The scoter was there all afternoon today foraging among Western Grebes
in front of Island Park Dam. It was swimming around picking at the
surface and once it got chased a short distance by a Western Grebe. It
wasn’t as close and I only had 8x binocs with me but it definitely has
dark brown extending well out onto the base of the bill. Bill is getting
orange and has some pale whitish area on it. Nape is solidly dark brown
as is the entire upperparts. Flanks are paler brown contrasting slightly
but noticeably with back. Eye appeared pale/whitish but it was too far
to be sure if it was just the iris. I didn’t notice any white around the
eye yesterday. A very neat looking bird.

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com

Hi Everybody. This poor bird was at Blacks Creek Reservoir yesterday. Looks like some sort of dowitcher, but both short and long-billed are considered rare right now (by ebird). He seems thin, but that’s maybe just because he’s unwell?

The bird was pretty messed up, so I gave him plenty of space…

I’ve never really tried to differentiate between the dowitchers, but this one struck me as different (maybe just acting strangely because he was sick?) In most of the photos (not many), his tail is covered by his wings, but in this one, you can really see the white bands. The bill and face seem right, but he’s in bad shape and it’s hard to see color patterns in the sad mess of feathers. Any thoughts before I try to submit the report to ebird? There doesn’t seem to be a “short-billed/long-billed dowitcher” option 🙂

Thanks!
Amy Silver (Boise)

Hi birders,

I know this isn’t the typical post for this forum and my apologies for the diversion from the typical birding conversations, but I think our group might be able to uniquely contribute to the search for this missing person because he’s suspected to be spending time in a lot of natural areas (greenbelt, parks, etc.) and might be in the Boise area, potentially working his way towards Burley.

Ronald Ray Jones (goes by Ron) is my uncle’s father (I haven’t met him personally, but he’s family of family). He went missing from his home in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday evening, 6/2/2017. He was wearing black b-ball shorts, dark green shirt, and Ecco sandals. He’s 5ft 5in, 185 lbs, with graying hair. He left on foot without his wallet, phone, keys, or any other personal belongings.

He recently had heart surgeries and hasn’t been on his medications in several days now. He may be disoriented and confused. There have been tips suggesting he might be in the Boise area, and if so it’s possible that he might be working his way towards Burley where he grew up and has business connections.

The list of places he might be spending time includes:

* Natural areas – in particular the greenbelt or any of the parks in Boise.
* Hotels – one tip suggested he’s been using hotel key cards to gain access to the breakfast.
* McDonalds – part of his morning routine.
* Any similar places along the highway from Boise to Burley.

I know we have a lot of people in our group who spend time on the greenbelt and other parks in Boise, so I thought it would be worth asking folks to keep an eye out. Here’s the flyer (including a photo) that’s being distributed to area hotels and others that might be able to help:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12-VfFt1cnXqyAvq2Hq_hJKTAN2cNbL7u7O-jCY1km7A

[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Z2BF4xIZpSQBlmJELQH5oRvesZpZ47CZnSe2gBdNoF-TIAgDli3MAy-7BgULh5vjPxo8oA=w1200-h630-p]

MISSING PERSON HOTEL EMAIL
docs.google.com
MISSING PERSON RONALD RAY JONES Ronald Ray Jones 55 year old Caucasian Male. 5ft5in 185 lbs graying hair. Last seen Friday 6/2/17 between the hours of 5 and 6 pm. Wearing black basketball shorts, green/black shirt, and Ecco sandals. Last seen around Brookwood & TV highway, Hillsboro, Oregon….

He’s not a danger to others but may be a danger to himself. If you see him or have any information, try to get photo confirmation (cell phone photo works) and call 911, and then contact the family.

3852440159 -Alex Jones
9713616296- Chad Jones
aljrt2009@gmail.com

News Report:

http://katu.com/news/local/police-missing-hillsboro-man-could-be-at-risk-doesnt-have-medication

FIND RON JONES FACEBOOK PAGE:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/187727821752279/?multi_permalinks=188567031668358&notif_t=group_activity&notif_id=1496701071462725

Thanks so much for keeping an eye out.

Stoddard Davenport

Boise