We still have ~12″ of snow on the level. Interestingly, a lot of it has dried out, losing moisture to wind, & crystalized in such a manner that I can walk right on the top in my pack boots. In fact, snowshoes are a hindrance. Between single digit lows at night, highs in the 20s (although today it’s headed to 43°) and very dry ground subsurface, the thaw should help the Snake River Aquifer. 

Before last weekend’s storms, Spring migration appeared to be getting underway. Then…a standstill. My resident chickadees, goldfinches, house finches, towhees (you know things are tough when the Spotted Towhees fly up into the platform feeder, instead of scratching beneath) & Red-breasted Nuthatches are going through 15 lbs of black-oil sunflower seeds daily! In fact, American Goldfinches are the most numerous visitor to the feeder this past week. A walk down to the river this AM, showed a group of around 50 American Robins working through a frozen river edge mudflat. And, mixed in, was a Killdeer, first for this Spring. My favorite bird, this Winter, remains Townsend’s Solitaire…still see &/or hear 3-4 daily, vigorously defending their tree crop of juniper berries.

BTW, the Rocky Mountain Junipers took a beating with last weekend’s heavy, wet snow! I weighed it at 20 lb/cubic foot, almost 3 gallons water/cubic foot! Compared notes with my farmer friend & checked Pocatello NWS site & it was a record-setting wet snow. The juniper, pine & spruce trees easily shed our Rocky Mountain powder, but this stuck to branches & needles, literally bringing down large limbs & even a few trees! I have a couple days of chainsaw cleanup to do on our place, once it warms enough. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot