Jack Kirkley Presents: Hybridization of Common and Great-tailed Grackles in Dillon
Schedule
Mon Sep 11 2023 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location
University of Montana | Missoula, MT
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Please join us on Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM for our first chapter meeting after the summer break. We’re excited to welcome back Dr. Jack Kirkley as our speaker who will regale us with the story of Mr. McGrackle. Rare bird sightings tend to attract short-lived excitement, but most of these rare bird incidents don't seem to have lasting significance or long-term relevance. However, the multi-year occurrence of Great-tailed Grackles in Dillon, Montana might well be a harbinger of things to come.
Prior to recent events in Dillon, there had been only a handful of documented sightings of this formerly subtropical species of grackle in Montana. The first Dillon sighting of a lone male in March 2013 was followed by 5 consecutive years of Great-tailed Grackle activity there. This 6-year series of occurrences included several documented breeding attempts, one of which resulted in the successful fledging of a pair of hybrid offspring, the first confirmed case of successful hybridization between a Great-tailed Grackle and a Common Grackle.
One grackle (dubbed Mr. McGrackle, due to his frequenting of his favorite fast-food restaurant!) apparently spent at least 5 summers and 2 consecutive winters in Dillon. Considering this species' century-long range expansion northward throughout the western half of North America, the significance of these recent observations in Dillon may suggest that this could have been an initial pioneering instance into Montana of the leading wave of this on-going range expansion. If so, then perhaps someday in the not-too-distant future Great-tailed Grackles will no longer be considered a "rare bird" within our state. Time will tell.
John S. "Jack" Kirkley is an ornithologist who specializes in the study of birds of prey. He earned his bachelor’s degree in pre-professional zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1975 and his masters and doctoral degrees in biology-ecology at Utah State University in 1985. He retired in June of 2021 after a 36-year career as a biology professor at the University of Montana-Western in Dillon. He continues to pursue his research interests and service to the community as an emeritus professor, while maintaining a connection with the institution to which he dedicated his entire career.
For more than a quarter century, Dr. Kirkely has studied the ecology of Northern Goshawks, which breed in the mountain forests of southwestern Montana. From 2014-18, Jack opportunistically added the Great-tailed Grackle to his studies, because that sub-tropical species had begun to expand its breeding range into Montana. He has served in leadership roles in both the local and statewide Audubon organizations, as well as being an activist for the Montana Wilderness Association's conservation issues, serving as an MWA Council member, and a Wilderness Walks leader. He has received the Founders Award from the Montana Wilderness Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Montana Audubon.
The meeting will be held in Room 110 in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (ISB) on the University of Montana campus. The building lies on the south end of campus on Beckwith Avenue between Maurice and Mansfield avenues. Due to our membership being composed of many older adults, masks are encouraged, but not required by the university.
You also have the option of watching the meeting over Zoom at this link:
https://umontana.zoom.us/j/96990543104
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Where is it happening?
University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr,Missoula,MT,United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
