(continued from Big Hole, Big Day, Part One)

On the way to Dillon we stopped to admire First-of-Year Swainson’s Hawks and Western Kingbirds, many more Bald Eagles and one more Golden. Then, after a quick lunch at Sparky’s Garage, we cruised Central Street, Blue Jays in mind. A yard here received a pair daily, according to eBird, but we struck out. However, at the end of the street we were about to turn around when a black bird with a tail like a boat rudder flew across the road. Common Grackle! We followed it and soon found its buddies hanging out at a feeder. These birds are harder to find in western Montana than most places, so seeing them was a treat.

Common Grackles at Feeder in Dillon, MT (photo by Sneed B. Collard III)

Surprisingly, the feeder and others nearby also were covered in finches—Cassin’s Finches! We had been seeing them at our feeder recently as well, and these sightings pretty much confirmed it was an irruption year for them.

Finally reaching the Big Hole, we began our exploration of the Bannack area by driving four or five miles down Bannack Bench Road, which supposedly harbored Greater Sage-Grouse, Gray Flycatchers, Sagebrush Sparrows and Sage Thrashers, the latter three all Great Basin specialties. The birds shunned us, but where the road met the main road into the State Park, we picked up Mountain Bluebirds, a pair of Barn Swallows, and two Cinnamon Teal floating down Grasshopper Creek.

Hiking around the ghost town itself triggered a flood of memories and even more bird species. Rock and House Wrens sang from the hillsides, Red-naped Sapsuckers drummed on cottonwoods, and a surprisingly large flock of Clark’s Nutcrackers called from the scrub.

Wilson’s Snipe along Bannack Bench Road (photo by Braden Collard)

As the afternoon lengthened, we decided to give Bannack Bench Road one more try and were rewarded by a single Sage Thrasher, a Lifer for us. As the road emptied out into farmland, we also encountered a snipe singing on a fence, the coolest experience we’d ever had with one! Approaching and passing Clark Canyon Reservoir, we added White Pelican, Sandhill Crane, Northern Shoveler, Common Loon and Prairie Falcon to our day lists before tiredly making our way to Butte for the night.

The next morning, we rounded out our weekend with a visit to Warm Springs before heading home. There, we saw an impressive variety of ducks and grebes, including an insane number of Cinnamon Teal. Taking a final drive out to the Ducks Unlimited Ponds, we suddenly heard a loud, alien call. My dad looked at me and said, “Sora?” We leaped from the car and within minutes, spotted a small, chicken-like bird scrambling through some cattails while two other Soras called nearby. It was a Montana Lifer for us, and an awesome way to end a memorable “Global Big Weekend.”

Sora photographed on South Padre Island, Texas (photo by Sneed B. Collard III)