November Program: The Secret Lives of Common Poorwills in Montana                                      

Join us for this program either IN PERSON, or VIA ZOOM!!

You may have heard of the dawn chorus, but have you heard of the midnight choir? Have you ever wondered what these nocturnal singers get up to during the day? Join Kate Stone and Mary Scofield for a presentation about a lesser-known species of nocturnal bird, the Common Poorwill! Come learn about the interesting natural history of one of Montana’s nightjar representatives and some of our fascinating research on MPG Ranch in the Bitterroot Valley. Together we will explore breeding behaviors, diet studies, and migratory movements of Common Poorwills in western Montana. And don’t worry, we’ll be sure to bring lots of pictures of adorable poorwill chicks and their stoic parents!

Kate and Mary have been studying poorwills in the Bitterroot Valley in 2015. In that time, they’ve banded 178 individuals and monitored 38 nests. They are the only people IN THE WORLD dedicating research to this amazing species. They uncover new aspects of their life history every year.

Kate Stone is a research ecologist at the MPG Ranch, a conservation property in Florence, MT. She got her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Conservation Biology at Middlebury College, and M.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana. Kate’s research focuses on a variety of topics that range from scavenger ecology to nocturnal insectivores to migratory songbirds. She is on the boards of both Bitterroot Audubon and Wild Skies Raptor Center, and also serves on the Montana Bird Records Committee. 

Mary Scofield is a field biologist at the MPG Ranch, a conservation property in Florence, MT. She got her B.S. in Biology at Pacific Lutheran University. She works on the avian science team on the nocturnal insectivore project, the Lewis’s Woodpecker project, and the migratory owl project. She has also worked with Golden Eagles overwintering in Montana, and with the California Condor Recovery Program in southern California.

Join us for this program at 7 p.m. on November 21, in person at the Victor Fire Department (2383 Meridian Rd., Victor) or via Zoom.  Apologies for again changing the venue for the in-person part of our meetings—we are looking for the right fit! 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting:

When: Nov 21, 2022 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvdumrqz4vGNThxd-yFI-An8y3B48gIKs2

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.