Monthly Archives: February 2020

Listserv Posts

Evening Grosbeaks

For the past 2 wks my daily AM & evening ritual has been to count the Trumpeter Swans coming in to roost & then take off every AM from the Snake, below home. Most I’ve counted has been 165, avg 150. I can set my watch by their AM departure, 10:15 every morning. They sleep in, leaving a good 45 min after the geese have pulled out. Canada Geese number sev thousand. Last evening & this AM, fewer numbers, as I believe their northward migration has started. 

At the feeder this AM, I had my first of yr Evening Grosbeaks. A total of 4, 1 male & 3 female. The Blue Jay continues to come in for black-oil sunflower seeds & whole corn, daily. The House Finches & Am Goldfinches are getting brighter colors. The Mt Chickadee continues to come to the feeder but the Pine Siskins have moved on. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Listserv Posts

More Cranes

For the 4th time in the last 7 days, I heard and then saw a flock of Sandhill Cranes flying over. Today I was just going down the path next to Veterans Pond when I heard that wonderful sound. It took me a moment but then I located a flock of about 30 cranes that seemed to be circling in a thermal to get elevation. Unfortunately there was no one to share them with. 🙁

And yesterday I was at Les Bois race track when I heard that delightful sound. The flock yesterday consisted of just 6 birds, in a “vee” formation, heading generally upriver. In retrospect, I would have to say that each of the 4 flocks I’ve seen were heading generally upriver.

Also, today was the 11th day in a row where I found at least 40 species on my bike ride. The highest count was 46, which is quite surprising to me for this time of year. Surprise birds have included Hairy Woodpeckers, WB Nuthatches, Merlins, and, of course, Sandhill Cranes. And today I encountered a pair of Cooper’s Hawks noisily cruising around in an area where they nested last year. 😉

Tom McCabe, Boise

Listserv Posts

Re: Rosy-Finch?

Well this might be a bit of a stretch based on this one photo but
it strikes me as possibly a Brambling. Do you remember seeing this
bird? Any possibility of more photos?

Cliff

On 2/25/20 12:10 PM, Elizabeth Medes
wrote:


I was cleaning out old media files and I found this photo, sorry
for the lack of quality, from Nov 11 2019.  Haven’t sighted any
rosy-finches here in the area before.  I am captured by the black
markings on the leading edges of the coverts – so I’m wondering if
this isn’t a juvenile, going into first winter.  Any feedback? 
I’m unsure how this photo is going to post, so if it’s wonky, I’ll
retry.  Thanks,  Liz, Emmett ID

-- 
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@...
Listserv Posts

Rosy-Finch?

I was cleaning out old media files and I found this photo, sorry for the lack of quality, from Nov 11 2019.  Haven’t sighted any rosy-finches here in the area before.  I am captured by the black markings on the leading edges of the coverts – so I’m wondering if this isn’t a juvenile, going into first winter.  Any feedback?  I’m unsure how this photo is going to post, so if it’s wonky, I’ll retry.  Thanks,  Liz, Emmett ID