Linda Wentz 

Two evenings ago JC Clancy from Nampa was on Map Rock Rd in Canyon County in SW Idaho looking at a Golden Eagle nest hoping to see some action at this long used nest, when she noticed a flurry of activity at the numerous cliff swallow nests near the Eagle nest. She managed to get some decent photos and realized she was seeing rosy-finches coming in to night roost in the swallow nests. I went out this evening about 4:45 to see for myself. Through my scope I could see a lot of activity but couldn’t get a good count until a Northern Harrier came along the cliff face and the flock swirled out in response. I’m thinking there’s about 50 Gray-crowned Rosy-finches in that area. I tried hard to find a Black Rosy-finch but distance and lighting made that difficult. 

Map Rock Rd runs along the Snake River and connects with Deer Flat Rd on the west end and Hwy 45 on the east end. The spot for the rosy-finches is just east where Pump Rd comes down  and joins Map Rock Rd. Pump road is closed from Dec 1- Mar 1 though so have to get to spot from west or east end. A scope is probably best for viewing and look for swallow nests just down from the rim.  This is a great discovery by JC! I thought many of you ible folks might want to know about it. Viewing time would be between 4:30 to 5:30 pm. 

Happy Birding! 

Cheryl