I watched a subadult broad-tailed last night in my yard here in the north end (Boise). What a beauty, especially his spotted cheeks and the how he perched for long periods of time. He traded off with a female black-chinned at one of my feeders all evening.

> On Aug 18, 2019, at 3:06 PM, LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible] wrote:
>
>
> I’ve been enjoying all the hum-chatter, both by the hums and by the good peoples reporting them… =)
>
> Guessing we’ve just passed our peak of fall migration here in west Boise, elev 2600 ft, and this might have been our highest number of hums since moving here 7 yrs ago. Estimating we had 25+ birds, mostly black-chins (always), precious few rufous, an occasional calliope, but no broad-tailed yet. Easily could have been 2x or 3x this number at our 12 feeders, which cannot all be watched at the same time.
>
> I consider feeding hummers to be a chess match, as I often move feeders around to different locations in hopes that they don’t become dominated by individual birds. I know that I could make “feeder maintenance” a lot easier by limiting the number of feeders we use, but we enjoy all the hum-fussing, hum-cussing, aerial jousting and DRAMA. Brian’s word “bittersweet” comes to mind – we hate to see them depart for the year, but I’m ready to take a break from washing feeders. 😉
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
>
>

I’ve been enjoying all the hum-chatter, both by the hums and by the good peoples reporting them… =)

Guessing we’ve just passed our peak of fall migration here in west Boise, elev 2600 ft, and this might have been our highest number of hums since moving here 7 yrs ago. Estimating we had 25+ birds, mostly black-chins (always), precious few rufous, an occasional calliope, but no broad-tailed yet. Easily could have been 2x or 3x this number at our 12 feeders, which cannot all be watched at the same time.

I consider feeding hummers to be a chess match, as I often move feeders around to different locations in hopes that they don’t become dominated by individual birds. I know that I could make “feeder maintenance” a lot easier by limiting the number of feeders we use, but we enjoy all the hum-fussing, hum-cussing, aerial jousting and DRAMA. Brian’s word “bittersweet” comes to mind – we hate to see them depart for the year, but I’m ready to take a break from washing feeders. 😉

Larry

Here is my Sunday morning walk report from Packsaddle Estates in the foothills of the Big Hole Mountains in the NW area of Teton Valley. Observed 31 species which is higher than counts earlier in the month.

Before the wind picked up around 9am, saw and heard many birds: Large numbers of fledgling robins and Western Tanagers feeding in the service berry bushes. And for the first time ever, I saw one Eastern Kingbird near Packsaddle Creek perched briefly on an aspen.

Eurasian Collared-Dove 3
Mourning Dove 8
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1
Rufous Hummingbird 4
Calliope Hummingbird 1
Sandhill Crane 2 heard calling below
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1 calling
Red-naped Sapsucker 1
Western Wood-Pewee 6 2 singing, saw fledglings chasing adult
Eastern Kingbird 1 first sighting of this species at this location!
Warbling Vireo 4 food begging from adult, one with serviceberry fruit
Mountain Chickadee 1 at Youngblood’s feeder
Tree Swallow 12
Violet-green Swallow 14
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 2
Gray Catbird 1
Swainson’s Thrush 1
American Robin 27 robins feeding in serviceberry bushes all along route, speckling fading on immatures but still visible
Cedar Waxwing 3
Evening Grosbeak 3
House Finch 2
Cassin’s Finch 1 at Youngblood’s feeder, weak face pattern, light streaking below
Pine Siskin 3
American Goldfinch 2 heard calling as they flew overhead
Chipping Sparrow 4
Green-tailed Towhee 4
Yellow Warbler 7 heard two males giving partial songs
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 immatures chasing each other, no singing heard
Western Tanager 14 only a few obvious male adults, many juveniles and females, did not get exact count by age class

View this checklist online at https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fview%2Fchecklist%2FS59079447&data=02%7C01%7C%7C8bbf2df6ddd34e615d5608d723fea6d0%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637017448932985544&sdata=ialsrdqPjm36V7QivHO426%2B4Ep27qJDr5%2FMiFjzH7%2Bg%3D&reserved=0

Like Diann Stone said, everyday is different. Again, thanks to Susan Patla for giving me notice to watch out for this yr’s crop of Rufous. Because, yesterday evening another change occurred at the nectar feeder & continues this AM. As many as 5 at a time of immature Rufous Hummingbirds are hitting the feeder & each other!

Of the 4 hummer species which we get, the Rufous Hummers are definitely the most territorial & aggressive. I’ve watched epic battles, can hear their body slams into each other & observed their chattering face-offs, bill to bill, all within 10 ft of me! Quite entertaining, although to them, purely necessary for survival on their southern trek to meet their energy needs.

So, now, only juvenile Rufous are at the nectar feeder. Mainly juvenile Black-headed Grosbeaks at the seeds. Red-breasted Nuthatches are calling &, again a couple of weeks early, juvenile Chipping Sparrows are in the grassy pastures. Fewer Lazuli Buntings are around. Fall migrants are on the move.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Today, Jean Seymour, Kathleen Cameron and I traveled to the City of Rocks area in search of the pinyon/juniper specialties of that area. The entrance road in Castle Rock State Park held BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER & BUSHTIT in the pinyon/juniper area. On the road up to Circle Creek Overlook, we had our best passerine turnout including 1 each ASH-THROATED, DUSKY, & OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS, and 1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY & 2 VIRGINIA’S WARBLERS. We found a few WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS in the sky deep in the national preserve, over some of the more pronounced rock formations. The trailhead just outside the Smoky Mountain Campground had a flock of 15+ BUSHTIT & 1 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. Backroads in the large valley between the City of Rocks area and the Jim Sage Mts held 8+ LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES & unprecedented numbers of BREWER’S SPARROWS. The well(ish)-kept dirt road that leads up into the Jim Sage Mountains had 1 LINCOLN’S SPARROW, 2 of each GRAY FLYCATCHERS, W. SCRUB JAYS, and most impressively, 2 juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWKS.
full trip report will be posted here: worldbirding.travellerspoint.com
Good birding,
Henry
Ketchum ID
(Chicago IL)
Henry Griffin
▫️◾️◽️▪️

A Black-chinned Hummingbird male just visited my front yard feeder.
Surprised me!

Diann Stone
Boise Depot Bench

On Fri, Aug 16, 2019, 9:06 AM lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible] < ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Fall migration is fascinating & bittersweet. It depicts a change in the
> seasons to my favorite fly-fishing time of the year…fall. But, also
> represents the time when you realize the flush of our most colorful birds
> pushing through won’t return for another 6-7 months.
>
> For the past 10 days, I’ve had Black-chinned & Calliope &, yesterday,
> Broad-tailed Hummers draining the nectar feeder every 2 days. Bill Moore
> has quite aptly pointed out to me that amt of nectar represented probably
> 80 individual hummingbirds draining the feeder. This AM, I’ve seen only a
> couple of Broad-tailed & Black-chinneds.
>
> Plus, it seems like all have pushed through about 2 weeks early, esp the
> Rufous that came through a few wks ago. Maybe another bunch will arrive,
> but, as the majority have been juveniles, makes me wonder how many more are
> left in the Rockies?
>
> Brian Carrigan
> Blackfoot
>
>

Have had a singleton female Calliope at the feeder two days in a row. Bulk
of hummers seem to be rufous – juveniles – fighting with the two families
of resident black-chinned. It gets fierce.

Relieved to see a pair of red-tail hawks – adult dark morph and juvie – as
well as a juvie Swainson hawk a few days ago. AND a bonus kestrel clutch
in our nesting box – this is the second time in two years we’ve had
multiple clutches.

Never seen this before – a night hawk soaring in the air with a kestrel –
at 10 a.m. Just two of them, a pas de deux at 3000 ft.

Liz Medes
Emmett ID

Susan Patla sent me a msg earlier that she had imm Rufous Hummingbirds at her feeder in Teton Basin yest. Sure enough, just had a couple of juvenile Rufous Hummingbirds arrive to my feeder. One juv male thinks the feeder is his alone & makes war on a juv Broad-tailed trying to come in.

Definitely, 2 wks earlier than last yr. And, juvenile Rufous were the last Hummers to come through last fall.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Every day is different. You’re lucky to see the Calliopes. I have
occasional Black-chinned females or immatures. Black-capped Chickadees and
Red-breasted Nuthatches have been vocal as they move about the trees and
shrubs. Fun times.

Diann Stone Boise Depot Bench

On Thu, Aug 15, 2019, 6:37 AM lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible] < ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Just a quick note. Big change at feeder here at daybreak this AM. Equal
> numbers of juv Calliope & juv & female Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. 4-5 each.
> Not a single Black-chinned in sight. And no adult Black-chinneds in 3 days.
>
> Brian Carrigan
> Blackfoot
>
>

A group of us did not find the Purple Martins at Lake Cleveland. We did not
scour the area as intensely as we could have, but for over an hour we did
not see any flying martins or hear any Martin-like calls.

Just keeping the birding community informed.

Good birding!

Austin Young
Pocatello
—
Austin Young
Twin Falls, ID
austinyoung224@gmail.com