Quite familiar with both vultures from my TX birding days & agree with Carl that the photos show a juvenile Turkey Vulture. For the same reasons he outlined so well. Refer to Sibley’s for details & comparison. Great photos of the bird with good field markings!
Locally, I’ve just seen small groups of Ruby-crowned Kinglets & Wilson’s Warblers coming through. I do have sev Red-breasted Nuthatches hitting my seeds. Otherwise, quiet around the place.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
The feathered nape, lack of strongly two-toned bill, less-wrinkly
facial/head skin, and brownish tones to the plumage all suggest this is a
juvenile Turkey Vulture. I’m not holding my breath for an Idaho Black
Vulture record an time soon, but September would probably be the time…..
Good Birding,
Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID
On Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 8:17 PM LARRY ARNOLD
>
> i looked and passed it off as a HY TUVU kind of looking at that bill and
> face (vs. Sibley illustrations), and photos don’t show tail / wing lengths,
> which are kind of important, eh?
> also because there are no accepted entries in eBird, but I probably should
> have checked IBRC web site..?
> guessing it’s still unconfirmed ?
> i was going to discuss it with Carl Lundblad, but apparently forgot to..
> maybe now is good 😉
>
> ——————————
> *From: *”Denise Hughes deniseh449@gmail.com [ible]” <
> ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com>
> *To: *”IBLE”
> *Sent: *Wednesday, September 25, 2019 6:39:16 PM
> *Subject: *[IBLE] Black Vulture at City of Rocks
>
>
>
> What do you think about this sighting?
>
> https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60032971
>
> Denise Hughes
> Caldwell, Idaho
>
>
>
>
What do you think about this sighting?
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60032971
Denise Hughes
Caldwell, Idaho
I came home from the grocery store a few minutes ago and saw a medium-sized
dark bird flycatching from a perch on a Russian olive on my ditch bank. I
ran to the car for my binoculars and found, as expected, that it was a
Lewis’s Woodpecker-first time in my yard. Then I ran back inside for my
camera and was pleased to get several decent shots.
Kit
Kit Struthers
Idaho Falls, ID
kit619@centurylink.net
As I got my bike out for my morning ride, I happened to look up. Above me
were about 30 Turkey Vultures, spiraling up on an updraft. They were
proceeding generally southeast from the North End.
My next surprise was a Western Grebe at Quinn’s Pond, followed by a pair of
Red-necked Grebes at Silver Lake. A flyover by some Red-tails at Remington
St. was not a surprise so much as a treat.
When I got back to Quinn’s Pond, I discovered that a pair of Ruddy Ducks had
joined the crowd, although they and the raft of A. Coots were outnumbered by
the SUP boarders. Final tally was 35 birds in 11 miles, an improvement over
recent rides.
On a separate note, I seem to have a flock of Cassin’s Finches, male and
female, enjoying the offerings in my back yard. I also have attracted the
attention of a Cooper’s Hawk that hangs out sometimes in our neighbor’s pine
tree. Our other neighbor has named it “Alice.” (In my younger days I
actually got to experience an Alice Cooper concert. Very different.)
Tom McCabe, Boise
I did some weekend birding in Latah, Nez Perce, Idaho, Lewis, and
Clearwater Counties in the southern Panhandle. It was notable for
featuring BOTH good weather and good birding, which are often mutually
exclusive during migration periods around here. Migrant songbirds (mostly
warblers and sparrows) were present at almost every location, and large
numbers of finches (Pine Siskins, Evening Grosbeaks) added some winter
flair. My first notable bird on Saturday was a GRAY FLYCATCHER working the
fence lines at the Genesee Sewage Lagoon (
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59979618). A late Violet-green Swallow
flew over, and 4 Long-billed Dowitchers were on the pond. Probably my best
stop was at Hell’s Gate State Park in Lewiston, which was packed with
migrants including as many as 150-200 warblers dominated by Audubon’s
Yellow-rumps, 5% Myrtle Yellow-rumps, Orange-crowned, Wilson’s, Townsend’s
Warblers, dozens of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and ~100 Violet-green Swallows.
The best birds at Hell’s Gate were a COMMON TERN and another GRAY
FLYCATCHER, and the full list is on eBird:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59985611 . These 2 Gray Flycatcher
records will be the first and second in eBird for Nez Perce County. Mann
Lake had 3 Red-necked Grebes (also 3 Westerns) and a similar crop of
shorebirds as reported by Keith the following day.
Saturday evening, my latest VAUX’S SWIFTS (~40) for Idaho came in to roost
at the Monastery of St. Gertrude near Cottonwood, and I was present when
they emerged and quickly dispersed around 7:50 the nest morning.
Otherwise, the Monastery was fairly quiet except for a couple of
Orange-crowned and Audubon’s Warblers, Chipping, Lincoln’s, and good
numbers of White-crowned Sparrows. 200+ American Pipits were all over the
dirt fields in the Tolo Lake area near Grangeville, and a careful perusal
might have revealed many times that number. Tolo Lake, itself, hosted one
each Horned and EARED GREBE, a BARN OWL, and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. A
flock of swallows included my latest BANK SWALLOWS (4+) for Idaho and at
least one Violet-green. A nice Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler was at Pioneer
Park in Grangeville. Along the upper portion of “Old Whitebird Highway” I
observed my latest BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK for Idaho and briefly observed
what appeared to be yet another Gray Flycatcher, which disappeared before I
could study it closely. I briefly birded the Salmon River south to Slate
Creek, but found not much going on down there, and I headed back north. A
migrant HERMIT THRUSH was nice to see at the Nezperce Cemetery, and a
kettle of 12 Turkey Vultures was over the Clearwater River above Orofino.
Good Birding,
Carl Lundblad
Moscow, Idaho
A juvenile plumage Sabine’s Gull was present on the Snake River near the boat ramp below Minidoka Dam – an area locally known as Bishop’s Hole. I was there from 9:30 to 11:00 and again briefly about 1:00. The bird was present during these times. Also present were numerous Franklin’s and Ring-billed Gulls, a fair number of California Gulls and a few Forster’s Terns. The water flow has been reduced in the north channel exposing the river bed attracting many gulls and some shorebirds (Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer & western Sandpipers).Â
Steve Bouffard 2219 S. Colorado Ave. Boise, ID 83706 sh_bouffard@yahoo.com
Brian –
were you referring to this link and/or its citation? [ https://ebird.org/news/3-billion-birds-gone | https://ebird.org/news/3-billion-birds-gone ]
From: “lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2019 10:58:27 AM
Subject: [IBLE] Bird Numbers
By now, suspect most have read that N Amer bird numbers are down by 30% since 1970’s. I’ve kept in touch for yrs with my long-retired Ornithology Prof at Univ TX. And, even though my data doesn’t begin to compare with his records from TX (esp North, Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley & Big Bend), he & I first compared notes 30 yrs ago re: decreasing warbler migration numbers from my Idaho backyard & his N TX wanderings. In fact, birded with him this summer on a visit to son’s family & it’s becoming a treat to see N Cardinal, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren & TX state bird: Mockingbird. All of which, I barely gave a 2nd glance during undergrad yrs, as they were so common. Prof has definitely noted decreasing numbers of most individual species & esp prominent over the past decade.
Locally, an avid birder & I visited this past spring comparing notes, as well. We had concluded that along our respective areas of the Snake River corridor, overall bird numbers had decreased by a rough figure of 35% in past 10-15 yrs. Unfortunately, follows suit with the article which reviewed Breeding Bird, Christmas Watch & other Citizen Science data. Eventually, a loss of 2 billion birds from the landscape becomes…noticeable. Information for all of us who enjoy birding to ponder.
On an observation note, today found singles of: Nashville Warbler, Gray Catbird, RC Kinglet, Spotted Towhee & House Wren. Also, mixed flocks of Brewer’s, Lincoln’s, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows working through the sagebrush/rabbit brush grassy area on place.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Location: Lions Pond, across the lower dam at Lake Lowell. (Deer Flat NWR)
This morning I watched a Red-shouldered Hawk dive at an adult Black-crowned Night Heron. The screeching heron flew away with the hawk chasing it. A Red-tailed Hawk joined the melee and dove at the Cooper’s Hawk.
After a few minutes the Red-shouldered Hawk flew at the screeching heron again. This time the heron flew in to a shrub and the Hawk landed on a downed tree branch and spent several minutes looking for the heron.
But all the while there was a young Black-crowned Night Heron and several ducks below the Hawk, just a few feet away.
Gotta love Nature’s drama.
Thanks Bryce Robinson for correcting my original identification. 😊
Denise Hughes
Caldwell, Idaho
thx for reporting dude =)
NEED
From: “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2019 9:07:01 AM
Subject: [IBLE] Sabine’s @ CJ Strike
Heidi and I headed to CJ Strike with some of Intermountain Bird Observatory’s Lucky Peak crew yesterday
afternoon and were rewarded by 4 immature Sabine’s Gulls seen from the Cottonwood boat dock – including this one that flew by pretty close (thanks Matthew Danihel for the pic). There were also quite a few Common Terns (30+ between Cottonwood and the upper end of Jack’s Creek) and 2 distant birds that looked good for adult Arctic Terns – I just couldn’t pull the trigger without a better view \uD83D\uDE01
[ https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS | Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone ]
