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A group of birders make their way through the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20. The group was part of a bird walk led by Larry Weeks of the Five Valleys Audubon Society.

On a hot Saturday morning in August, a group of about 20 people gathered in the parking lot at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge just north Stevensville. Although the group heralded from places as near as Corvallis to as far away as Georgia and New Jersey, everyone had come together with a common goal that day — birding.

“I have FOMO with birding,” Hannah Carano, 22, of Ohio said. “Not with anything else, but I do with birding.”

Carano isn’t the only one with a fear of missing out when it comes to our feathered friends. According to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, about 45 million Americans consider themselves birders. The number of bird-watching hobbyists grew across all age groups over the pandemic with many people spending more time at home or outside amid shelter-in-place orders and restrictions on gatherings. Its popularity grew online as birders share their finds across social media networks, earning birding the moniker of potentially the most “social-media-ready” of outdoor hobbies.

“From the moment I left Ohio to here, I've seen like 70 species of birds I haven't seen before,” Carano said.

Larry Weeks plays bird calls as bird-watchers take turns looking through a spotting scope at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20.

The group was part of a bird walk led by Larry Weeks of the Five Valleys Audubon Society. Weeks has been leading bird walks with Audubon for about 20 years, and at Lee Metcalf for the past five years. At 83 years young, Weeks treks across the trails of the refuge like a man on a mission, scope and tripod in hand, the group of birders straggling behind him. “I danced all night last night too,” he chuckled with a grin.

Weeks set up his scope and tripod, pointing out different species of birds and giving members of the group a chance to get a close-up glimpse of the spotted sandpipers and lesser yellow legs feeding at the edge of a pond as he rattled off facts about nesting habits, migration patterns and habitat.

Lee Metcalf is home to a variety of songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors with over 100 documented species of bird nesting on the grounds of the 2,800-acre refuge. It’s officially recognized by the National Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area (IBA) with the Lewis’s woodpecker and red naped sapsucker as representative species, although over 240 avian species have been identified at the refuge over the years.

Swans, white pelicans and a variety of shorebirds were visible at the ponds and wetlands surrounding the visitors’ center. The group also observed numerous killdeer, Virginia rail and a handful of turkey vultures.

After a while the group moved on, following Weeks as he stopped every so often to listen and point out the calls of different birds. “Hear that little quail chirping right there,” he said as the group made their way through the wildlife viewing area to a spot overlooking the Bitterroot River.

Natalia Blades and Hannah Carano look for birds at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20. “I have FOMO with birding,” Carano said, “not with anything else, but I do with birding.”

“See those pine trees over there,” Weeks said. “See those white spots there,” he said while pointing to the tree tops. “Those are nests. That's where they have a rookery up in the trees. That's where the great blue heron nests. A lot of the egrets like nesting in trees. It’s a little unusual when you see them in pine trees like that — normally, cottonwood trees.”

The group watched intently through binoculars and spotting scopes as a great blue heron stood statuesque on the far bank. Cedar waxwings, greater yellowlegs and a Lewis’s woodpecker also joined in the riverfront show before the group slowly made their way back to their cars, discussing the array of avian specimens they had observed that day.

As they went their separate ways, some exchanged contact information as others lamented long flights home in the coming days, but it was clear, a number would be migrating back to the refuge in search of feathered friends they had yet to find.

Five Valleys Audubon Society will be hosting bird walks at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information go to fvaudubon.org, or for more information on Lee Metcalf Wildlife refuge go to fws.gov/refuge/lee-metcalf.

Walt Emann, 21, of New Jersey, examines a dead dragonfly he found on a bird walk at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Jess Abell is the editor of the Ravalli Republic. 

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A group of birders make their way through the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20. The group was part of a bird walk led by Larry Weeks of the Five Valleys Audubon Society.

Larry Weeks plays bird calls as bird-watchers take turns looking through a spotting scope at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Natalia Blades and Hannah Carano look for birds at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20. “I have FOMO with birding,” Carano said, “not with anything else, but I do with birding.”

Walt Emann, 21, of New Jersey, examines a dead dragonfly he found on a bird walk at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, Aug. 20.

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