Neil Paprocki and I checked out some birds in Benewah and Kootenai
Counties, this last Sunday. We started at Heyburn State Park, east of
Plummer, where a SWAMP SPARROW was pretty much the first bird we
encountered near the start of the boardwalk. I’ve looked for Swamp
Sparrows in fall and winter at that location for many years, so it was nice
to finally connect with one. Chatcolet Lake had a mix of ice and open
water, and still hosted good numbers of waterfowl and other water birds,
perhaps highlighted by a few lingering BONAPARTE’S GULLS. The spray fields
along Shepard Road in southwest St. Maries (south of the St. Joe River)
were loaded with hawks and other rodent-hunting birds including bout 15
Red-tails, 3 Rough-legged Hawks, a couple of N. Harriers, and 4 Great Blue
Herons. The St. Maries Sewage Ponds had small pools of open water near the
aerators and a small collection of expected ducks. Nice birds along
Gooshaven Lake Road, northwest of St. Maries, included a Marsh Wren,
Slate-colored Junco, Cassiar Junco, a Northern Shrike, and 2 Killdeer
flying around in search of open water. The Harrison Harbor area produced a
first-cycle “Thayer’s” Iceland Gull and my first PEREGRINE FALCON for
Kootenai County. 25-30 Great Blue Herons were mostly standing around on
the ice in Harrison Slough, and an adult “Thayer’s” Gull was present with
the gull flock, there. Good numbers of Bald Eagles were present from
Heyburn SP to Harrison, and a Northern Pygmy-owl was perched, roadside, in
the Thorn Creek area south of St. Maries.
After parting ways with Neil in Viola, I stopped by the seasonal pond on
US-95 near Estes Road north of Moscow and found 2 lingering KILLDEER
standing on the ice. 4 late BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS were quite a surprise
near the UI Dairy Ponds.
Good Birding,
Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID
