Last Chance Audubon Society

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Last Chance Audubon Society

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Promoting understanding, respect, and enjoyment of birds and the natural world
through education, habitat protection and environment advocacy.

10/30/2026

Little Blue Heron (juvenile) - Canyon Ferry Rd Gravel Pit - 10/30/26

10/28/2026

Northern Shrike - Lake Helena WMA - 10/28/26

10/27/2026

Sharp-shinned Hawk - north Helena Valley - 10/27/26

10/23/2026

10/22/2026

Common Loon brunch in the fog at the Helena Regulating Reservoir - 10/22/26

10/20/2026

Blue Jays are back in town - North Helena Valley - 10/20/26

10/19/2026

Merlin - Helena - 10/19/26

10/13/2026

Bundle up and come to tonight's program about the new Avian Walkway. Free!

10/03/2026

INTERESTING AVIAN OBSERVATIONS, by BOB MARTINKA

According to Cornell’s Birds of The World life history accounts, the mountainous portions of SW Montana are the southern extent of this Grebes’ breeding range, which is circumpolar in northern latitudes.
Breeding habitat usually consists of small, shallow ponds with some emergent vegetation such as cattails and/or bullrush. Two locations in urban Helena provide these criteria: Spring Meadow Lake and the stormwater ponds locally referred to as K-Mart Wetlands (KMW).
A search of eBird records for these two locations reveals this grebe species was first recorded on Spring Meadow Lake in 2013 and at K-Mart Wetlands on 29 May 2016 by S. Turner. On 28 August of that same
year, the first brood was observed. Although successful nesting has been regularly recorded at each of these locations, the focus of this note is on the K-Mart Wetlands.
In 2026, they were first noted on 20 April. On 13 June, a brood of two was recorded. Incubation for this species is generally 22-25 days. Several visits by me and others thru July noted one adult always sitting on the original nest and the other adult attending the brood of two. Then on July 25, a newly hatched young grebe was seen and photographed on the back of the adult on the nest. The following day, three more young were observed on or near the adult on the nest. At some point in the next 10 days or so, one of brood #2 was lost, so there was some mortality. However, the other three brood #2 young survived and were present into the last few days of September.
The production of two broods in one season by a pair of Red-necked Grebes seemed to be quite unusual. A review of the very thorough Birds of the World detailed life history account on breeding records for this species documented only one instance of this single season, double brood in the Western Hemisphere, and only several in their Eurasian locations.
So congratulations Helena, our nesting Red-necked Grebes are now world famous!

09/25/2026

American Kestrel - Prickly Pear FAS - 09/25/26

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Helena, MT
59601

Website

http://www.lastchanceaudubon.org/

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