A few days ago I was at Deer Flat lower dam about an hour before sunset. Several waves of snow geese flew over towards the snake river. The waves of geese lasted about 20+ minutes and at one point every where I looked in the sky I saw geese. It was a heartwarming sight!
Weighing in on the Snow Geese, I was at the Idaho Bird Conservation Partnership meeting this week and we were hearing from refuge managers that this is definitely higher numbers/longer duration than used to be normal. In recent years we’ve had a fairly large flock on Lake Lowell, but they reported that this year the numbers are rivalling or surpassing what we usually see at Fort Boise WMA in the spring!
Normally we have some decent fall migration, fewer in winter, and tons in spring. So, seeing this many in fall is noteworthy for sure
They come through going south every fall and some hang around longer than others. A few are reported around Treasure Valley all winter. I have photographs of large flocks in mid November going back several years including some from yesterday 🙂
On Nov 20, 2022, at 2:45 PM, Tom & Susan Soniville <tomnsueid@…> wrote:
We were between Nampa and Marsing when we saw large flocks of snow geese overhead. Drove to the south end of Lake Lowell and found a couple thousand of them on the water or coming in. Seems early.
Tom Soniville
— Tom Soniville Boise. North End
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Ken Miracle chukar28@… 208-570-2780 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
We were between Nampa and Marsing when we saw large flocks of snow geese overhead. Drove to the south end of Lake Lowell and found a couple thousand of them on the water or coming in. Seems early.
Today’s ride started with a FOY Townsend’s Solitaire near 25th and Brumback. Then it continued with W. Grebe, Hooded Mergansers, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Goldeneye, 3 RT Hawks, 3 A Kestrels, RN Ducks and most of the usual suspects.
But the big finale was again a Mountain Bluebird, and this time there were 2! One was bright blue, the other a duller, darker blue. When I pointed them out to a passing jogger, a Say’s Phoebe jumped up from the ground and started “flycatching” around. This
all took place on the other side of the path from Veterans Park. Final tally was 36 species in 12 ½ miles.
Thank you for identifying the “large stalk of vegetation” as a wooly mullein stalk. You have expanded my horizons. I see them everywhere, but I had no name for them. Thanks. Tom
My sister and I were walking in the same area you describe and saw the Mountain Bluebird on a spent wooly mullein stalk by the empty canal. I was hoping you and Susan would see it!
I’m not sure how big a deal this is for everyone else, but my wife, Susan, found a Mountain Bluebird today. I think it may be my first of the year, not just of the season. The bird was at the south end of Veterans Park, where the greenbelt
path is separated from the park by a ditch with a wooden footbridge. We saw the bird on the way out on our (cold) ride, but I didn’t see it on the way back. It was perched on a large stalk of vegetation along the ditch and seemed tolerant of the people passing
by on the greenbelt path.
Lots of ducks have arrived, hopefully to stay. Gadwalls are suddenly common, Hooded Mergansers are daily, and Common Goldeneye have started to hang out at Silver Lake. Plus, I saw an Osprey in the last week, but he was a one hit wonder.
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