Great Backyard Bird Count at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park
Thursday Feb. 11 – Monday Feb. 15
Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park staff are pleased to start off our 2021 events by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count needs people like you to reveal the “big picture” about what is happening to bird population numbers across the globe. It is a feat no team of scientists could hope to accomplish alone.
What began as the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds now attracts more than 265,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide to join the four-day count each February. This is the fourth year Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park has participated. Last year the Great Backyard Bird Count had participants in almost 200 countries and counted more than 6,900 species of birds.
Come join us for a series of events in our largest birding event of the season. We will kick off the event with a short zoom talk covering what the Great Backyard Bird Count is, the importance of citizen-science projects, and tools like eBird from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. In addition, throughout the event we will be encouraging birding within the park and providing guides and data recording methods for anyone that wishes to participate.
A maximum of 10 participants can also join park staff on Sunday, Feb. 14, for an approximately four-mile hike along the park road to the upper picnic area and back to see which birds call the park home this winter. Birders will meet at the Main Visitor Center near the park entrance at 10:30 a.m. The walk will last two to three hours, so dress for variable winter conditions, wear solid walking footwear and bring your binoculars. You may also want to bring a snack, water and a camera. Please do not bring dogs.
Whether you are an avid birder or a complete novice, your participation in this event will contribute to a global effort to create of an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.
For more information call the park visitor center at (406) 287-3541. Or check out our Facebook page: Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.
What: Great Backyard Bird Count
When: Zoom Talk: Thurs. Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.
Meeting ID: 810 3787 7649
Passcode: L&CC
Park Supported Birding: Fri. Feb. 12 – Mon. Feb. 15
Guided Birding Walk: Sun. Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, 25 Lewis & Clark Caverns Rd, Whitehall, Mont.
http://stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns/
From the exit 274 on I-90 we are 13 miles south on Highway 287 and 5 miles west on MT 2.
From the Cardwell exit 256 on I-90 we are 7 miles east along MT 2.
Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park features one of the most decorative limestone caverns in the Northwest filled with spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and helictites. The park also features camping, trails to hike or bike, a state-of-the-art visitor center, interpretive displays, a gift shop, food and beverage concessions, amphitheater, and interpretive events presented during the summer months.
Visit Montana State Parks (stateparks.mt.gov) and enjoy camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, boating and more and discover some of the greatest natural and cultural treasures on earth.
