A record breaking 2021 Jewel Basin Hawkwatch Season | Montana Audubon


Montana Audubon

Montana Audubon works at the local, state and national policy levels to protect our natural heritage.

A record breaking 2021 Jewel Basin Hawkwatch Season

Where can you go on a one hour hike and arrive at a breathtaking vista point from which you can watch a grizzly bear foraging for hours from a safe distance, mingle with mountain goats, and see hundreds of migrating raptors that regularly pass so close that you can actually see the color of their eyes? I know of only one such location: the Jewel Basin hawkwatch. This site sits atop of a narrow, steep ridge less than a mile northwest of the summit of Mt. Aeneas and about 9 miles northeast of Bigfork. The dozens, if not hundreds over the years, of dedicated staff and volunteers that monitor raptor movement at this site every fall know how incredible this hawkwatch is. Even on slow days, when less than a handful of raptors pass by every hour, it is a fantastic place to be. On good days, when Sharp-shinned Hawks, Golden Eagles, Cooper’s Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks, in addition to 14 other raptor species, may fly by at a rate of one or more every minute, the experience is simply unforgettable.

 

Read the full report HERE

 

Photos and Writing by Bo Crees, Avian Specialist

Montana Audubon depends on your financial support

ACR On the Road: Expanding Markets Conference

Bringing together ranchers, industry leaders, and environmentalists like ourselves, Western Sustainability Exchange (WSE) hosted its…

Learning the Secrets of the Secretive Black-billed Cuckoo

New on Montana eBird from our partners at the University of Montana Bird Ecology Lab…

View All Articles

Join Our Online Network

By joining our online network, you will receive timely conservation updates, action alerts, legislative news, our monthly eNews, information about upcoming events and more.

Make an Online Donation & Support Our Efforts

Montana Audubon depends on your financial support to continue our ambitious conservation work around the state.

Take Action

Take action on timely conservation issues Montana Audubon is engaged with. Your help will protect Montana’s birds and other wildlife into the future.

Montana Audubon - © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved