Birds in the black: Through following avian wildlife, a UM scientist has discovered that burned forests play a critical role in the health and diversity of the Western landscape
By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian
University of Montana professor of ornithology and research scientist Richard Hutto began studying fire's effect on birds soon after the 1988 fires blackened thousands of acres in Montana and Yellowstone National Park. Of particular interest was the black-backed woodpecker's reliance on hotly burned forests. Read the complete story in the Missoulian.
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UM researchers decode complex chickadee chirps
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
The discovery of black-capped chickadees' complex and sophisticated communication system by University of Montana researchers was featured June 23 in Science.
Read this complete story from the July 12th, 2005 article in the Missoulian.
Listen to the story on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, June 23, 2005.
Photo by Erick Greene
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Researchers study avian population dynamics
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
The Daily Inter Lake
As part of their work to gather data on breeding birds, Smucker and her husband, Ty, run a bird-banding station in Seeley Lake. After retrieving the birds from the nets, the Smuckers and volunteers work quickly to gather data and band the birds before releasing them.
Read the complete story from the July 14th, 2005 Daily Inter Lake
Photo by Karen Nichols, Daily Inter Lake
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One year after fire Black Mountain is springing back to life
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
Juncos, like this one perched (below) on a charred branch on Blue Mountain, are among the 100 species of birds biologists counted in the burned areas of Blue Mountain and Black Mountain during spring and summer 2004. Read this complete story from August 1st, 2004 in the Missoulian.
Photo by Michael Gallagher, Missoulian
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