While I have had an occasional Pine Siskin at my feeders, today I had a
gathering. They were accompanied by a six-pack of BC Chickadees and audible
Red-breasted Nuthatches. So a nice start to my birding day.

When I got to Stewart Ave., I found an A. Robin, a bird that has only
occasionally been visible around here. And when I looked for the 2 A. Coots
that showed up at Quinn’s Pond the other day, I found 14 instead!

But the real treat was at the footbridge from Ann Morrison to the north side
of the river, just east of Americana. There I found my first of season
Merlin, hanging around in the bare branches of a tree on the north side of
the river. Always a treat to see a Merlin.

At the duck pond in AM Park, the Gadwalls and A. Wigeons are either coming
out of eclipse or they just arrived.

By the time I left AM Park, I had 31 birds and it was raining lightly. But I
decided to head for Remington St. anyway, just in case something really
special had arrived in the night. I don’t know what I expected to find, but
I certainly didn’t expect the immature Black-crowned Night Heron who was
sitting on the new gravel bar just upstream and across the river from the
missing footbridge. He was quite well camouflaged as a river rock, but his
wing feathers gave him away. (If you have the iBird app, he looks like the
4th photo of the BCNH-“Juvenile 1.”) I have seen immatures along the river
before, usually at this time of year, but this was my first one this year
and the first ever at this location.

Final tally was 33 birds in 15+ miles, but the quality of the sightings was
truly delightful. (Since riding my bike to Black’s Creek would probably take
me 3 days, I have been quite envious of the sightings-and photos-from that
location. Today alleviated my envy somewhat.)

Tom McCabe, Boise

Steven,

Thank you for joining us in Idaho and on IBLE! I see you’ve surpassed my life list on eBird in Bannock County, very awesome and congrats! =)

I’ve been meaning to post a reply to your recent note about RBNU (Red-breasted Nuthatch). A couple days ago we witnessed an “outbreak” of RBNU here in west Boise, and just in our hood I found 15-20, most in family units I presume, because many of their vocals were other-worldly, way beyond their usual calls out in the jungle (woods, er, conifers). We’ve never seen so many of these beasties this close to home!

We still have 3-4 hummers, 1 Calliope, the rest Black-chins. And right now its drizzly wet here, so our feeders are in high demand, which supports one of my oldest hobbies: watching them argue, cuss, discuss, and chase around both the feeders and our salvias (still at peak bloom). Hoping for Anna’s any day now, since mid-Sept has been their arrival date during the last two years. Although, this flies against a long-held maxim that “the two best days of the year are when the first hummer arrives and when the last one leaves!” 😉 Actual author of this phrase is an old-timer I met in Sonoita AZ who fed LOTS of hummers.

Anyway, thanks for posting and a belated welcome to Idaho! Missy and I enjoy birding your area, especially along Rapid Creek and Mink Creek.

Larry Arnold

Boise

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ‘Kahl, Steve’ Steve_Kahl@fws.gov [ible]
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2017 7:15 AM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Hawk movement in Pocatello area Sat

In a half-hr from my deck in Chubbuck Saturday afternoon, I saw 2 sharp-shinned hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 red-tailed hawk, 1 northern harrier, 1 turkey vulture and 9 Swainson’s hawks – all moving directly north to south. Each lifted on thermals and the west winds deflecting off the east bench, then glided south. Interesting to me because I felt no north component to the wind. The only migrant on the ground was a red-naped sapsucker.

Haven’t seen in a hummingbird in the backyard in almost a week.

Steven F. Kahl

Deputy Project Leader

Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex

4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A

Chubbuck, ID 83202

P (208) 237-6615 ext 112

F (208) 237-8213

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Cicero

In a half-hr from my deck in Chubbuck Saturday afternoon, I saw 2
sharp-shinned hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 red-tailed hawk, 1 northern
harrier, 1 turkey vulture and 9 Swainson’s hawks – all moving directly
north to south. Each lifted on thermals and the west winds deflecting off
the east bench, then glided south. Interesting to me because I felt no
north component to the wind. The only migrant on the ground was a red-naped
sapsucker.

Haven’t seen in a hummingbird in the backyard in almost a week.

Steven F. Kahl
Deputy Project Leader
Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex
4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A
Chubbuck, ID 83202
P (208) 237-6615 ext 112
F (208) 237-8213

“*If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.*” Cicero