|
Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the central part of the U.S. state of Montana. Location It lies in northern Cascade County, north of the city of Great Falls, Montana. Benton Lake NWR includes, Benton Lake, shortgrass prairie and seasonal wetlands, and is nearly surrounded by the Highwood Mountains to the east, Big Belt Mountains to the south, and the Rocky Mountains to the west. Benton Lake NWR is on the western edge of the northern Great Plains and much of the shallow lake is a wetland. Benton Lake NWR is the centerpiece of the Benton Lake NWR Complex, which includes Swan Valley Conservation Area, Swan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton Lake Wetland Management District, Blackfoot Valley Conservation Area and the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area. The complex encompasses an area of and the headquarters is located in Great Falls, Montana. Ecology During spring and fall migrations, up to 150,000 ducks, 2,500 Canada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cascade County, Montana
Cascade County (''cascade'' means ''waterfall'' in French) is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,414, making it the fifth-most populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Great Falls. Cascade County comprises the Great Falls, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Cascade County was the territory of the Blackfeet. The county was named for the falls on the Missouri River. The United States Army at one time had Fort Shaw as an outpost in the northwest part of the county. Only a small settlement is left by that name, a CDP. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. The Missouri River and the Sun River flow through the county, and meet at the city of Great Falls. A portion of the Adel Mountains Volcanic Field is in the southwest corner of the county. The Rocky Mountains are in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), an uneducated, small-time club fighter and debt collector gets an unlikely shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers). ''Rocky'' entered development in March 1975, after Stallone wrote the screenplay in three days. It entered a complicated production process after Stallone refused to allow the film to be made without him in the lead role; United Artists eventually agreed to cast Stallone after he rejected a six figure deal for the film rights. Principal photography began in January 1976, with filming primarily held in Philadelphia; several locations featured in the film, such as the Rocky Steps, are now considered cultural landmarks. With an estimated production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prairie Falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40 in), and average weight of 720 g (1.6 lb). As in all falcons, females are noticeably bigger than males. Though a separate species from the peregrine, the prairie falcon is basically an arid environment adaptation of the early peregrine falcon lineage, able to subsist on less food than the peregrine, and generally lighter in weight than a peregrine of similar wing span. Having evolved in a harsh desert environment with low prey density, the prairie falcon has developed into an aggressive and opportunistic hunter of a wide range of both mammal and bird prey. It will regularly take prey from the size of sparrows to approximately its own weight, and occasionally much larger. It is the only larger falcon native only to North America. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of prey, birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels. Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as . They build large bird nest, nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bald Eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as the bald eagle in the Palearctic. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to deep, wide, and in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years. Bald eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grebe
Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably in stable lakes. The order contains a single family, the Podicipedidae, which includes 22 species in six extant genera. Although, superficially, they resemble other diving birds such as loons and coots, they are most closely related to flamingos, as supported by morphological, molecular and paleontological data. Many species are monogamous and are known for their courtship displays, with the pair performing synchronized dances across the water's surface. The birds build floating vegetative nests where they lay several eggs. About a third of the world's grebes are listed at various levels of conservation concerns—the biggest threats including habitat loss, the introduction of invasive predatory fish and human poaching. As such, three spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willet
The willet (''Tringa semipalmata'') is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper, and is the largest of the species called "shanks" in the genus ''Tringa''. Its closest relative is the lesser yellowlegs, a much smaller bird with a very different appearance apart from the fine, clear, and dense pattern of the neck, which both species show in breeding plumage. It breeds in North America and the West Indies and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America. Taxonomy The willet was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the genus '' Scolopax'' and coined the binomial name ''Scolopax semipalmata''. Gmelin based his description on the "semipalmated snipe" from New York that had been described in 1785 by both the English ornithologist John Latham and by the Welsh natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalarope
__NOTOC__ A phalarope is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus ''Phalaropus'' of the bird family Scolopacidae. Phalaropes are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the ''Actitis'' and Terek sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids. They are especially notable for two things: their unusual nesting behavior, and their unique feeding technique. Two species, the red or grey phalarope (''Phalaropus fulicarius'') and the red-necked phalarope (''P. lobatus'') breed around the Arctic Circle and winter on tropical oceans. Wilson's phalarope (''P. tricolor'') breeds in western North America and migrates to South America. All are in length, with lobed toes and a straight, slender bill. Predominantly grey and white in winter, their plumage develops reddish markings in summer. Taxonomy The genus ''Phalaropus'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the red phalarope (''Phalaropus fulicarius'') as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avocet
The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) word . Francis Willughby in 1678 noted it as the "Avosetta of the Italians". Biology Avocets have long legs and they sweep their long, thin, upcurved bills from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. Their plumage is pied, sometimes also with some red. Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures. They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In estuarine settings, they may feed on exposed bay muds or mudflats. The pied avocet is the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Taxonomy The genus ''Recurvirostra'' was introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his to contain a sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin's Gull
Franklin's gull (''Leucophaeus pipixcan'') is a small (length 12.6–14.2 in, 32–36 cm) gull. The genus name ''Leucophaeus'' is from Ancient Greek ''leukos'', "white", and ''phaios'', "dusky". The specific ''pipixcan'' is a Nahuatl name for a type of gull. Description It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern United States. It is a migratory bird, wintering in Argentina, the Caribbean, Chile, and Peru. The summer adult's body is white and its back and wings are much darker grey than all other gulls of similar size except the larger laughing gull. The wings have black tips with an adjacent white band. The bill and legs are red. The black hood of the breeding adult is mostly lost in winter. Young birds are similar to the adult but have less developed hoods and lack the white wing band. They take three years to reach maturity. Measurements: * Length: 12.6-14.2 in (32-36 cm) * Weight: 8.1-10.6 oz (230-300 g) * Wingspan: 33.5-37.4 in (85-9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They are often dominated by grasses, rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, and the marsh is sometimes called a carr. This form of vegetation is what differentiates marshes from other types of wetland such as swamps, which are dominated by trees, and mires, which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic peat. Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals. This biological productivity means that marshes contain 0.1% of global sequestered terrestrial carbon. Moreover, they have an outsized influence on climate resi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tundra Swan
The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the whistling swan (''C. columbianus'') proper of the Nearctic. Birds from eastern Russia (roughly east of the Taymyr Peninsula) are sometimes separated as the subspecies ''C. c. jankowskii'', but this is not widely accepted as distinct, with most authors including them in ''C. c. bewickii''. Tundra swans are sometimes separated in the subgenus ''Olor'' together with the other Arctic swan species. Bewick's swan was named in 1830 by William Yarrell after the engraver Thomas Bewick, who specialised in illustrations of birds and animals. ''Cygnus'' is the Latin for "swan", and '' columbianus'' comes from the Columbia River, the type locality. Description ''C. columbianus'' is the smallest of the Holarctic swans, at in length, in wingspan and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Bald Eagle")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Avocet")
