The serene beauty of eastern Montana’s expansive prairies offers a lovely contrast to the drama of Yellowstone National Park. We visit this little-visited, beautiful part of Montana during early June, when the prairie is often ablaze with wildflowers and the air filled with birdsong. Some of the region’s signature birds can be very difficult to find, but we have the experts to do so. We are eager to share the fascinating ecological studies emerging from prairie research, spurred by the attention of the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy and the American Prairie Reserve, all deeply involved in restoration of the wild character of the Great Northern Plains.
Long –billed Curlews nest here and should already have chicks when we arrive. Researchers have followed the lives of several individuals we may see. Using small satellite radio telemetry units, they know the birdsmake non-stop flights to winter in Chihuahua, Mexico, then return to the same Montana pasture! The Rancher’s Alliance in the region has embraced many of the wildlife projects, leaving space for Prairie Dogs, Burrowing Owls, Red Foxes and Pronghorn. Under extensive skies and great cloud shows, we search out signature prairie species such as McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Sprague’s Pipits, Upland Sandpipers, Baird’s and Grasshopper sparrows, and more. Ferruginous Hawks, Northern Harriers, Swainson’s Hawks, and Golden Eagles are regularly seen; we make a concerted effort, with the help of local researchers, to find the rare Mountain Plovers. Understanding their decline may unlock secrets needed for several prairie species to prosper. Wildlife isn’t all the area has to offer: in this farming and ranching region we’ll enjoy scenic views, beautiful rivers, and local hospitality. Cottonwood trees and a variety of shrubs line local creeks and streams; we check these green oases for migrant and resident songbirds.
We begin and end in Billings, exploring areas to the north including Glasgow, Fort Peck, the Missouri River Breaks, Bowdoin, Malta and Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuges and the Little Rockies near Zortman. In addition to birding, the possibility of prairie wildflowers, and seeing the region’s mammals, and for those hard to see species, learning more habits and habitats of the rare ones such as Black-footed Ferrets and Swift Foxes.
Our accommodations are in downtown hotels in Billings and Malta, a “mom-and-pop” motel in Glasgow and we spend two extraordinary nights at a remote camp set up by staff of the American Prairie Reserve. The camp is ultimately private, stars jump out of the sky overhead, and we share life as if on safari – in Montana. The camp has yurts (2 per yurt) with wooden floors, twin beds and lighting. We have a largeryurt set up as our 
kitchen and another for a meeting room where we hope to mingle with researchers and conservation staff. The bathrooms are porta pottys with outdoor on-demand heated showers. We know that is a bit of an adventure, but the chance to wake up to a meadowlark symphony is well worth it. We’ll have great catered meals, time around the campfire, and wildlife sightings to remember. A bison herd has been reestablished on the reserve and we take time to watch the calves frolic. Coyotes have hungry pups to feed and we may hear the adults serenade. After camping, we enjoy a day in the Little Rockies amid groves of aspen and pine, before heading back to Billings where we celebrate at a well-known local steakhouse. Peg Abbott has always had a weakness for wide open spaces of the prairie, please join her, along with local experts, for a Montana Prairie Spring!
ITINERARY
Sun., June 3 Arrival in Billings, Montana
This is an incredible time of year to explore Montana’s true Big Sky Country – a time when the prairies are awash with color, and bird song is at its peak.
We hope you’ll arrive in time to take in the Western Heritage with its extensive collections chronicling people and places of the Yellowstone River Valley and the Northern High Plains. Our hotel is located in the historic downtown district and tonight we enjoy a welcome dinner there, with a fabulous view of the city and the Yellowstone River winding through it.
Accommodations at the Country Inn and Suites, Billings (D)
Mon., June 4 Two Moon Park / Jordan / Glasgow
This morning’s walk at nearby Two Moon Park along the Yellowstone River is often no less than extraordinary! Here we see species we are not likely to see again, for several species with Eastern forest affinity seem to have followed the green corridor of the river just this far – Brown Thrashers, Red-eyed Vireos and American Redstarts to mention a few. Yellow-breasted Chats are vocal and common here in the lush riparian vegetation. We should also find White-tailed Deer feeding, White Pelicans flying in chevrons above, Bank Swallows excavating their nests, Lazuli Buntings in all their blazing color, and possibly inquisitive Red Foxes. We return for our things, pack up and head north towards the Canadian border, beginning very soon outside the city to witness the legendary open spaces of “Big Sky Country”. During the day’s drive (about four hours) we see only small communities and a few scattered ranch and farm buildings. We have lunch in one of the communities en route, and make some stops to see and photograph our first prairie species. Pronghorn have young fawns which can put on quite a show. We settle into our simple but comfortable accommodations, enjoy dinner and prepare tomorrow’s sightings.
Accommodations at the Fort Peck Hotel, Fort Peck (B,L,D)
Tues., June 5 South Valley County Shrub-Steppe Wild Lands / Fort Peck
One of the forces that insure the Northern Great Plains remains diverse and healthy is that of varied landscapes. After today your eye will pick up the difference between shrub-dominated steppe communities, important to Sage Thrashers and Greater Sage-grouse (among other species). Learn more about why Greater Sage-grouse are considered an umbrella species for others less charismatic such as Brewer’s and Lark sparrows, and Loggerhead Shrikes. Valley and Phillips counties, Montana both hold extensive tracts of sagebrush so important to Greater Sage-grouse, a species on the decline and of real concern. Montana Audubon has delineated five Important Bird Areas based on this species, indicating their strong role in this ecosystem. These comprise some six million acres of public and private lands – Montana 
IS Big Sky Country! Mule Deer and Elk also frequent the area, along with Badgers, Long-tailed Weasels and Black-tailed Jackrabbits. Plant enthusiasts will be in their prime, this habitat type is a wonderland for wildflowers. A real highlight of the day is (hopefully) seeing a population of Mountain Plovers that live with less dependence on Prairie Dogs than some we see later in the journey. Their habitat they select is a function of soils here, an interesting twist to their ecology. McCown’s Longspurs like these short grass areas as well.
We take a picnic lunch and then return to Glasgow, for a break. Afterwards, we drive a half hour to Fort Peck, one of the largest dams on the Upper Missouri River. An interpretive center hosts displays of its construction and on wildlife that uses the area today. We look for Common Loons, a number of ducks and at dusk, Common Poorwills. Enjoy dinner at the historic Fort Peck Inn ahead of our return to Glasgow.
Accommodations at the Fort Peck Hotel, Fort Peck (B,L,D)
Wed., June 6 North Valley County Prairies / Malta
Exploring North Valley County brings us in range of many of the signature prairie birds we hope to see: Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Sprague’s Pipits and Baird’s and Grasshopper Sparrows. Many alert us to their presence with flight songs, which sound like joy to novice and ardent birders alike. This is our chance to watch behavior at some of the large dog-towns, Black-tailed Prairie Dog towns to be specific – the keystone species of the region. Scientists from the World Wildlife Fund estimate there were some 5 billion prairie dogs in 1804, when Lewis and Clark crossed the region close to here, writing descriptions of dog towns that stretched for 50 miles. We may also find Marbled Godwits with chicks, Wilson’s Phalaropes and American Avocets at small ponds, and all around us we watch the snappy display flight of abundant Lark Buntings.
We examine the landscape as well as its species, and discuss how prairies form, and how they are maintained. Plant life is quite different than where we explored yesterday and with luck we may find some lingering blooms of Bitterroot. We drive a maze of backcountry roads as we head towards Malta. If time permits you can check out the local museum, which displays local history alongside the bones of dinosaurs, plentiful in the region. Enjoy dinner and accommodations here.
Accommodations at the Great Northern Hotel, Malta (B,L,D)
Thurs., June 7 Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge / American Prairie Reserve (APR)
Just seven miles west of Malta, the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of habitats with lush areas of wetlands that we visit this morning. The refuge was established in 1958 to protect an area of shortgrass prairie, prairie potholes, expansive ponds and lakes. Over 235 species of birds have been identified on the refuge. Gray Partridge, Sharp-tailed Grouse and Greater Sage-grouse all nest here; while the males are done strutting, in June we may sight females with chicks.
This area was once an oxbow of the Missouri River, before the last glacial activity created the river’s current course. Water collects in this geologic depression, providing habitat for waterfowl and wading birds such as American White Pelicans, Eared Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night-Herons, White-faced Ibis, and noisy Franklin’s Gulls. We should see Wood Ducks, all three species of teal, and other species.
Another highlight at Bowdoin is the nesting sites of some of the more elusive prairie species, such as – Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s Sparrow. Western Meadowlarks serenade us throughout the day; Horned Larks and longspurs sing while performing from the air in display flights. Near ponds we should find Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, and perhaps an elusive Sora.
After a picnic lunch in Malta’s city park, we drive south to the turn off to our safari camp on lands of the American Prairie Reserve. This extensive area sits just across the Missouri River from the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Working closely with the World Wildlife Fund, APR has acquired land and conservation easements. Their work will help provide an ecological corridor: Canada’s Grasslands National Park to Charles Russell National Wildlife Area. They do education and outreach, facilitate state-of-the-art research, and provide professional expertise.
Their invitation to camp on the APR preserve, one of few landscape-scale grassland protected areas, offers an unparalleled 
opportunity to be close to wildlife and to interact with scientists studying key species. The night skies, remote settings, proximity to Bison, Pronghorn, Coyotes and prairie birds is well worth the adventure of two nights of catered and outfitted camping. Our yurts feature wooden floors, two twin beds and lighting. In addition to the sleeping yurts, the camp has two large yurts, one for a kitchen and one for social gathering and presentations. Toilets are porta pottys and there are hot showers (via an on demand heater) – they want to leave a very light footprint on the prairie and this is in essence, a mobile camp. Those familiar with safari in Africa will be much at home. Enjoy the night skies, delicious catered meals, the campfire and camaraderie.
Tented Camping Safari Style - American Prairie Reserve (B,L,D)
Fri., June 8 The American Prairie Reserve
From our remote base, we have time to absorb the symphony of sound at dawn, and to learn more about research being conducted in the area. Mountain Plovers have been the subject of a long-term study by Dr. Steven Dinsmore of Iowa State University and his graduate students. Geolocaters help them track the birds. Long-billed Curlews have been tracked with satellite devices and have been recorded making non-stop flights to Chihuahua, Mexico. We also hope to tour a local ranch, where stewardship of the land has produced habitat for curlews and longspurs as a byproduct of cattle management. A Greater Sage-grouse tracking project has yielded interesting results on their seasonal migration.
Not far from our camp we can overlook Fort Peck Reservoir from its other side. Lewis and Clark passed by this area of the Missouri and at scenic places like this, it is fun to read from their journals.
Wide open spaces here provide good habitat for prairie dogs, but plague and climatic factors play a role in their population fluctuations that is in turn a factor in the future survival of one of North America’s rarest mammals, the Black-footed Ferret. Pronghorn used to migrate long distances, rivaling the well-known migration of Africa’s wildebeests. A research project at APR is comparing and contrasting the differences in the way that bison and cattle use the land in relation to water. The return of the Bison has not been welcomed by all, the politics of their story makes for a lively campfire discussion.
Tented Camping Safari Style - American Prairie Reserve (B,L,D)
Sat., June 9 Zortman / Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Fred Robinson Bridge over the Missouri / Billings
We spend a few hours near camp this morning, enjoying breakfast, packing up and lingering to the now familiar chorus of meadowlarks. We drive west to the highway, looking for any species that have eluded us thus far. Mid-day we enjoy a picnic lunch near Zortman, in very different habitat – locally known as the “Little 
Rockies.” Here Quaking Aspen and conifers provide habitat for Cooper’s Hawks, Western Tanagers, Dusky Flycatchers, and possibly Red Crossbills, or Saw-whet Owls. This island mountain range amid a sea of grass has its own story, one we get a glimpse of today.
Leaving here, near the Fred Robinson Bridge of the Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuge, we take a break and scan a large cottonwood grove along the Missouri River, where we may find Eastern Kingbirds, Western Wood Pewees, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Common Nighthawks, Least Flycatchers and Ovenbirds. Black-billed Magpies and Mountain Bluebirds are seen frequently on our route from here into Billings.
Tonight, after time to clean up after our camping adventure, we enjoy a fine farewell dinner at one of Billing’s famous steakhouses.
Accommodations at the Country Inn and Suites, Billings (B,L,D)
Sun., June 10 Billings Birding Hotspots / Departures or join Yellowstone Journey Our hotel provides a shuttle to the airport, so you can fly out OF BILLINGS and be on your way at a time convenient for you. Those with flights out Noon and onward can enjoy a morning to check some of the ponds and lakes around Billings for Western and Clark’s Grebes, Common or Forster’s Terns, Cinnamon Teal or other species. We plan to be back at the airport by 11:00AM. (B)
