Cool photo, Elizabeth!
Monthly Archives: December 2025
Re: Melanistic Ring-necked Pheasant
Hey there, Joel!
Good to see your response! Not aware of any game farm birds in immediate area. However, over the yrs have seen Bobwhite Quail, Hungarian Partridge & Chukar. So, good possibility there’s been some releases or escapes in the region. Certainly, a possibility for the melanistic Ring-necked Pheasant.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Re: Melanistic Ring-necked Pheasant
Oddly enough, we saw them strolling along roads near farms on Maui. I was convinced at first they were some kind of rare exotica. The photo with this checklist was taken in dense fog.
Liz Medes
Emmett
Re: Melanistic Ring-necked Pheasant
I’ve never experienced them , but my son has seen black pheasants here in central Oregon.
Google them and you’ll see that they are fairly commonly bred for game farms.
Joel Tisley
Melanistic Ring-necked Pheasant
Sure not much to report lately. Mainly, Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans coming over daily, from winter wheat fields to the river. And, moose. See 2-3 daily on place, from yearling calf to cows to bulls, both young to a couple big, mature ones.
This AM, looked out across winter wheat field & saw, what I thought was a Raven with 2 Pheasant roosters. Binocs showed a completely black RN Pheasant rooster. First I’ve ever seen.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Re: No Birds at Feeders
Having bemoaned our lack of birds, we woke up to double the usual number of lesser goldfinches and juncos. Around noon a flock of about 100 robins came into the neighborhood
and were followed by about 50 cedar waxwings. Next up was a large flock of starlings, who tried to find out how many of them could land on our bird bath at one time (about a dozen is the correct answer). Two yellow rump warblers appeared with the starlings
(a first for our yard). The final group of the day was a flock of two to three dozen magpies. By 3 PM all the birds were gone, not so much as a junco remained. I’m guessing the next weather front is pushing them, or maybe it was our neighborhood’s turn on
their rotation schedule.
Great fun either way!
Tom Soniville
Re: No Birds at Feeders
In Valley County, McCall area, there is a very good seed crop in the ponderosas, so my feeders lack customers. Birds are out there but getting natural foods.
Dean Jones
Boise & Donnelly
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy Tablet
Re: No Birds at Feeders
So I took a hike yesterday around the house. Within a mile we saw flocks of goldfinches, juncos, pine siskins and chickadees. They’re out there, just not at the feeders. That’s a good thing.
Re: No Birds at Feeders
Thanks to all of you for these interesting reports. I appreciate the descriptions of your observations.
Diann Stone Boise
Re: No Birds at Feeders
Boise North End. Justa few Juncos. 1-2 atta time
Bob Perata