Wildlife Viewing and Birding Opportunities - Part Of Your All-Inclusive Vacation Package

Are you looking for a Montana all-inclusive vacation package which includes opportunities to watch birds and wildlife? Are you seeking a 'family friendly' adventure vacation package?

Wildlife and birds are at home here in Montana's Centennial Valley. Your all-inclusive adventure vacation package includes guided excursions to visit their hangouts. Many of our coveted attractions come from thousands of miles away just to delight your eyes. Others live here year-round. With over 250 bird species plus nearly every mammal species, except Bison, which call Yellowstone National Park home, you'll find wildlife and birding opportunities abound just outside your cabin door!

Whether you're looking for an all-inclusive adventure vacation package or wanting to custom design your own adventure, we're here to help.

The goal of wildlife viewing or bird watching is to see them, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, your goal is to see wildlife, but no, that isn't the only goal. Ideally you want to see wildlife without them seeing you (or at least without your presence bothering them). This way you get to watch the animals or birds for a longer period of time (they aren't trying to get away), and you get to observe them doing what they normally do. This is how a 'naturalist' views wildlife. This is how you will learn the most about nature. Here are a few tips to make your wildlife viewing / bird watching adventure more successful and rewarding.

• Plan on viewing early and late. Although birds are active most parts of the day (with activity at its lowest during the hottest part of the day), most wildlife is active early in the morning and shortly before dusk. During the heat of the day, they are usually holed up somewhere cool and comfortable. Cloudy days are typically better days for seeing wildlife and birds than bright sunny days. In addition, if you can plan your wildlife viewing trips on days after nights when there is a new moon, or a small moon, they are more likely to be active during the day (since they can't see as well to feed at night).
• What to look for. Find a spot and just look around. Watch for movement. You'll first see the animals that are running, flying, or swimming. Keep looking. With patience you may see the bird watching you in the tree, the rabbit huddled in the tall grass nearby, the squirrel hanging from the nearby tree-trunk, and the deer standing nearly motionless in the aspens just across the meadow. Also watch for shape and color. In addition, watch for animal homes - holes in trees, nests, dens in the ground, and spider webs. Watch for signs of animal presence - rubbed trees where the deer or elk have been rubbing their antlers, chewed willows where the moose have been grazing, fresh digs where ground squirrel, moles, or badgers have been at work, nests, dams, tracks, and more.
• How to look. Quiet active viewing is often the most effective, but can be quite a challenge for younger family members. Sometimes you can find something unique for them to 'draw' in their journals while you wait to see what wildlife will appear. Often, once the wildlife has become visible, they will be more content to just 'look', especially if they don't get excited and scare away their new found friend.
  In addition to looking quietly, it helps to look around. If you stare at the same spot for a long time, your eyes will often fail to see movement, even when it is there. An old Indian trick calls for using your side vision and not looking directly in any direction. Don't forget to use all your senses. If you're quiet, your ears will tell you an animal is nearby, even before your eyes spot the source of the sound. And, don't be afraid to use spotting scopes and binoculars. In fact, for younger children, a cheap pair of binoculars can keep them quiet and busy for quite a while.
• A few more tips. Use the lay of the land. Try to blend in with the trees, rocks, or a hollow in the ground. If you make yourself less visible, you're less likely to be spotted by the animals before you see them. When you move, move slowly. In addition, don't pour on the perfume before leaving your cabin. Use the wind direction. Try to keep it blowing in your face - thus your scent isn't being cared to the animals you are trying to spot.
• Finally - never, ever approach wildlife or disturb young animals. Don't touch a bird's nest or disturb an animal's den. Avoid surprising the wildlife you are observing. Don't surround wildlife in your excitement. Don't get between a young animal and its mother. Even a small mammal will often fight to the death to protect her young. Leave your pets at home. Don't attempt to feed any wildlife.

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There are several fun, simple learning activities and experiments which you can do as a family before, during, and after your outdoor adventures to extend your fun and increase your children's awareness of the great outdoors. Here are a few ideas specifically related to bird life which you can do as you hike, horseback ride, fish, or take a wildlife / birding jaunt.

• Identify the preferred habitat locations (water, sage brush meadows, heavy timber, and even around the lodge) of a few birds. Identify at least one species in each habitat setting. (Do you have your guidebook nearby? If not, we'll provide one.) Watch your bird for a bit and see if you can see 'where' it lives, 'what' it eats, and how it spends its time. For example, a Mallard duck lives mostly on the water, spends most of its time floating around a lake, creek, river, or pond, and eats aquatic plants and animals. Now, compare that to a tree swallow which lives in the grasslands (or around the lodge), prefers bird houses or cavities to nest in, eats millions of bugs, and spends most of its time in the air. To further add to this learning experience, encourage your children to journal what they've learned - and to draw pictures of the bird species they've identified with each habitat area.
• What makes a bird a bird? Talk about the four characteristics which make a bird a bird (three of which separate birds from other mammals). Ask your children if they can guess them (warm-blooded - like all mammals, feathers - unique to birds, hard-shelled eggs - unique to birds, hollow bones - also unique to birds). Then discuss the importance of each of these features at it relates to a bird's life.
  • Warm blooded - this allows birds to maintain the high levels of energy and metabolic rate necessary for flight. It might be fun to talk about the vulnerability of the hummingbird due to its small size (as it, too, is warm-blooded).
  • Feathers - Feathers come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The smallest feathers are only 1/20th of an inch (on a bird's eyelid). The largest are 5 feet long (on a male peacock's tail). They also range in number per bird. A hummingbird has 1,000 feathers, a swan 25,000.
    There are two types of feathers: contour which cover the body and have a strong hollow shaft and a network of hooks or barbules, and down which are small and lie under the contour feathers to protect the bird from cold and sunburn. Birds care for their feathers by preening (which replaces the oil in the feathers and 're-hooks' the barbules). However, feathers do wear out and are replaced about once a year in a process called molting.
  • Hard-Shelled eggs - Bird eggs are made mostly of calcium carbonate. Their hard shells keep them from drying out and allows the parents to sit on them during the incubation period. Even these hardshelled eggs have microscopic pores which allow oxygen to pass into and carbon dioxide to exit the shell.
    Eggs come in various shapes and sizes. Colored and speckled eggs are laid in areas where they need to be camouflaged. White eggs are laid by birds which nest in cavities. Patterned eggs are laid by birds who make their nests in the grass or among small stones.
    The shape of the egg is also determined by the bird's nest. The most common shape is oval (like a chicken egg). Eggs laid on ledges have a pointed end so they won't roll off (for example a vulture's egg). Round eggs are commonly found in cavities (like an owl). Birds that lay many eggs (like a Bobwhite) have pointed eggs allowing the mother to incubate a greater number of eggs. Birds also lay a varying number of eggs. A seagull may only lay one egg, a robin three to five, and a bobwhite up to thirty!
    The texture of eggs also varies. A chicken's egg is coarse. A robin's egg is smooth. The smallest eggs (1/2 inch) are laid by a hummingbird. The largest (8 inches) is laid by an ostrich.
  • Hollow Bones - Just because a bird has feathers doesn't mean it could fly. Extremely lightweight bones are needed for flying. Bird bones are strong and hollow, with internal bracing. Many bird bones are fused together which increases the bone strength.
  • Some fun projects -
    • See how many different bird feathers you can find. Determine whether the feather is contour or down. See if you can figure out what bird it came from.
    • If it is the right time of year, look for nests. Carefully, to not disturb the mother bird, look at the nest and its contents. This is best accomplished by finding a location slightly higher than the nest and at a distance away and looking at it through binoculars.
    • Try crushing a raw chicken egg with your bare hands. Your children will find it is not possible because the contour of the egg distributes the pressure points.
    • Compare a chicken leg bone to an animal leg bone. Note the differences in weight and hollowness (or lack of)
• Categories of Birds. Different species of birds are categorized according to their similar characteristics. For examples waders like the Long-Billed Curlew and the Blue Heron, wetland species like ducks and swans, raptors like hawks and eagles, grassland birds like quail and grouse. Get out your bird guide book. Look at how the birds are classed according to their characteristics. Observe the similarities between birds of each class - wing shape, body shape, beak shape, foot shape, etc. Discuss how these characteristics help them adapt to their habitat locations. Then take a walk. Try to identify the 'class' to which each bird you see belongs. Look for their unique physical characteristics which will help you determine the class.

• A House is a House, or not. Birds use a variety of materials to build their nests. Some birds make their nest on the ground (meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, killdeer). Some birds make their nests above ground in the branches of trees and bushes (blue jay, robin). Some birds nest in tree cavities (nuthatch, bluebird, flicker). Some birds construct nests on floating mats of vegetation (coot, grebe). Some birds build their nests in the eaves of buildings (swallows, starlings). Each bird uses a variety of different materials to build their nest - grass, moss, hair, feathers, mud, yarn, plastic strips, string, paper, and aluminum foil can be found in various bird nests.
• A fun project. Have your children gather a variety of materials and 'build' a nest. First they must determine the type of bird they represent. Then they need to build a nest to accommodate their 'eggs' and 'young'. Encourage them to use only to fingers (to simulate a bird's beak). Discuss the advantages of different nest locations - and their disadvantages. Then take a walk and see how many nests they can find (do not disturb them). Examine the nest (if there are no birds or eggs present) to determine of what it is made. Also discuss what kind of bird might be using this particular nest.
• Another fun project. Using hard boiled eggs and paint - have your children paint their eggs to try and camouflage them for specific locations (grasses, stones, trees, sand). Then take their painted eggs to the actual location and see how well their camouflage works.
• Pine Cone Bird Feeder. This project will require you to gather a few supplies beforehand (or check with us - we may have everything you need). For each feeder you will need as large of a pine cone (an open one works best) as you can find. Vegetable shortening, lard, or suet. Oats or cornmeal. Bird seed. A few feet of string.
  Tie a few feet of string to the pine cone. Cover the pine cone with a mixture of 1/2 cup shortening, lard, or suet mixed with 2 1/2 cups of cornmeal or uncooked oats until well blended. You can add dried fruit (chopped up) chopped nuts, seeds (especially sunflower and millet), and/or suet, which are high-energy bird foods. Roll the coated pine cone in bird seed and then suspend it from a tree branch outside (near your cabin).
• Build a Bird. One last project we can provide you the 'tools' to do is building a few birds. This is just a cut and paste project which enhances what your children have already been learning. Ask us for the supplies if you're interest.

• Birding with Children - this site has lots of bird information, and this page is designed specifically with children in mind.