Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society

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Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society

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YVAS sponsors field trips, ornithology classes, a Christmas Bird Count, and various conservation and educational projects.

10/27/2026

This is great! Look for it next time you are in Great Falls.
By Billings muralist/artist Rillie Tane (You have probably seen her large bison mural along 27th Street, downtown Billings.)

Montana Mural Monday: Painted by artist Rilie Tane in her signature wood-burnt style, this mural transforms an ordinary alley in downtown Great Falls. Tane, a full-time muralist from Montana, has completed dozens of interior and exterior murals across the state, adding beauty in some most unexpected places.

Created in 2023, “The Owl” is one of many murals located in our 38 Montana Main Street Program member communities statewide. To see additional murals and to learn more about Commerce’s MMS Program, read the press release here: https://tinyurl.com/3z6ssdpm.

📍: 501 Central Ave., Great Falls
🎨: Rilie Tanè Art
📸: Kellie Pierce

10/26/2026

As clocks reset to Standard Time next weekend, you will be wanting to use that extra hour to get out and see some birds. We've got you covered!
Sunday, November 1st is Yellowstone Valley Audubon's field trip to Yellowtail Dam's Afterbay. The Afterbay hosts a diversity of diving and dabbling ducks and other waterfowl throughout the year. Highway 87 routes us past a prairie dog metropolis with the probability of a variety of raptors. All are welcome to join in the birding adventure. Here's what you need to know:

Participation is free. Carpooling is an option. Meet at the north Rocky Mountain College parking lot (near Billings Studio Theater) and be ready to depart by 8:00 a.m. on 11/1/26.
Bring binoculars and provisions; leave pets at home.
Check the comments for additional information.

10/15/2026

What do these power poles have to do with protecting Golden Eagles? Join us Monday evening, October 19th, for a presentation by Marco Restani, "Implementing the Eagle Protection and Offset Program at Northwestern Energy."
Free and open to the public, the 7:00 program is at Mayflower Church (corner of Rehberg & Poly Drive). Come early for coffee, cookies, and conversation beginning at 6:30 pm.
Sponsored by Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society.

10/14/2026

It's about protecting eagles. Join us on Monday evening, October 19th, 7:00 pm. for this free program.
Location: Mayflower Church, Rehberg & Poly Drive.

Marco Restani, director of the avian protection program at NorthWestern Energy, will talk about such work at the next meeting of the Yellowstone Audubon Society.

10/08/2026

For volunteers who spend summers monitoring osprey nests along the Yellowstone River, and Marco Restani, who has banded 1,090 osprey nestlings over the last 15 summers, it is a big payoff to hear of a green-banded osprey sighting. This week, we received beautiful photos from John Vrtiska of a juvenile osprey who hatched along the Yellowstone and is enjoying a migration stop-over at the Platte River in eastern Nebraska.
Green bands are unique to Yellowstone River ospreys and are designed to be readable with spotting scopes and cameras. The alpha-numeric code can be reported to the Bird Banding Lab's website.

Photos: Banded juvenile osprey by John Vrtiska

10/06/2026

A new book by Cara Chamberlain--Billings author, poet, birder, and close observer of the natural world,

09/18/2026

CANCELLED. The Hawk Watch along the Meeteetse Trail (Red Lodge) scheduled for Saturday, September 19th has been cancelled because of the forecast of heavy rains.

09/16/2026

It's beginning to feel like Autumn, migratory birds are on the move, and...Yellowstone Valley Audubon's third-Monday-of-the-month programs are back!
Our season of programs kicks off this Monday, September 21st with "Caching Cousins--the Chickadees & Nuthatches," presented by Karisa Boyington.

Karisa, from Wild Birds Unlimited, will be discussing the fascinating food storage behavior of Chickadees and Nuthatches. Come learn about the secret lives of these birds that stay with us year round including through the harsh winters.
The program is at Mayflower Church on the corner of Rehberg & Poly Drive and begins at 7:00 pm.; free and open to the public. A social with coffee and cookies begins at 6:30 PM.

Photo: Black-capped Chickadee

09/14/2026

The Meeteetse Trail, southeast of Red Lodge, is a rough road on a good day, which is why the YVAS Hawk Watch is scheduled for Saturday, September 19th as "ROAD CONDITION PERMITTING."
For last-minute notifications about road access and the status of the Hawk Watch, check the Yellowstone Valley Audubon page, or check your email if you subscribe to the field trip notifications.

The Beartooth Front along the Meeteetse Trail provides a viewpoint for seeing migrating raptors. Raptor watchers bring camp chairs, binoculars, spotting scopes, and sack lunches.
Meeting place: Town Pump, north end of Red Lodge.
Departure time: 8:00 a.m,. September 19th.
Catch a ride or drive a vehicle that can handle adversity.
Participation is free and open to the public. No pets.

Information about YVAS field trips is posted on our website.
https://yvaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2026-FIELD-TRIP-SCHEDULE-6-28-26-Update.pdf

09/06/2026

One of the top hot spots for birding in Yellowstone County is the Broadview area. Yes, that area where Quantica wants to build a mega data center. Take a look at what a group of birders found during just one hot day in early August--see "Dog Day Birding" on p.4 of The Flyer (the newsletter of Yellowstone Audubon), available at:https://yvaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Sep-Flyer-2026.pdf

photo: Burrowing Owl

Address

PO Box 1075
Billings, MT
59103

Website

http://www.yvaudubon.org/

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