 Quiet. Hear that rustling through the trees? Look: three elk — two cows and a
yearling — are chewing sage in the clearing through the pines. It’s late spring
and the snow is all but melted from the ridge tops. There is plenty of snow
still up high, on the tops of the peaks, but here, about halfway between the
valley and the peaks, the snow has been replaced by bright green shoots of
grasses, forbs, bushes, trees and about every other growing plant, and the
animals are hungry. This is a great spot from which to watch.
Ask any hunter what their favorite aspects of hunting are, and almost
all will tell you that watching the animals ranks up toward the top. So
it’s a bit surprising more people, hunters and non-hunters alike, aren’t
tromping around the mountains looking for animals, especially since there
are so many to see in western Montana. Maybe that’s because some people
confuse wildlife spotting with wildlife watching, but they are different:
spotting can happen at any time, while hiking, paddling, skiing — any
activity that puts you in the outdoors. But wildlife watching is
the activity; it’s a deliberate effort to find animals in their natural
habitat and watch and observe from a safe distance.
You likely won’t bag any peaks or make many river miles if you’re just
out to find the animals, but you will be rewarded nonetheless. Little
beats looking for, and finding, that moose along the willows of Bear
Creek at dusk, or finding a rookery of blue herons along the Bitterroot
River in the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge.
Watching animals can be thrilling. Watch long enough, and you will see
them do something you never imagined, from funny to fascinating. But to
find them, you have to know a bit about their behavior, and all animals
act differently. Many birds, especially once that live along the water,
can be seen all day. Bald eagles, for instance, can sit still on a perch
for long stretches of time, but if you know to look about half way up or
higher on a dead tree near the water, and to search for their dark body
and white cap, you may have an easier time finding one.
Some animals lay low during the brightest party of the day — they
literally will lie down among the tall grasses or in the thick woods.
But come dusk, they are actively looking for food and water. Moose like
swampy areas. Elk and deer like places with plenty of fresh, green shots
to chew on. For those more adventurous, bears can be incredible creature
to watch. Many bear-gazers will head up to Glacier National Park, where
the animals live in higher numbers — though black bears, smaller that
Grizzlies, live all over western Montana. Watching bears should only be
done carefully — you can have problems if you approach to close.
And with all wild animals, from the tiny chipmunks to the larger bison
and bears, you should never feed them. It is not only dangerous to
approach them, but also dangerous for them to develop a taste for human
food — for once they do, they’ll keep coming back.
To learn more about watching wildlife, you can find numerous books at
bookstores and outdoor shops. And local land managers with the state or
the U.S. Forest Service are always willing to help. Don’t forget the
binoculars!
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