Birdwatching

Abundant birdlife live in our area and thousands of species migrate across our skies. The opportunity to see bald and golden eagles, great horned owls, prairie songbirds, and hundreds of species of shorebirds and waterfowl, draw birders and visitors from the U.S. and abroad. Northeastern Montana is part of the famed Prairie Pothole region, the most important waterfowl habitat on this continent.  

Nearby Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of 500 globally significant bird areas in this country. Springtime at the Refuge offers rare views of the dramatic courtship dance of the sharp-tail grouse and thousands of American White pelicans nesting in their breeding grounds. Optimum birdwatching season is April through October. Avid birders are captivated by the peace of our vast big sky country as they discover its quiet beauty and the treasures it holds.

Skywatching

Northeastern Montana’s crystal clear skies make it one of the best places for star-gazing in the continental United States. After the sun sets and our Big Sky turns velvet black, the Milky Way appears, stretching across the night sky and surrounded by countless stars, planets, and other galaxies. You can see shooting stars or track the trajectory of a satellite.

Astronomy buffs and star lovers alike will be dazzled by the rise of the Harvest moon, the clear outline of constellations like the Northern Cross, and, on occasion, meteor showers, comets, and the spectacular aurora borealis or Northern Lights.

Although watching the drama of the night skies from a wheat field offers an indescribable rush, there is also the “ordinary” pleasure of watching a color-streaked Montana sunrise or sunset. During the day you can observe weather changes coming across the vast skies, delight in the stunning “cloud paintings” overhead, or witness rainbows and sundogs arching over the prairie.