Re: 2020 Retrospective and Thank-You’s

Congratulations Carter Strope !! 

Thank you to the entire group and to all who have patiently helped me as I ventured into E Bird and Sparrow ID and finding in 2020. I blame Heidi Carlisle for getting me hooked on the little brown birds 🙂 Thanks to Poo Wright-Pulliam for helping out in the Wood River Valley, and to Cliff Weisse, Heid and Jay Carlisle, Carter and many others for helping my correct my Bird ID on E Bird, Facebook and elsewhere with the most recent by Carl Lundblad who told me yesterday that I had found and photographed a Swainson’s Thrush on 12-24-20 at Barber Park not a Hermit Thrush … I had photographed one other Swainson’s Thrush, juvenile 8-3-16 in Seldovia Alaska. My rookie bird brain never even thought of anything besides a Hermit Thrush for Christmas Eve at Barber Park and completely ignored the buffy eye ring rounded head etc.. 🙂 

On Jan 1, 2021, at 10:53 PM, Carter Strope <cmstropep@…> wrote:


Greetings IBLE,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

With 2020 finally in the rear view, I wanted to take a moment to look back on my year of birding and give some well overdue thanks to a number of people.

This year, as a result of determination, circumstance, and a great deal of luck I was fortunate enough to amass an Idaho State Year List of 321 species, just surpassing the longstanding Idaho Big Year record of 318. The previous record was, as many or most of you may already know, was set by the late Harry J Krueger in 2004.

Beyond the hardship we all faced as a global society, 2020 challenged me in ways I could not have expected.

While I had the incredible opportunity to see parts of this state, birds, and natural phenomena I had never seen before. Those moments of wonder came alongside many trials, and long days and, some even longer nights. Those hurdles were the experiences that made me a better birder and a better person at the end of it all. The moments that tried me this year were as valuable to me as the moments of rich triumph, and altogether made for an experience I am truly grateful for. 

12 months, 44 counties, and 321 bird species later I am left in awe, once again, of Idaho and all that it has to offer.

More importantly, however, I would like to thank a number of people. There are too many people to acknowledge here and now but I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Heidi Carlisle, Cheryl Huzinga, Lucian Davis, Darren Clark, Carl Lundblad, Cliff Weisse, James Petersen, and the many supportive and wonderful birders of the Wood River Valley including Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Larry Barnes, with whom I began this great adventure, and the late Harry J Krueger for setting a very high bar, that was both incredibly difficult and wildly fun to pursue. All of these people played an integral part in making this year possible, and as such have my eternal gratitude.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in 2021.

Bird on,
Carter Strope 

P.S. For those who are curious, you can find my final list here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-aBB2NtpJ3PrhsqWTGs2cIu1phTC3l6J7GxwlDxv79s/edit?usp=drivesdk

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

2020 Retrospective and Thank-You’s

Greetings IBLE,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

With 2020 finally in the rear view, I wanted to take a moment to look back on my year of birding and give some well overdue thanks to a number of people.

This year, as a result of determination, circumstance, and a great deal of luck I was fortunate enough to amass an Idaho State Year List of 321 species, just surpassing the longstanding Idaho Big Year record of 318. The previous record was, as many or most of you may already know, was set by the late Harry J Krueger in 2004.

Beyond the hardship we all faced as a global society, 2020 challenged me in ways I could not have expected.

While I had the incredible opportunity to see parts of this state, birds, and natural phenomena I had never seen before. Those moments of wonder came alongside many trials, and long days and, some even longer nights. Those hurdles were the experiences that made me a better birder and a better person at the end of it all. The moments that tried me this year were as valuable to me as the moments of rich triumph, and altogether made for an experience I am truly grateful for. 

12 months, 44 counties, and 321 bird species later I am left in awe, once again, of Idaho and all that it has to offer.

More importantly, however, I would like to thank a number of people. There are too many people to acknowledge here and now but I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Heidi Carlisle, Cheryl Huzinga, Lucian Davis, Darren Clark, Carl Lundblad, Cliff Weisse, James Petersen, and the many supportive and wonderful birders of the Wood River Valley including Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Larry Barnes, with whom I began this great adventure, and the late Harry J Krueger for setting a very high bar, that was both incredibly difficult and wildly fun to pursue. All of these people played an integral part in making this year possible, and as such have my eternal gratitude.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in 2021.

Bird on,
Carter Strope 

P.S. For those who are curious, you can find my final list here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-aBB2NtpJ3PrhsqWTGs2cIu1phTC3l6J7GxwlDxv79s/edit?usp=drivesdk

Birds

Not a good photo it’s a kestrel with fresh caught meal .its on the metal pole near beginning of outlet canal lower dam this is second time I found one with fresh caught meal same location. Looking along canal no dunlins  back to gravel rd.look trees no luck went back to canal 15 minutes later dunlins there & the kingfish  as Amos & andaay  would say on their radio show got there about 4:15

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