I’ve heard this song before…… “We got here too early to bird! The birds aren’t up yet, not active yet, not vocalizing yet!” Oh, but I’ve always felt that there’s no such thing as arriving at a birding destination too early. But maybe this is an open question, eh?

Upon arrival at Foote Park (Ada County) this morning at 0540 hrs, and after explaining to a very curious county sheriff that I’m actually preparing for an early hike, eye-shine on the side of the road led me to my first poorwill of the day. Within minutes another one was calling/singing from the hillside. So, which is it for non-passerines? Can we call it “singing,” or are they “calling?” Is “singing” restricted to the song birds? I’ve wondered about this for years, but have never posed the question, and maybe someone on IBLE can enlighten us. If I beg? 😉

Anyway, soon after the poorwills, chats began cranking up, and they were catalysts for other birds to get cranked. It was glorious! My favorite birds were Warbling Vireo 2, Rock Wren 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2, Chipping Sparrow 4, Lark Sparrow 1, Spotted Towhee 4, Yellow-breasted Chat 3, and Wilson’s warbler 1. Many of these were near the water being pumped into the gulch; I found outlet pipes at two locations.

I have this crazy somewhere-out-in-right-field theory about songsters that are still singing… we are now two months after Summer Solstice, with essentially the same photo period as two months prior to the Solstice (late April). Again, something I’ve always wondered about… are birds still driven to sing primarily because of photo period?

Long story short: Birding remains my best fix for anxiety over sitting in the dentist’s chair, which I would be doing right after birding. Eyiyi!!

Larry, Boise

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