Not a lot of fall migrants coming through. My best yard sighting has been a female Cassin’s Finch the past 2 days, hitting the feeder. Others: White-crowned Sparrows, RC Kinglets, Sandhill Cranes on a nearby stubble field & YR Warbler. No Juncos as of yet. Others: kettle of a dozen Turkey Vultures & small groups of Red-tailed Hawks. Also, a good number of Bald Eagles nearby, including 2 adults, 2 second-yr birds & 2 first-yr birds. Plus, have seen 2 Ospreys, including one carrying a trout in its talons.

What birding has lacked, fly-fishing has more than made up for with the best fall-run of brown trout on the Snake than I’ve had in years! And the rainbows have been fat & in great condition.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Below is my eBird report from the north end of the Big Holes.

Other valley news: someone reported seeing a Whooping Crane 2pm Friday at the Teton River Bates Bridge. They said it flew over with a group of sandhills and it was a large white bird with black wing tips. Friday night at dusk I went to look for it at a roost near the Bates Bridge (which is on the main road heading west from the traffic light in Driggs). A white bird flying low got our hearts beating, but turned out to be a Trumpeter Swan with a green neck collar so one of the swans released in Teton Valley. Saw hundreds of cranes settling in for the night but no Whooping Cranes. There is quite a difference in color between the darkest and lightest cranes but none looked white.

Packsaddle Estates, Teton, Idaho, US
Sep 29, 2018 6:20 PM – 7:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Comments: Neighbor reported bluebirds and flickers on his deck so I walked over there and surveyed Aspen and Grandview Drives. Overcast and completely calm. Aspens gorgeous yellow tones.
12 species

Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 10 on Andy’s deck and house briefly
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) 1
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 1 foraging
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) 8
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 12
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 20 flock feeding madly at dusk

View this checklist online at https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fview%2Fchecklist%2FS48830193&data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca15fa10d4a824f9d198308d6267f04b5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636738724306626396&sdata=Skm%2F0puMxrFRUVnJoq3LItATAQwsyiSY%2FzPH6vLQtyQ%3D&reserved=0

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Febird.org&data=02%7C01%7C%7Ca15fa10d4a824f9d198308d6267f04b5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636738724306626396&sdata=XbgW%2B8GAcCA8wjYBaVYDOCO3m3K%2FVA4NifxOc24IUvI%3D&reserved=0)