After a week where appointments conflicted with my normal biking and birding, today was fantastic. My back yard has been taken over by hordes of A. Goldfinches and P. Siskins, so I left the house with a good start. As I headed to the greenbelt,
I found most of the “usual suspects,” but it started to get interesting when I spotted 2 DC Cormorants at Veterans Pond. Then I found a Brown Creeper where the Black and White Warbler hung out earlier this year, but the day got
real interesting when I found a Great Horned Owl perched along the greenbelt! That’s when I decided to extend my ride by crossing to the south side and heading for Remington St. (There was still a blockage on the north side near Wylie Land—hopefully
for not much longer.) The GHOW was bird 30 for the day.

By the time I saw the Cooper’s Hawk on the south side, I already had 36 birds. The RT Hawk on Remington St. made it 40, and the Barrow’s Goldeneye in the river really made my day (haven’t been seeing them on my usual route). Then a pair
of calling A. Kestrels together on a power pole was a real treat.

The final tally from my ride was 43 species in 14 miles, but our evening walk gave me 44 when a W. Screech Owl sat in a tree across from our house and wouldn’t shut up. This is my highest total in a long time. Needless to say, I’ve been
typing with a big smile on my face. 😉

Tom McCabe, Boise