Habitat variety abounds making the Centennial Valley prime birding. Open water, mud flats, aspen stands, willows, grass, sagebrush flats and uplands, conifer forests, rocky outcroppings, and alpine settings combine
to make Red Rock Lakes Refuge a bird friendly environment. Elk Lake Resort enjoys its own 'micro-habitat' with a variety of habitat areas - in and around Elk Lake. A brief list, from one man's day in the valley, will give you an idea of an 'average' bird watching excursion.
Summer offers great bird watching around Elk Lake Resort. Specific 'habitats' offer unique viewing opportunities. Some birds regularly seen around Elk Lake Resort include:
- Common snipes, House Wrens (nest at Elk Lake Resort), Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Song Sparrow
In the Willows:
- In the Woodlands:
- Wood Peewee, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Kinglets, Western Tanager, White Crowned Sparrow, and Cassin's Finch
- Around Elk Lake:
- American avocet, Spotted Sandpiper, Marsh willow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird
- Ducks, Canadian geese, Trumpeter Swans, and Ospreys (active nest near Elk Lake)
On the Lake:
- In the Open Areas:
- Mountain bluebirds (nest at Elk Lake Resort), Tree Swallows (nest at Elk Lake Resort), Barn Swallows (nest at Elk Lake Resort), Sandhill Cranes (nest nearby), and raptors including - Bald Eagles (nest near Elk Lake), Golden Eagles (nest near Hidden Lake), Red-Tail Hawks (nest above Elk Lake), Peregrine Falcons (nest near Hidden Lake), Great Horned Owls (seen near Elk Lake Resort), and Burrowing Owls (seen regularly along Elk Lake Road), to name a few.
- Rare Birds: Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge lists birds observed infrequently or birds considered outside of their normal range.
- Great Egret (spotted in the past along Elk Springs Creek)
- Whooping Crane
- Wood Duck (observed nesting up at Hidden Lake)
- Turkey Vulture (sighting near Elk Lake Resort)
- Dunlin
- Northern Mockingbird
- Northern Parula
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Northern Oriole
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak (seen on Elk Lake Road)
- Grasshopper Sparrow
- Rock Dove
Winter is harsh in the Centennial. Only a few bird species are found at this time. According to Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge, one can still spot the following birds - many are visible at and around Elk Lake Resort.
- Belted Kingfisher
- American Dipper
- Northern Goshawk
- Golden and Bald Eagles
- Blue and Ruffled Grouse
- Great Grey and Great Horned Owls
- Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers
- Steller's Jay
- Black Billed Magpie
- Clark's Nutcracker
- Common Raven
- Black Capped and Mountain Chickadees
- White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches
- Pine Grosbeak
- Red Crossbill
- Pine Siskin
-
Trumpeter Swan
- Canadian Goose
- Mallard
- Common and Barrow's Goldeneye
- American Widgeon
- Bufflehead
- Hooded Merganser
- Although Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge does not list them as resident - Sharp-Tail Grouse, considered by some to be nearly endangered, have lived at Elk Lake for several winters.
A few birds are only seen on Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge in the winter - heading north in the spring. These include:
- Northern Shrike
- Rough-legged Hawk
- Snow Bunting
- American Tree Sparrow
- Common Redpole
- Rosy Finch
Return to our Montana vacation lodge home page.
Bird Site Links: Links to pages of interest to bird lovers of all ages!
- ENature.com: This link will take you directly to enature's birding information for the Rocky Mountain Region.
- ENature.com: Found a bird you don't recognize. Let enature help you figure out what it is. With categories and pictures, this website makes it easy (well, most of the time).
- KidzKonnect: A nice page with lots of links specifically intended for kids!