While bicycling today in the city of Mountain Home, I stopped as I always do to study a bird feeding station, and by golly there was a male Evening Grosbeak consuming sunflower hearts. The same feeding station (just off S 5th West St.) also had a flock of Pine Siskins present.
Alan Gregory in Mountain Home
—
Alan C Gregory Lt. Col., USAF, Ret. Mountain Home, ID
Member, Idaho Native Plant Society
Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association, life member
Yesterday, it was Common Redpolls. Today, it was a flock of about 50 Bohemian Waxwings. Over a couple of hours, the flock completely stripped every remaining fruit from a crabapple tree. When finished, wouldn’t say the waxwings were “drunk”, just very contented! They flew up to uppermost branches of a nearby golden willow & absorbed the sun for another hour or so, before taking off.
Between, the redpolls, crossbills &, now waxwings, definitely shaping up to be a good “irruption” winter of some rarities. Good number of Townsend’s Solitaires have appeared in Snake River Bottoms for the winter, as well. There’s a bumper crop of Rocky Mtn Juniper berries to feed on.
Common redpolls here in Halfway OR, SE corner of the Wallowa Mountains, 2800 ft elevation. It was a large flock, +30, flying around in pasture land, landing on Hawthorn bushes. A lifer for me😻
I’ve been spending time around Henry’s Lake this week and have
also been seeing flocks of redpolls. Today there was one large
flock numbering 50 or more foraging in Sagebrush. Seems like it is
indeed going to be a good winer for them.
Cliff
On 11/20/21 1:43 PM, lcarrigan_55 via
groups.io wrote:
Started seeing reports of Redpolls in W MT about 10 days ago. And,
then the note the other day on this forum. Just had a group of
about 20 Common Redpolls on our place along the Snake River. They
were working through dried tansy bush stands along a spring
channel. Shaping up to be a good winter finch irruption year. The
last weekend that Yellowstone roads were open recently, saw sev
large flocks of Red Crossbills. Winter Finches are on the move.
Circa 12 noon i needed am.tree sp.for my 599th lifer. one would think been birding 26 years I should have seen before now.so In spite of severe hip pain, surgery 3O Nov I enlisted my friend Richard rusnak to carry my folding camp chair to the flat area below park lot so I could sit & let birds come to me “bingo”sitting 2 hrs worth it .thanks
Also to birder Russell for fresh info & helping with chair it was worth the pain thanks to all.no red polls
Started seeing reports of Redpolls in W MT about 10 days ago. And, then the note the other day on this forum. Just had a group of about 20 Common Redpolls on our place along the Snake River. They were working through dried tansy bush stands along a spring channel. Shaping up to be a good winter finch irruption year. The last weekend that Yellowstone roads were open recently, saw sev large flocks of Red Crossbills. Winter Finches are on the move.
Thanks for the heads up, Cliff. As good an outcome for the loon as one might hope for. In the Garden City pond, the loon chose a scenic, if not a too-confined spot to hang around. My picture of the celebrity fowl.
Kevin Merrell
Garden City
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
