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We are hosting four field trips related to a Bird Migration Celebration organized by Five Valleys Audubon, the National Audubon Society, and other partners. Today we hosted our first field trip, an excursion to the Bitterroot River floodplain. Participants helped the Avian Science Center trap and band songbird migrants. We caught many interesting species, including the savannah sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, orange-crowned warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, and the ruby-crowned kinglet.

The MPG Ranch will host three additional field trips related to bird migration: songbird banding with the Avian Science Center on 9/26, and raptor counting with Raptor View Research Institute on 9/21 and 9/27. See the Bird Migration Celebration website for more information on how to register for these and other field trips.

ASC banding station.

About the Author

Kate Stone

Kate graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Conservation Biology in 2000. She pursued a M.S. in Forestry at the University of Montana where her thesis focused on the habitat associations of snowshoe hares on U.S. National Forest land in Western Montana. After completing her M.S. degree in 2003, Kate alternated between various field biology jobs in the summer and writing for the U.S. Forest Service in the winter. Her fieldwork included projects on small mammal response to weed invasions, the response of bird communities to bark beetle outbreaks and targeted surveys for species of concern like the black-backed woodpecker and the Northern goshawk. Writing topics ranged from the ecology and management of western larch to the impacts of fuels reduction on riparian areas.

Kate coordinates bird-related research at the MPG Ranch. She is involved in both original research and facilitating the use of the Ranch as a study site for outside researchers. Additionally, Kate is the field trip coordinator and website manager for the Bitterroot Audubon Society. She also enjoys gardening and biking in her spare time.