Far fewer birds have been seen this summer, especially over the last month (July 2026).
Compared with previous few years, trail cams in the same location are much reduced, as are live observations.
Our land is open montane, around 3300 feet.
Has anyone noticed bird trends or have ideas about this?
It’s hard to know from a few years of observations whether this is actually unusual. Bird abundance can fluctuate quite a bit from year to year, and July is also a time when many species are less conspicuous. I’d be interested to hear if anyone has longer-term observations from the area.
I’d try looking at eBird data for bird trends as the data would be much more comprehensive.
Breeding wrapped up in June. Birds are now molting their feathers, which makes flying difficult and leaves them vulnerable to predators. They are hidden as best they can. If the plant growth was more extensive this year, the birds will be virtually gone this year to trail cams.
Also, this is just a theory, but I compared your elevation and the area. I have heard that studies tracking mountain birds show that warmer temperatures are forcing species to move higher up the mountains to find the cooler climates they require. At 3,300 feet, you may be seeing the lower edge of their habitable zone dry out or warm up, pushing the birds up to 4,000+ feet.
As others have mentioned, to see if your specific ridge or valley is or is near a known spot for these drops, you can cross-reference your findings with data from the Audubon Climate Watch or log your trail cam data into places like eBird, but note for eBird you MUST SEE the birds. This would also help scientists map out exactly how open montane species are adjusting this summer. Also check out the eBird Trends Map.
Welcome to the iNat Forum, @plantmentee!
The eBird Trends Map, which Levi shared above, is pretty interesting, but the results from Flathead Lake in NW Montana are quite different from Lake Pend Oreille, which is only 100 miles west in Northern Idaho:
I think Lake Pend Oreille is around 2,000 feet elevation (2,060), whereas Flathead Lake is closer to 3,000 feet (2,894). It’s not a perfect comparison, but it might be a good starting point.
Welcome to the forum, plantmentee!
To get a large enough sample size of overall bird observations in your region, I suggest using eBird data for your county, and comparing total number of birds seen year-over-year.
Personally, when I was in northwestern Montana this past April, I was quite pleasantly surprised at how many birds I saw there. Not only the total number of birds, but the diversity, was quite impressive. I even saw a White-winged Cossbill, which was a lifer for me!
This year has been a really bad drought year and a lots of things are really off. (At least where I live in SW Montana.)
Just to clarify, it is common to mistake these for simple population maps, but they actually show changes in relative abundance over time (usually a 10-year or 15-year window I think).
(According to https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/abundance-maps )
Certain caveats apply to the map as well:
On that note, eBird Trends calculate population changes within 27x27 km cells mentioned. Looking purely at Google Maps and eBird, Flathead Lake is fairly large and sits right on the edge of the steeper Mission Mountains, meaning its grid cells bundle flat valleys with high alpine terrain. Lake Pend Oreille is narrower, deeper, and buffered by different habitats. The map isn’t just measuring the water; it is averaging everything inside those grids.
This is a mere possibility as I’d have to hear from the local birders, but because the trend models calculate the “probability of an expert detecting a bird in 1 hour,” they are sensitive to where people bird. If most eBird checklists around Lake Pend Oreille are submitted from lowland lake trails, but most Flathead checklists are coming from the surrounding 3,300+ ft open montane hillsides, the model’s math will reflect different habitats.
Regarding the specific species, the warblers’ steady adaptability and the decline/movement of the hawks is normal. The Northern Pintails and Great Blue Herons are where the info interests me. They rely heavily on stable water levels, wetlands, and shallow shorelines for nesting and foraging. Apparently, Flathead Lake is highly regulated for hydropower and suffers quicker evaporation on its drier, continental side of the mountains during regional droughts. Lake Pend Oreille is deeper, narrower, and fed by a different snowpack system (im not sure how much the different snowpack system would change the waters, but it could be something to look into if I really wanted to know as a local). I’m guessing the data suggests that breeding waterbirds are abandoning fluctuating shoreline conditions at Flathead Lake and using their breeding efforts westward toward the habitats in Northern Idaho. Outside of the breeding season they might feel more comfortable at a moving shoreline and the difference wouldn’t be noticeable, I don’t know. The truth is birds will be where they are most comfortable while breeding; this makes data look poorly described, but in reality it could just be a habitat difference only noticeable by local birders. If you look on eBird for the top birders in the area and contact them, you might get more info.
Does that answer the questions you mentioned in the other thread?
Also, if you want scientific insights or are working on a project or just researching, you can try emailing the eBird team for the data; as they do provide the data sheets promptly! You can give them the time window you are focusing on (for example, year 2020 to year 2026 - pelagic birds) and you can also add why you want to know that specific data.
This perfectly ties into my other comment then, If the breeding birds are avoiding the drought and moving towards Idaho for the brief period of post-breeding dispersal you will notice less birds @plantmentee
