Montana Bound – Part II

Birds, Mountains / By

The bird life around the Hamilton, MT cabin was also impressive.  As soon as I pulled into the yard, I could hear California Quail calling.  They were close to the cabin every day.  I enjoyed their company, even though they are quite loud.  I don’t recall seeing them since living and working in Point Reyes National Seashore in 2019.

California quail are abundant in the Bitterroot Valley but are not native to Montana. Wildlife officials speculate that the birds escaped from a hobby farm/private preserve or were released unlawfully. They are flourishing in the valley.

The first evening, I heard a Ruffed Grouse drumming while I was sitting on the deck.  That was a big bonus for me.  Even before I owned a point-and-shoot camera, back in the mid-70’s (yes, the 1970’s), I had wanted to see and photograph a Ruffed Grouse drumming.  I had a great opportunity last year in Grand Teton National Park.  Now, I was hoping for a repeat.  Thanks to toting a trail cam along on this trip, I was able to determine the best set-up location to get some good photographs.

Ruffed Grouse are a forest-dwelling species. They are non-existent in western Iowa where I live.

Wild Turkeys and Ring-necked Pheasants are common in Iowa.  However, I rarely take time to photograph either species.  I regularly saw turkeys along the road leading into the cabin.  Usually, they were on the wrong side of the road (houses behind them) or the sun was in the wrong position for good photos.  Finally, the stars lined up and I was able to get images of them strutting.

The Merriam’s sub-species of the Wild Turkey is not native to Montana. They were introduced to the state through trap-and-transfer programs. This male is trying to draw the attention of some nearby females.
Ring-necked Pheasants are not even native to North America. They were brought over from Asia as a game species. This male was hanging out in the same field as the turkeys, strutting its stuff, trying to attract a female pheasant.

While the quail, pheasants, and turkeys made their presence known, they were not my target species for the trip.  There was so much more to see…

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6 thoughts on “Montana Bound – Part II”

  2. Kathleen K Engel

    Wow…you did not disappoint. I love the pheasant photo the best. They all have such pretty contrasting backgrounds. Was that luck?

    Reply
    1. Stan Buman

      Thank you Kathleen. Some is luck but I also pass up images of critters when I do not like the background so that I can concentrate my time taking photos of them with more interesting backgrounds.

      Reply
  3. John Schmidt

    Hi Stan
    Pam Poggenesee passed on a little info about a MT trip. I would like to be in the loop as more info becomes available. My brother and I are both trying to slow down on the farm but are still consumed by farming.
    I am forced to change my email so please use this in the future. jrlkocheyedan@gmail.com.
    Thanks
    John Schmidt

    Reply

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