Outdoor news

Wildflower presentation

The Montana Native Plant Society will hold a “What’s that wildflower?” presentation by botanists Rachel Potter and Jen Hintz at the North Valley Teakettle Hall, on Nucleus Avenue, on March 21 (today) at 7 p.m.

Freezout Lake trip

Flathead Audubon will lead a birding trip led by Dan Casey to Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area to witness the spring waterfowl migration on Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1. Freezout Lake is south of Choteau near the Rocky Mountain Front. Birders may observe snow geese, en route to Arctic nesting grounds numbering 100,000 or more, as well as thousands of swans and many ducks and more than 40 other bird species. Participants should make their own overnight reservations for Saturday night. For more information, call Casey at 857-3143 or e-mail danielcasey55@gmail.com.

Freezout Lake redux

The Glacier Institute will present wildlife course titled “White Goose Migration at Freezout Lake” on March 31 through April 1 led by Mike Schwitters. Participants will observe the spring migration of lesser snow and Ross’s geese at the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area, the primary migration staging area for birds which move in the hundreds of thousands through the Pacific Flyway each spring. The course fee is $175. For more information, call 755-1211 or visit online at www.glacierinstitute.org.

Film festival

Outdoor films from Telluride MountainFilm OnTour will be shown at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish to benefit the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation on Thursday, March 22, with doors opening at 6 p.m. for mingling, drinks and food. Films start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door or $12 in advance available at Rocky Mountain Outfitter, in Kalispell, and The White Room, in Whitefish. For more information, visit online at www.bmwf.org.

Birding class

Flathead Audubon will offer its annual spring birding course “Beauty of Birds” on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 4, 11, 18 and 25. The course is designed for both beginning birders and seasoned experts. Students will learn from some of the Flathead Valley’s foremost experts on bird biology, behavior, song and identification. To register, call Debbie Newman at 751-3461. Cost is $10 per person.