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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250217T190000
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UID:1223-1739818800-1739824200@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Monthly Program: Clark's Nutcrackers with Dr. Diana Tomback
DESCRIPTION:Clark’s Nutcracker: the Bird that Builds Forests\, by Dr. Diana Tomback \nThe presentation will cover Clark’s Nutcrackers as keystone seed dispersers\, and thus forest builders\, for many conifers across the montane west but with the focus on nutcrackers and whitebark pine.  With the decline in whitebark pine\, now a federally threatened species\, there is a concern about a decline in nutcracker populations.  I will include some data from our work on nutcracker forest community use\, annual abundance\, and home range size in Yellowstone National Park. \nDiana F. Tomback is Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Colorado Denver with expertise in forest ecology and conservation biology. She received a B.A. and M.A. at UCLA and Ph.D. at the University of California Santa Barbara. Author of more than 150 publications and essays\, she has conducted research on high elevation and treeline ecosystems\, including pioneering studies of the keystone seed disperser Clark’s nutcracker\, whitebark pine\, and related five-needle white pines in parks and forests across the U.S. and Canada. In 2001\, Tomback and colleagues started the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation (WPEF) http://www.whitebarkfound.org\, a science-based 501 (c)3 non-profit to advocate for whitebark pine restoration.  She was science lead on the National Whitebark Pine Restoration Plan\, a multi-agency strategy in partnership with American Forest and advised by the Washington Office of the USDA Forest Service.  She now serves on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Whitebark Pine Recovery Team. \nYou are invited to a Zoom meeting.  \nWhen: Feb 17\, 2025 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) \nRegister in advance for this meeting: \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6DSoVThdT6GzuODT1GPsiQ \nAfter registering\, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. \nPlease register before 6 p.m. on the 17th. \n 
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/monthly-program-clarks-nutcrackers-with-dr-diana-tomback/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250215T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250215T130000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20250102T230229Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T230229Z
UID:1062-1739613600-1739624400@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Beginning Bird Walk at Lee Metcalf NWR
DESCRIPTION:This field trip is brought to you by our friends to the north: Five Valleys Audubon Society. \n\nJoin Larry Weeks and Five Valleys Audubon for a beginning bird walk at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge from 10:00 am-1:00 pm. Meet the field trip leader at the Refuge Visitor’s Center. This field trip involves walking on level paved and unpaved paths.\n\nThe group will observe and identify birds on the Visitor Center Ponds\, Kenai Trail and in the Wildlife Viewing Area.\n\nThere are outdoor toilets at the Visitor’s Center and the Wildlife Viewing Area.
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/beginning-bird-walk-at-lee-metcalf-nwr-2/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250215T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250215T170000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20250102T230517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T230517Z
UID:1068-1739606400-1739638800@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:All Day Field Trip to the Mission Valley
DESCRIPTION:This field trip is brought to you by our friends to the north: Five Valleys Audubon Society. Thanks friends! \nJoin Thomas Kallmeyer and Five Valleys Audubon for an all-day field trip to the Mission Valley to look for resident and overwintering raptors and other birds. Meet at 8:00 am on the West side of the Adams Center parking lot at the U of M or at the Cenex gas station in Ronan at 9:00 am. \nThis is a driving trip with frequent stops to look for birds. We will spend some time outside the car\, so be prepared for cold temperatures\, wind and snow or rain. \nDue to the ongoing pandemic\, please wear a mask if you carpool with people other than your household members and practice social distancing in the field.
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/all-day-field-trip-to-the-mission-valley/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20250208T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20250208T150000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20250108T161108Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250108T161236Z
UID:1193-1739019600-1739026800@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Poets in the Root
DESCRIPTION:Nature in nearly all manifestations has inspired poets since there were poets! And at least since the Roman poet Horace wrote Ars Poetica or the Art of Poetry in 19BC\, literature\, including poetry\, sought to both instruct and delight. \nPoets in the ‘Root combines these two aims in an uncommon but simple way. One person reads a poem or part of a poem that uses an element of nature to convey its message. Then\, the same or another person gives an explanation (5 minutes max) of some aspect of that nature element. The explanation focuses on nature interpretation\, not literary interpretation. Listeners get a bit of poetry and a bit of natural history. \nWe’ll have refreshments\, including coffee\, tea\, wine\, and snacks! \nAnyone can volunteer to read poetry and/or offer the nature interpretation. This is a fun way for Master Naturalists to earn credit towards their certification. Free and open to the public. \nFor participants\, even attendees\, Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton is offering 20% off of one book of poetry. Coupons will be available at the event. \nTo ask questions\, please contact Micki Long at mickilong@gmail.com \nTo register\, please visit the Teller Wildlife Refuge website.
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/poets-in-the-root/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250120T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250120T203000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20241219T145106Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250117T184631Z
UID:929-1737399600-1737405000@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Monthly Program- Shorebird Migration in Montana
DESCRIPTION:Monday January 20th\, 7 pm \nNocturnal peeps: what night sounds can tell us about shorebird migration in Montana \nShorebirds cover huge distances during spring and fall migration\, passing over entire states without touching land. Where they settle\, wetlands provide critical resources for refueling. With widespread population declines\, understanding all aspects of their life histories is important to conserving populations. Because most shorebirds migrate at night and daytime shorebird identification challenges many birders\, we understand very little about their migration through Montana and the Intermountain West. However\, shorebirds make unique flight calls while migrating\, and we can often identify them to species based on these calls. \nSome of you may recall the “Bitterroot Array”- an installation of up to 50 recording units deployed annually from 2013 to 2019 at sites in Montana to study nocturnal bird migration. Though we set most units in the Bitterroot Valley\, we had a handful of sites east of the Continental Divide. We focused most effort on fall migration but also had some units recording in the spring. Several Bitterroot Bird Alliance members hosted recording units at their property\, as did schools like Florence and Darby High Schools. We also had units at familiar locations in the high country- sites like St Mary’s Peak and Sula Peak. \nThis effort resulted in over 20 terabytes of acoustic data. Because of the massive amount of data and the difficulty in identifying some western bird species by flight calls\, we decided to tackle shorebird calls during the year 2017 for an initial analysis. In this presentation\, we’ll walk you through how our Bitterroot data helped train the machine-learning model “Nighthawk” (think “Merlin” for nocturnal flight calls) and how scientists everywhere can use this application to better understand bird migration happening at night. But more importantly\, we’ll share some of our results about the shorebirds migrating over our valley- species you might never see or even expect. We’ll also compare the findings from our recordings to the on-the-ground surveys several BBA members performed at Lee Metcalf NWR the past two years as part of the Intermountain West Shorebird Survey. \nKate Stone is a long-time board member of Bitterroot Bird Alliance and an ecologist at the MPG Ranch. Like many people\, she struggles with visual shorebird identification in the field because she sees relatively few of them. But as an “ear birder” at heart\, she loves the use of acoustic tools to study bird populations. \nPlease join BBA for this glimpse into the scientific process of innovation and discovery during our January virtual program. You will need to register in advance for this meeting:\nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/BOsWvJQTTlOzuJX7sDot5g \nAfter registering\, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. \n 
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/monthly-program-shorebird-migration-in-montana/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250118T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250118T130000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20250102T230154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250102T230154Z
UID:1060-1737194400-1737205200@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Beginning Bird Walk at Lee Metcalf NWR
DESCRIPTION:This field trip is brought to you by our friends to the north: Five Valleys Audubon Society. \n\nJoin Larry Weeks and Five Valleys Audubon for a beginning bird walk at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge from 10:00 am-1:00 pm. Meet the field trip leader at the Refuge Visitor’s Center. This field trip involves walking on level paved and unpaved paths.\n\nThe group will observe and identify birds on the Visitor Center Ponds\, Kenai Trail and in the Wildlife Viewing Area.\n\nThere are outdoor toilets at the Visitor’s Center and the Wildlife Viewing Area.
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/beginning-bird-walk-at-lee-metcalf-nwr/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241228T073000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241228T170000
DTSTAMP:20260605T173058
CREATED:20241220T181256Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241220T181256Z
UID:960-1735371000-1735405200@bitterrootbirdalliance.org
SUMMARY:Stevensville Christmas Bird Count
DESCRIPTION:Join Bitterroot Bird Alliance for the Stevensville Christmas Bird Count! We will gather at 7:30 at the Forest Service’s Stevensville Ranger District at 88 Main St in Stevensville for location assignments and to form small groups. Birders of all levels are welcome! Questions? Contact compiler Deborah Goslin 406-214-7879.
URL:https://bitterrootbirdalliance.org/event/stevensville-christmas-bird-count/
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