Monthly Archives: October 2024

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Glacier bird

Aka white wing diuca finch nest on glacier circa 17000+ft.they build nest small cave like space approx 2 ft deep by18 inch w.nest has ice under nest & on each side & behind  don’t know how  they have enough heat to incubate eggs key must be dense nest indented cup like for eggs lots info on internet & BBC video Terry RICH MIGHT HAVE MORE INFO
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The “Harbinger”

I’m sure everyone has their personal harbingers of what signals a change of seasons or events. Being a birder, I look for certain birds to indicate a change of seasons: the arrival of Yellow Warblers for spring, appearance of Black-chinned Hummingbird for summer & late night Great-horned Owl calls in winter. 
 
My fall indicator, & most reliable harbinger of fall migration nearing an end, is the appearance of either Hermit or Swainson’s Thrushes. Today, it was a Hermit. Gave me great binocular views with reddish tail & crisp, black spotting on chest with a complete white eyering. A change in weather is expected by mid-week. Seems fall is here & the riverside cottonwoods are peaking, & stunning, in their color right now. Combined with several amazing aurora borealis displays this past week & a comet just coming into eye visibility view, all have the makeup for a great fall. 
 
Brian Carrigan 
Blackfoot 
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Yardbirds


I was pleased and surprised today when a pair of DE Juncos showed up in our yard. I was even more surprised when a BC Hummer showed up to sample my feeders. Sadly, it did not stick around, but maybe it’s a morning bird! And my regular visitors
now include Pine Siskins, RB Nuthatches, and a Song Sparrow.

And while my bird counts on my bike rides have recently trended down, Susan and I were treated to a Bald Eagle today. It was across the river, in the vicinity of Silver Lake, where the river splits to create the island. First one for both
of us in quite a while.

Wonder who will show up tomorrow?

Tom McCabe, Boise

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THE BIG SIT!, Boise area 2024 edition

Hey all out there in the “ible-verse”, RL here.

I have been agonizing over how to write this up the last few weeks such that it won’t sound disjointed. No such luck, so here goes. Better later than never.
In 1992 the New haven Bird Club (NHBC) started THE BIG SIT!. Some years later they relinquished control of the Sit to Bird Watcher’s Digest (BWD) magazine for many years. Several years ago Robert Mortensen started the Boise edition at Hyatt Wetlands then asked me to take over, which I have been doing since. However, in the last few years BWD has changed ownership and no longer has any involvement in the Sit.

Now, after a four year hiatus, I am restarting the Boise edition of THE BIG SIT!. It is registered on the NHBC website calendar.
I held the last Big Sit at Black’s Ck. Reservoir, now Black’s Ck. Bird Preserve (BCBP), in 2019. Then 2020, 2021 and 2022 came along with CoViD, which put a damper on gatherings. In 2023 I was invited by the NHBC (the originator) to again set up a site. Last year there was good water at BCBP, but, I was not prepared to do a Sit.
It is now 2024 and I am invited back. This year’s Big Sit! is again being held at the BCBP.
Day/Date: Sunday, 13 October 2024
Time: Sunrise (approx. 0800) to Sunset (approx. 1900). I expect to be on station from 0730-1930.
Weather: as I write this, long-term projection looks good, sunny, clear, calm-variable light breezes, cool (temp.’s, mid-upper 60’s) 
Some little “quickies” about the rules for you all who’ve not done this before:
1) Our base is the confines of a 17ft. circle, all sightings/identifiable sounds folks see/hear can only come from  those inside the confines of the circle. In other words, if you see/hear a bird should you go back to your car or the facility or even step outside the circle, it doesn’t count. You must be within the circle when you see/hear said bird for it to count.
2) Merlin Sound will be only used to confirm heard birds, not as primary source, but, getting a visual  confirmation on something heard will be better.
3) If a bird is seen, say thru a scope and the id narrowed to a possible single species, a scout can be sent out to confirm. However, any other birds kicked up by the scout can’t be added. Again everything must come from within the circle.
4) I know some birders won’t want to stay confined within the circle, get photos, etc., but, I must ask them to not roam about as it would create a disturbance. The birds must be left alone. Be natural.
I have been out once to look for a good spot to set the circle center, find the best place to set up to be able to scan the open water, see/hear what’s in the trees and brush and the East end/far shore mud. Balance the various micro-habitats for optimal/maximal viewing/hearing.  Narrowed it down to a about a 100m. strip, but, as can only have a 17ft. span, that is still in the air, I am open to suggestions. Will go back to scout some more, should some one like to get with me for this purpose we can meet there, I would appreciate it as I still am in my boot and mobility is limited, though I am allowed to drive now. Call or drop me an email, the latter is on my ebird Profile page.
Anyway, on Sunday, come for the day or just stop by for a couple hours, BYOC (bring your own chair), lunch, snacks, water, binos, scopes, etc. This is not a formal SIBA or GEAS F/T so no need for preregistration, just stop by. However, I will ask folks to sign in and out. When BWD ran the show all lists were sent thru their website, but, now that NHBC is back in charge, lists for Sit’s are now to be submitted thru ebird and you know how sensitive ebird is about participant numbers as well as bird numbers.
For history or further more detailed info on how this thing works/rules just Google “The Big Sit“. It’s all there.
Continued Good Birding all. RLwavey.gif
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Re: White-breasted Nuthatch

We have plenty of natural tree cavities in the cottonwoods on our place. And, those near the river have nesting tree swallows, red-naped sapsuckers, downy woodpeckers & screech owls. But, those closer to the house have been hijacked by starlings. 
 
The starlings don’t bother with the feeder, but seem to be most attracted by lawn earthworms, esp in the morning. We seem to have reached a “steady state” with the starlings, about 3-4 nest cavities ea spring. Beats hundreds & hundreds of them, like I see near some feedlot areas. 
 
Brian Carrigan 
Blackfoot 
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Broad-winged Hawk / Fremont County

Last night I was in Warm River (9 miles east of Ashton) and we sat down outside to eat dinner right at dusk. A Buteo flew over the ridge and glided towards us. It was fairly low and immediately caught our eye as different. As it approached I couldn’t see any markings on the underside of the bird and it was dark enough to make it hard to make out the dark border around the wings or see the tail pattern. Eventually it was right overhead at the right angle and I could detect the dark border as well as two wide black bands on the tail. I said “that’s a Broad-winged Hawk” and Lisa responded “that’s what I thought”. As it flew off I realized it had pointed wing tips, not the blunt/rounded wing tips Redtails have. Pretty cool sighting for not even having binocs at hand.

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@…

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Re: White-breasted Nuthatch

Cool sighting of the Stellar’s Jays! At our location along the Snake River, I’ve had a single appearance by a lone Stellar’s Jay, years ago. Farmer neighbor tells me Stellar’s, like Mountain Bluebirds, were fairly regular in this area 60+ years ago. Have only seen Mountain Bluebirds a couple of times here, for brief visits, during the Spring. Neighbor tells me bluebirds used to nest in the horizontal pipe his Dad had welded to the mailbox post, for the newspaper. Said, when nesting, the paper would be on top of the mailbox in the morning.
 
Also, that as Starlings appeared, the bluebirds disappeared. Kind of like newspapers, themselves. But, don’t think I can blame disappearance of newspapers on Starlings…
 
Brian Carrigan 
Blackfoot