Migratory Birds Are Returning To Montana This Spring

Spring has officially sprung in Montana! March 20th was the first day, and with the early arrival of warm temperatures, the birds are already in action. One of the most exciting signs of spring in Montana is watching the landscape come alive with the return of migratory birds. Just this week, I've already spotted a few of these birds coming back to town.

Call me a bird nerd, but hey, we all develop more "zen" hobbies as we get older. So, if you're like me and appreciate a bit of backyard ornithology, here are five species you can expect to see soon!

These little birds are hard to miss with their vibrant colors and are nicknamed the "Treetop Treasure." The males look like a highlighter darting through the air with partially red heads, bright yellow bodies, and black wings. They typically come back to the Bozeman area in late May to mid-June from their winter grounds in southern Mexico and Central America.

This tiny but fierce little bird is one I look forward to every year. They are highly territorial and will attack birds many times their size. It has one of the longest migrations of a birds its size, traveling up to 3,000 miles from southwestern Mexico.

With a wingspan of about 6.5 feet, these giant birds migrate from Northern Mexico in the spring to their breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. During this journey, many stop in Montana; however, around 80% follow a 75-mile stretch of Nebraska's Platte River. These birds are fun to watch because you may be able to catch them dancing. Their dance consists of bowing, jumping, running, wing flapping, and tossing sticks or grass. Most of the time, the dance is for courtship, but they also do it just for fun.