Event showcases birds of Flathead Valley

Celebrating birds of the Flathead Valley and Northwest Montana, the 11th annual Audubon Birds of Prey Festival introduced humans and hawks face to face at Lone Pine State Park on Saturday.

With the climate changing and habitat becoming more and more sparse, bird lovers and experts joined together for the educational event to help the community understand the importance of the area’s birds of prey in the overall ecosystem.

Cars packed both upper and lower lots of the Lone Pine visitor center as children stood in line to have their faces painted like snowy owls and golden eagles. Volunteers displayed the benefits and effects of composting and the Montana Bird Lady introduced her feathered friends.

Three live raptors made celebrity guest appearances as a crowd formed to learn about their lives and the nature of their species.

The Bird Lady, Kari Gabriel, recalled stories of Tink, the tiny Saw-whet owl, Hawkeye, the one-eyed rough-legged hawk and Jack, a crooked-winged white prairie falcon.

All three birds were struck by cars and their resulting injuries rendered them unable to return to the wild.

Instead, Gabriel rehabilitated each, giving them a new home and mission as education birds that join her for the programs she hosts at schools and events like the Bird of Prey Festival.

Throughout the day, various experts presented on different species, projects and goals for the conservation of the area’s permanent and migratory feathered residents.

First to present was Amy Seaman, conservation program manager for Montana Audubon, on her research of what she called “the coolest bird.”

Black swifts, one of four swift species native to Montana, is one of the least understood birds in the state.

Capable of reaching record-breaking speeds of up to 165 mph, the elusive birds can out fly at least two of Montana’s fastest raptors.

According to Seaman, sightings of the birds are rare and reports even rarer as the quick little birds’ aerodynamic shapes allow vast flocks to fly under the radar of detection.

Seaman hopes that, through her research, she and other conservationists will be able to document unknown data, like population size and migratory patterns, about the swifts that have already been categorized as endangered across most of Canada.

Other booths spotting the visitor center grounds included an informational stand by the Flathead Lands Trust responsible for setting aside an easement on family farmland that will allow a species of crane that migrates through the Flathead each year to continue to pass through the area in safety for years to come.

Teresa Wenum of the National Forest Service used puppet animals to teach about the behavior of local forest-dwelling creatures, allowing children, like 7-year-old Cylis Fladager, to stuff armloads of plush animals through the holes of a hollow tree created by a pileated woodpecker.

At a crafts table sponsored by the Hockaday Art Museum, Evelyn Hicks, 4, carefully painted a pink paper bird that was barely dry when it made its first flight.

The day ended with a hawk watching training session where Dan Casey, founder of Hawk Watch, taught participants how to help keep a running count of migrating hawks and eagles in the valley.

For those interested in supporting Lone Pine State Park or Montana Audobon or for more information, contact Brian Schwartz at Lone Pine Park at 755-2706 or Denny Olson at AudubonEducator@gmail.com.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.