MONTANA: Glacier National Park & the Rockies
July 5 to 14, 2012
Sorry. This tour is full. We are taking names on a wait list.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Often described as one of “the last great places,” Montana offers excellent summer birding amid spectacular and varied scenery. We’ll start the tour sampling wetlands and prairies on the eastern front of the Rockies, then head northwest to internationally-renowned Glacier National Park, where we’ll have four days to soak up the scenery while searching for alpine and boreal birds. The park is also well-known for viewing opportunities of large mammals including bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and others. Tearing ourselves away, we’ll drop south to Missoula, and spend time birding coniferous mountain forests and meadows in and around beautiful Lolo Pass for a variety of forest birds. Species we hope to see include Trumpeter Swan, Dusky & Sharp-tailed Grouse, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Prairie Falcon, Black & Vaux’s Swifts, American Dipper, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Varied Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, McCown’s & Chestnut-collared Longspurs, White-winged Crossbill, and Pine Grosbeak.
ACTIVITY LEVEL:
 |
Moderate |
PACE, WEATHER, AND TRAVEL CONDITIONS:
Our days in the field usually begin about 7:00 a.m. and will end about 6:00 p.m. On most days lunches will be in the field (we have coolers for cold food and drinks), and we will provide time at grocery stores to get them before the day begins. The trip involves moderate amounts of walking, including moderately strenuous hikes on hilly/rocky terrain and at high elevations.
Temperatures will be cool to warm, though early morning and evening may be a bit nippy. Expect a wide temperature range from approximately 40-80F degrees. Rain or thunderstorms are always possible, so be prepared with a poncho or rain jacket. The sun is very strong, especially at this time of year, so sunscreen and a brimmed hat are advised. Biting insects such as mosquitoes may be present at some locations.
Travel during this tour will be in vans, with no more than 7 participants plus a leader in one "12 person" van. Tour size is limited to 12 participants.
Additional information about the tour, with specific meeting times, a list of participants, addresses of motels, lists of things to bring, a reading list, a list of probable/possible birds, further information about weather, dress, etc., will be mailed to all participants well in advance of the tour.
DATES: Thursday July 5, 2012 (meet at our hotel in Great Falls at 7:00 pm) to Saturday July 14, 2012 (flights home anytime)
PRICE: Cost for this tour is $2095 based on double occupancy. Single supplement, if you request single occupancy, or we are unable to find a suitable roommate for you, is $300. A deposit of $500 will hold your place until May 5, 2012 when full payment becomes due.
PRICE INCLUDES: Motel accommodations for 9 nights, tour leadership, ground transportation while in Montana, and entrance fees to all areas on the itinerary.
NOT INCLUDED: Meals, items of a personal nature, or airfare to/from Great Falls.
SEND DEPOSITS & OTHER PAYMENTS TO:
NJ Audubon Eco-Travel,
9 Hardscrabble Rd,
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
tel. 908-204-8998 x10
Or by email to
travel@njaudubon.orgPlease make checks payable to New Jersey Audubon.
TOUR LEADERS:
Scott Barnes began birding at the age of twelve and has been an avid naturalist ever since. Encouragement and learning came from his parents and many birders, including members of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and staff of New Jersey Audubon. An interest in travel and natural history has led him from northwestern Alaska to the desert southwest to Trinidad and Tobago in search of plants and animals. Scott is an eBird regional editor and manages the NJ eBird portal, writes the “Voice of New Jersey Audubon” weekly rare bird alert, compiles the Sandy Hook Christmas Bird Count, is a ten-year member and former chair of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee, leader on See Life Paulagics boat trips, and assistant director for the NJ Audubon Eco-Travel. Scott has led NJ Audubon tours to nineteen states and four countries.
Linda Mack’s interest in birding began more than twenty years ago on a Cape May Weekend and she has been hooked ever since. She is a member of New Jersey Audubon’s Board of Directors, an Associate Naturalist, and bookstore co-manager at Sandy Hook Bird Observatory. She is a past President, Program Chair, and Conservation Chair for Monmouth County Audubon Society. Linda has a special interest in seabirds and other coastal species; she co-leads pelagic birding trips off New Jersey with See Life Paulagics. Linda has traveled extensively throughout North America studying birds and natural history, with multiple trips to California, Montana, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and Florida. Her infectious enthusiasm and willingness to share knowledge is well known. She has co-led tours to New Mexico, Nebraska’s Platte River, the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Big Bend and the Davis Mountains, Southeast Arizona, and is a regular leader on SHBO's long weekend trips to coastal Massachusetts, the Adirondack Mountains, and Bombay Hook, as well as the Cape May Spring and Fall Weekends.