Bozeman Magazine

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park is pleased to continue our 2021 events by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count! What began as the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds now attracts over 265,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide to join the four-day count each February.

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 limit of 10 participants can also join park staff for an approximate 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 am. The walk will last 2-3 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!

To reserve your spot on the hike, contact Zack at zack.story@mt.gov by Thurs Feb. 11.

What: Great Backyard Bird Count
When: Zoom Talk: Thurs. Feb. 11th at 6:00 pm
Park Supported Birding: Fri. Feb. 12th – Mon. Feb. 15th
Guided Birding Walk: Sun. Feb. 14th