Golden Eagle Migration Survey 2018
With autumn settling in, Montana Audubon has begun its annual two-month count of migrating raptors in the Big Belt Mountains: 2018 marks the fourth year of the Golden Eagle Migration Survey (GEMS) project. Working with our partners Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, we will count an estimated three to four thousand raptors known to pass through the site on their migration south along the Rocky Mountains. The count location is located along a 75-mile long northwest-southeast ridgeline where raptors harness prevailing winds to increase lift and speed during migration. This behavior often brings birds very close to observers, allowing their species, age, and occasionally sex to be determined as they pass by.