Each year during early June I lead a bird hike along the Beaver Pond loop trail on the east side of Glacier National Park near St. Mary with fellow Park Ranger Naturalists as a bit of a refresher. It’s a good chance for me to knock the rust off my ears and enjoy this spectacular park in the early season. Most years we end up finding 40+ species including drumming Ruffed Grouse, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Mountain Bluebird, Gray Catbird, lots of Macgillivray’s Warblers, and a couple Western Tanagers.
The walk in 2019 was fun and exciting with great birds as always. A Cassin’s Vireo confused me momentarily because I was trying to make the call into that of a Dusky Flycatcher. I don’t hear Cassin’s Vireos on the east side of the park very often so I wasn’t expecting it. The most interesting find, however was a Black-backed Woodpecker nest hole. It isn’t easy to find unless you happen to see the birds using it. But, the adults should be in the area. From the trailhead walk along the low portion of the trail so you are taking the loop counter clockwise. Pass the small wetland and start heading uphill through the Douglas fir trees. You will eventually enter a taller spruce-fir forest that is alive and transitioning into a forest that was part of the 2006 Red Eagle fire. The nest is on the left side of the trail somewhere before you get into the burn and five minutes walk before you hit the big clearing.
I checked this site again in 2022 and there were still Black-backed Woodpeckers using the nest hole – or at least one in a similar location. Good Birding!
