild birds up close, learn about healthy riparian ecosystems and the impact of mining history on the Upper Clark Fork Basin, and hear about what an ornithologist is and what we can learn from birds in the hand! 🐦

🧭We'll be at the Milltown State Park Main Pavilion (7501 Juniper Dr.)
⏰ from 7-11am
📆 on Saturday, June 27th

Adults and children of all ages and backgrounds are welcome! All banding days are weather dependent. Contact Sasha Robinson [email protected] for more info/questions.

*All birds are handled by trained professionals under appropriate permits*

The field season is ramping up 📈⬆️ This week we had our in-field training for nest box monitoring and hit the ground running checking nests! One thing we are excited about is that we've already recorded 10 color banded Tree Swallow resights! Many of these birds are returning to breed at sites they were banded at last year, but at least 2 have turned up at non-UMBEL boxes! Keep an eye out on your local Tree Swallows and let us know if you find an Easter egg 🥚😉

Photo 1: a color banded Tree Swallow at the nest
Photo 2: 7 picture perfect Tree Swallow eggs

Some of our UMBEL team recently traded feathers for scales 🪶 🐟 while volunteering for Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) necropsies in the Koocanusa Reservoir near Libby, Montana! These Bull Trout were collected incidentally during gill net surveys and sampled as part of a broader USFWS (Montana Ecological Services Office) project to assess baseline contaminant levels, better understand how cumulative stressors may impact fish health, and evaluate aquatic exposure pathways in the Kootenai Basin. The work also contributes to ongoing efforts to understand potential effects of regional and transboundary mining-related contamination on aquatic ecosystems and native fish populations.
🪶 🐟 🪶
In just six hours, the multi-agency team (USFWS, MTFWP, UMBEL, and Carroll College collaborators) fully necropsied and sampled 30+ Bull Trout, maximizing the scientific value of these incidental mortalities in support of ongoing conservation and fisheries science efforts.





treeswallow

Update on Iris!

Iris lays a third egg!

Iris laid her first egg on May 4, second egg on May 7, and third egg on May 13. After laying the first egg, Iris immediately began incubating. Assuming the eggs successfully hatch, the first egg will have a 9-day head-start in growth over chick number 3. However, each subsequently laid egg tends to be less pigmented and smaller than the previous egg which, fun fact, potentially shortens incubation time and reduces asynchrony in hatching. Still, the successful hatching and growth of chicks is dependent upon parental care and food resources brought to the nest, so keep watching to see what comes next. Thanks to the whole team for documenting the ongoings every day: Charles Eldermire, Ben Walters, Dalit Guscio, Becky Racaniello, SharonLeigh Miles, Kristin Threet, Sasha Robinson, and Erick Greene!

Megan Fylling and the Montana Osprey Team

https://youtu.be/s5KBNmckkP0?si=Pjvnow_H8N3DP-9R

Last Saturday May 9th was World Migratory Bird Day and an Global Big Day! Results are still being finalized but it’s anticipated that this will be the biggest year yet, last year’s effort saw “more data collected on birds in a single day than ever before” with 1.7 million people participating and documenting more than 7,900 species in a single day of birding! Preliminary totals show that 7,956 species were observed across the world on Saturday 🌎. What an excellent way to come together, appreciate migrant birds, and contribute to our understanding of them as they make incredible journeys back to their breeding grounds 🐦

UMBEL staff got out in Missoula to celebrate and contribute and some of the highlights from their day were two long distance migrant shorebird species, Semipalmated Plover (photo 1) and Wilson’s Phalarope (2). This Semipalmated Plover is a “passage migrant”, stopping through to fuel up on its way to breeding grounds much further north in Alaska and northern Canada. The Wilson’s Phalarope is quite the traveler, they winter throughout western and southern South America and potentially as far south as the southern tip at Tierra del Fuego! They breed in Montana in marshy grasslands, UMBEL actually has plans to assist the state this summer with tagging efforts of this species to better understand their epic migrations and conservation needs, stay tuned for updates on that work!

Did you get out for the Big Day? What were some of your highlights?

Click the link in bio for this post to check in on eBirds summary for the Big Day and explore more about the effort!

Will we see YOU out at the banding table??? 👀

University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab banding events are free, and open to kids and adults of all ages and backgrounds! Come visit and check out what birds have to tell us about riparian habitats and riverine health in Montana 🌄

Visit the UMBEL banding crew at one of these locations:
🧭Rock Creek Confluence Property - Five Valleys Land Trust
🧭MPG Ranch* (near Florence)
🧭Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (Deer Lodge)

We'll also have a day of banding at Milltown SP on Saturday, June 27th!

Here’s a bit of what you might expect to learn at our banding stations:

🐦‍⬛What an ornithologist is and why they capture and band birds.
🐦‍⬛Discover what a bird in the hand can tell us about the health of its habitat.
🐦‍⬛Find out why healthy riparian areas are so important to birds.
🐦‍⬛Gain bird ID skills and learn a few common bird songs.
🐦‍⬛Explore the history of mining activities in the Upper Clark Fork Basin and the impact they have on bird communities.

This is our 19th year of the Bird’s-eye View Education Program, where we aim to educate the public on BIRDS, healthy river ecosystems, ecological effects of past mining activities, and current restoration projects within the Clark Fork Watershed through bird ecology.

Want MORE info? Click the link in our bio or visit https://www.umt.edu/bird-ecology-lab/our-work/education-outreach/songbird-banding-stations.php to learn more about visitation guidelines.

Want to schedule a visit? Contact Sasha Robinson at [email protected] 📧

The Tree Swallows are back in force! We've been visiting our nest boxes for maintenance and repairs before breeding really kicks off. On a recent field day in the Upper Clark Fork Watershed, we checked 50 boxes and 12 already had some evidence of nest building underway! To add to the excitement, we had our first resight of a color banded individual (photo 1). We can't be 100% certain but it is likely that this is an SY male that hatched from this site last year.

Tree Swallows get back to their breeding grounds rather early compared to our other migrant passerines, often arriving a month before laying their eggs to prospect a nest site and stake early claims on this limited resource (secondary cavities).

Photo 1: color banded Tree Swallow!
Photo 2: cleaning a nest box
Photo 3: an adult Tree Swallow staking it's claim!
Photo 4: the Upper Clark Fork River from a nest box site