I had really nice looks at two great gray owls this morning at the Montour WMA at the intersection of Montour Rd and Main St. They were easy to spot as they sat in the trees listening for pretty. The other bird of interest were a few bohemian waxwings mixed in with a flock of cedar.
Eagle Island State Park is a great place to find raptors, and I’m up to 10 species in about two years. I saw the short-eared owl in a field north of the dirt road along the Boise River just about south of the old abattoir. This park gets regular use from dog trainers and dog walkers, and I had the owl right at sunrise before anyone else was out there. It really was a chance encounter, and the species could occur anywhere in the fields in the park. If you decide to try for one, get there early and walk through the fields. Eagle Island State Park is a fee site, but there is no charge if you have a state park pass.
two days ago had 2 flocks of 60 (could have been the same flock that moved quite a ways), in the Gem County Cycle Park in Emmett—-way up on the ridges on your left as you drive in. a mile or so each way hiking up onto the highest ridge between the entrance road and the river.
Spotted 6 GCRF mixed in with a flock of Redpolls on Blacks Creek Rd. NORTH of the freeway, approx a 1/2 mile from the freeway exit there is a gravel pit (I think it is called Premier Aggregates). Along the berm on the edge of the the road there are lots of sunflower seed tops. We found a large flock of Redpolls over the weekend. Returned today because my sister-in-law thought she spotted a Rosy Finch. I got a couple low quality pics before a Merlin swooped through and the flock went over the berm into private property.
Prior to this stop along Blacks Creek I was at Bonneville Point and had hiked out about 1.5 miles west from the structure (the road that 4-wheelers have packed down the snow) and stirred up a large flock that dropped out of sight almost immediately. My gut said they were Rosy Finch but just didn’t get a good enough look (probably 30-40 birds).
Following up on the great gray owl post, I had a short-eared owl shortly before sunrise at Eagle Island State Park today. I’ve seen many northern harriers at the park, and thought it would be a great place for a short-eared. I kicked one up out of a field this morning, and the buoyant flight made for identification. There are a few great horned owls that hang around the park, but their heavy body makes for a different flight pattern.
Jeanette and I went to the Montour WMA today after finding out that an acquaintance had seen a Great Gray Owl there last week. We had great looks at 2 of them, in different areas of the refuge.
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