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After leaving Kalispell on my final day in Montana, I headed south to check out Swan Lake.
I was lucky enough to catch a flock of Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and a few Yellow Warblers foraging in bushes by the lakeside, while Cedar Waxwings were flycatching from nearby trees.
Further along the lakeshore I came to an observation platform looking out over marshland. Unfortunately, the only birds around were Barn Swallows.
It was nice to feel that down here by the lake I could walk around without worrying about bears. I wouldn't have felt quite so relaxed, though, if I had noticed this sign next to where I had parked.
My next stop was at a small city park in Polson, a town at the south end of Flathead Lake. I was hoping to find Pygmy Nuthatches there. Amazingly, I spotted one within 10 minutes of my arrival.
The only other birds in the park were Ring-billed Gulls.
After that, I headed over to a site I was really looking forward to visiting - the town's wastewater treatment plant. As every birder knows, birds love sewage!
I was crushed to find that the plant was closed because it was Sunday. I can't imagine why they would close the plant on the best day of the week for people to visit it!
Disappointed, I headed back south, stopping off again at the Ninepipes reserve on my way. As it was now mid-afternoon, there were very few birds about, except for the Grebes and other water birds that I'd seen on my earlier visit. However, I had wonderful views of the Mission Mountains from the reserve and from the road from there to Missoula.
So my Montana birding ended with a whimper rather than a bang. Overall, though, I enjoyed the trip. I hadn't seen anything like the number or range of birds that I had expected but I had seen some. (The trip took my bird year list up to 304 species.) And I had seen some incredible landscapes.
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After arriving in Kalispell from Glacier Park, I spent a little time in one of the town parks. The residents included Black-billed Magpies, Ring-billed Gulls and Canada Geese.
However, I was surprised to find lots of pairs of Wood Ducks there.
The park had plenty of Cedar Waxwings, too.
It also had a young American Robin that looked to be in a very agitated state!
The next day I checked out a local nature reserve, where I was greeted by Black-capped Chickadees.
An Osprey was a fine sight in the morning sky.
Northern Flickers were calling and hammering everywhere in the reserve.
As I was leaving, I had great views of a pair of adult males who appeared to be carrying out some kind of ritual. For over 5 minutes the one on the left constantly ducked and bowed to the one on the right.
If one had been a female, I would have assumed it was a mating display. Since they were both male, I have no idea what the ritual was about!
After the reserve it was time for me to start the drive back to Missoula - stopping off at a few birding sites along the way, of course.
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.As soon as I drove into Glacier NP, it was clear that I was going to see some wonderful scenery.
I spent an hour or two checking out a couple of possible birding sites but spotted only a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a Common Raven.
Most of the rest of my time was spent driving up the Road to the Sun, stopping off at pull-offs along the way to admire the incredible views.
At one point I had to slow down to allow a deer to cross ahead of me.
At another I had to stop to take photos of a Mountain Goat at the side of the road.
The visitor center at the top of the road was packed with people, many of them watching a couple of small herds of Bighorn Sheep on the mountainsides.
There were smaller animals, too.
In every direction the scenery was spectacular.
After six hours in the park, I headed back down towards the entrance and to Kalispell, where I had booked a motel room for the night. Glacier NP hadn't produced the birds - or bears - that I had hoped for but it had certainly been well worth a visit.
And I still had one day left in which to explore some nearby birding sites on the way back to Missoula.
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My drive from Missoula to Glacier National Park took me north and past the Ninepipe NWR. I stopped off to spend an hour birding the refuge with mixed results.
Most of the ponds/lakes were fairly inaccessible, being set well back from the loop road around the refuge. So I wasn't able to get good photos of the American White Pelicans, Tundra Swans, American Wigeons and other birds that I saw on the water. A pair of Western Grebes were the only water birds that didn't stay well away.
I didn't see a single shorebird except for a Killdeer.
Utility wires alongside the loop road had Barn and Violet-Green Swallows, while the fences had numerous Savannah Sparrows.
A Fox Sparrow was my first of the year.
A family of Chipping Sparrows made a cute picture.
A male House Sparrow with one of his offspring seemed rather out of place.
I was hoping to see raptors but saw only a solitary Red-tailed Hawk.
If the birding was a little disappointing, the scenery was certainly not, with the Mission Mountains rising majestically to the east of the refuge.
However, I was expecting to find much more spectacular scenery at my next stop - Glacier National Park.
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