Acknowledgments 



We offer profound thanks to the Montana Natural Heritage Program and the Natural Resource 

 Information System staff for tlieir time, technical support, sound advice, and good humor. In particular, 

 we thank T.J. Abbenhaus and John Nehring for their assistance with the production of the maps in this 

 book. Their efforts allowed this publication to come to fruition. We also thank Allan Cox for his 

 support of this project. 



The Montana Bird Records Committee reviewed rare bird sightings anci provided advice and 

 comment on a number of issues for this edition. The Records Committee is comprised of Chuck 

 Carlson (Fort Peck), Dan Casey (Kalispell), Bob Eng (Bozeman), Harriet Marble (Chester), Jeff Marks 

 (Missoula), Terry McEneaney (Gardiner), Fritz Prellvvitz (Malta), and Dan Sullivan (Helena). Thanks 

 to the committee for its continuing efforts and dedication to a better understanding of Montana birds. 



We are grateful to the hundreds of contributors who submitted thousands of recent records to 

 make this edition possible (see Appendix J). Dan Sullivan obtained and compiled the data from the 

 USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey. Jock Young arranged for the contribution of data from 

 the Universin,' of Montana Landbird Monitoring program. Beth Madden, Medicine Lake National 

 Wildlife Refuge; Fritz Prellwitz, Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge; and Sharon Browder, Lee Metcalf 

 National Wildlife Reftige, were kind enough to share data from their refuge records. Dan Casey arranged 

 for the contribution of data from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and Chris Yde 

 assisted widi obtaining data from the Department of En\ironmental Qualit\'. Thanks, also, to Da\e Lockman 

 and Eric Atkinson. 



Significant editorial acJ\ice was pro\ided by Chuck Carlson, Martie Crone, George Holton, Dan 

 Sullivan, and especially Jeff Marks. We also thank Martin Miller of the Montana Natural Heritage 

 Program and Cora Helm of the Montana Department of Transportation for their work. Thanks to Brie 

 Funston and Terri Thompscjn for spending man\' hours entering what seemed like mountains of data. We 

 express additional gratitude to the many individuals who supported and contributed to this project in one 

 manner or another, but are not specifically identified. 



Without the financial support of the following indi\'iduals and organizations, this book would not 

 have been possible. We extend our greatest thanks to: Bill Ivitterman Audubon Endowment Fund ( Dan 

 Sullivan), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (Heidi Youmans), Bureau of Land iVIanagement ( Roxanne 

 Falise), Bureau of Reclamation (Justin Kucera), L^.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Stephanie Jones), LTRS/ 

 BRW Inc., and Montana Audubon. The Bill Ivitterman Audubon Endowment Fund, located at the 

 Montana C^ommunitx' Foundation, is a permanent endowment dedicated to supporting the Montana 

 Bird Distribution project. For more information about making contributions to this fund, contact 

 Montana Audubon, P.O. Box 595, Helena, MT 59624, ( 406) 443-3949; or the Montana C^ommuniri- 

 Foundation, lOI N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 211, Helena, MT 59601, (406) 443-8313. 



The work often artists appears in this publication. Wc thank them for their generosif\'. Their 

 talents iiave gready impro\ed the book's appearance. Joyce Bergen; Black-necked Stilt, cover; Sharon 

 Browder: Hooded Merganser, p. 32; John Carlson: Common Loon, p. 16; Harlequin Duck, p. 30; 

 American White Pelican, p. 143; Kate Davis: Great Blue Heron, p. 21;Steller's Jay, p. 82; Red winged 

 Blackbird, p. 1 19; Sid Frissell: Semipalmated Plo\ er, p. 44; Lewis's Woodpecker, p. 128; Ron Jenkins 

 American Kestrel, p. 37; Prairie Falcon, p. 38; White-crowned Sparrow, p. 1 13; Lazuli Bunting, p. 117 

 Phyllis Koeber: Horned Grebe, p. 18; Dunlin, p. 51; Black Tern, p. 60; Wilson's Warbler, p. 105 

 Cassin's Finch, p. 123; Common Poorwill, p. 132; Jerry Kustich: Sora, p. 42; Northern Pygmy-Owl, 

 p. 64; C'lark's Nutcracker, p. 83; Rock Wren, p. 89; Ted Nordhagen: Western Tanager, p. 107; James 

 Utsier: Red -tailed Hawk, page ii. 



VI 



