“As the sun rises over the mountains in a peachy orb, the cool air erupts with crane music. One group after another flaps heavily into the air and the cranes fly past me in straggling lines, heading east.”

This story is a portrait of early fall in Montana’s Helena Valley—the third and final episode in the Lake Helena series about getting to know this particular place over time. It’s a story of sandhill cranes, Baird’s sandpipers, thunderstorms and waves, and the wonder and music of fall bird migration.

The podcast includes lots of ambient sounds I recorded. At Lake Helena, we hear sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis), marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris), common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Virginia rails (Rallus limicola), Baird’s sandpipers (Calidris bairdii), greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), and waves. We also hear a post-breeding red-winged blackbird flock I recorded in Granite County, Montana in August 2024. Finally, from the Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir, we hear Canada geese (Branta canadensis), sandhill cranes, ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), and a Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia).

You can find the illustrated transcript of this story here: https://wildwithnature.com/2024/09/01/sandhill-cranes-helena/
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“Mientras el sol se eleva sobre las montañas en un orbe color durazno, el aire fresco estalla en la música de las grullas. Un grupo tras otro aletea fuerte y remonta el vuelo. Líneas desordenadas de grullas grises me pasan en el vuelo, rumbo al este.”

Esta historia es un retrato de la parte temprana del otoño en el Valle de Helena en Montana, Estados Unidos—el tercer episodio y el final en la serie del Lago Helena, sobre el proceso de conocer a este lugar específico con el tiempo. Es una historia de grullas grises, de playeros de Baird, de tormentas eléctricas y olas, del asombro y de la música de la migración otoñal.

El podcast incluye varios sonidos ambientales que grabé yo. Desde el Lago Helena, escuchamos grullas grises (Antigone canadensis), saltaparedes pantaneros (Cistothorus palustris), mascaritas comunes (Geothlypis trichas), tordos sargentos (Agelaius phoeniceus), rascones cara gris (Rallus limicola), playeros de Baird (Calidris bairdii), patamarillas mayores (Tringa melanoleuca) y olas. También escuchamos una bandada de tordos sargentos después de la estación reproductiva que grabé en el Condado de Granite, Montana en agosto de 2024. Finalmente, desde el Embalse Regulador del Valle de Helena, escuchamos gansos canadienses mayores (Branta canadensis), grullas grises, gaviotas pico anillado (Larus delawarensis) y un charrán del Caspio (Hydroprogne caspia).

Puedes leer la transcripción ilustrada de la historia aquí: https://wildwithnature.com/2024/09/01/grullas-grises-helena/

Dependo del apoyo de mis oyentes para poder continuar con este trabajo. Por favor comparte estos podcasts, deja un rating y, si puedes, hazme una contribución por Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature

¡Muchas gracias!

This month’s podcast is the second in a three-part series about deepening in connection with a special place in nature through the seasons. The place is Lake Helena, Montana, USA, a complex of mudflats, wetlands and more that is one of my special spots in nature. The first part (in case you missed it) was about the spring migration of shorebirds to the Arctic and the profusion of sounds and birds in the wetlands. Now we return in late June and early July with the mystery of the American bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus), the start (so soon!) of fall shorebird migration, a flock of swallows in the marsh, and the small intricacies of a few insects along the shore. I hope you enjoy listening!

This narration includes lots of natural sounds that I recorded—an American bittern and many Wilson’s snipes (Gallinago delicata) from Willow Creek Reservoir, Lewis and Clark County, Montana; some common nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) from other sites in Montana; and many sounds from Lake Helena itself—common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas), marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris), bank swallows (Riparia riparia), marbled godwits (Limosa fedoa), spotted sandpipers (Actitis macularis), killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), a Virginia rail (Rallus limicola), and a few unidentified flies.

You can find the written version of this story, illustrated with my photos, here: https://wildwithnature.com/2024/08/01/bitterns-bank-swallows/
Montana Audubon coordinates the Important Bird Area in Montana, of which Lake Helena is part. Learn more about their conservation work at https://mtaudubon.org/. And finally, many thanks to Logan Kahle for allowing me to mention his common nighthawk observations at Lake Helena!