of five nests was discovered along Crowell Creek north of 

 Bull Lake. Two nests were inactive or had been abandoned 

 while three nests contained a total of 8 young and 2 adults 

 when observed during a July 13 helicopter flight. All of 

 the above species, except the whistling swan, breed in this 

 region of the state according to Skaar (1975). 



Raptors 



Fifteen species of raptors were observed during the re- 

 port period and included accipiters, falcons, harriers, 

 eagles, buteos, owls and ospreys. Observations of raptors 

 (Figure 20) were made incidental to other activities except 

 for the osprey, for which efforts were directed specifically 

 towards locating and monitoring nests. 



The osprey was the most commonly observed raptor during 

 the study followed by observations of the red- tailed hawk (22) , 

 the American kestrel (15) and the merlin (14). These species 

 were observed during the summer (breeding) period (Table 9). 

 Although definitive breeding evidence was collected only for 

 the osprey, Skaar (1975) indicates that hard evidence of 

 breeding (active nest or dependent young) has been collected 

 for the red-tailed hawk and kestrel and circumstantial evi- 

 dence (territorial males or pairs) has been collected for the 

 merlin in this part of the state. The red-tailed hawk, 

 merlin and kestrel were observed primarily in open areas or 

 cutting units (Table 10). These species may not have been 

 more abundant than the forest dwelling raptors, but they 

 were easier to observe. Raptors observed in the study area 

 whose habitat is confined primarily to dense forest included: 

 goshawk, sharp-shinned hawk, saw-whet owl and great gray owl. 

 Raptors which were observed in the timber but were not neces- 

 sarily confined to timber included: Cooper's hawk, great 

 horned owl and barred owl. There have been less than 10 

 sightings of the barred owl in Montana (Skaar 1975) and the 

 2 observed during this study were road kills found along 

 Keeler Creek. 



The bald eagle was classified as an endangered species 

 in February 1978 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

 Three sightings of the bald eagle were made during April and 

 November, 1977 and February, 1978. These birds were observed 

 near Bull Lake and their occurrence there is probably related 

 to migrating waterfowl which use the lake prior to freeze- 

 over and after break-up. The golden eagle was observed on 

 two occasions in the South Fork of Ross Creek near the head 

 of Dry Creek (Figure 20) . The marsh hawk and rough-legged 

 hawk were also observed but their use of the area is probably 

 limited to spring and fall migration. Evidence suggests the 

 occurrence of peregrine falcons ( Falao peregrinus) in the area 

 (Skaar 1975 and Robbins et. al . 1966). 



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