Bird Watching

The Bitterroot Valley is close to many fantastic places to bird. We host a wide range of habitat types, including cottonwood bottomlands, ponderosa pine forest, grasslands, sagebrush, as well as subalpine and alpine habitats.

NEW! Visit the Daly Mansion and use our Interpretive Bird Walk Brochure! Thanks to Becky Lovejoy for making it!

eBird is a great resource to help you find places in the Bitterroot to bird. From the eBird website, go to Explore Data, then Explore a Region. If you enter "Ravalli" for Ravalli County, you will find information on the abundance and seasonanity of individual species, recent checklists, and links to area birding Hotspots. Here are some checklists from some of our best eBird hotspots. Feel free to download, and remember, the checklists are only as good as the observations people submit. So please do your part and submit a checklist for any place you visit!!

Hotspots in the Bitterroot Mountains or west side of the valley:

Checklist for Bass Creek Trail

Checklist for Blodgett Canyon Trailhead

Checklist for Blodgett Overlook Trailhead

Checklist for Cow Creek Rd. (burned 2005)

Checklist for Florence-Carlton High School

Checklist for Kootenai Creek Trail

Checklist for Lake Como

Checklist for Larry Creek Rd

Checklist for Lost Horse Creek Campground

Hotspots in the Sapphire Mountains or east side of the valley:

Checklist for Middle Burnt Fork Rd.

Checklist for Willoughby 40 Park

Hotspots within the Bitterroot River Important Bird Area:

The Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge is one of the first places a Bitterroot Birder will suggest you visit. The Bitterroot River and associated bottomland forest, as well as a series of man-made ponds, offer a wide-variety of birding opportunities. The Refuge is an especially great place to view waterfowl of all kinds. The Refuge also hosts a number of educational events and has an outstanding Visitor's Center. Please visit their website for additional information.

Checklist for Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge

Checklist for Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge- Waterfowl Lane Drive

Checklist for Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge- Kenai Trail

Checklist for Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge- Wildlife Viewing Area

Other hotspots within the IBA include:

Checklist for Bass Creek FAS

Checklist for Bell Crossing FAS

Checklist for Chief Looking Glass FAS

Checklist for Florence Bridge FAS

Checklist for Poker Joe FAS

Checklist for Stevensville River Park

Checklist for Tucker Crossing East