Listserv Posts

spring migration rocks !!!

I can echo recent sentiments expressed on IBLE by Tom, Jay, and others, maybe add a few of my own…….

 

I wasn’t expecting this little shift in weather I woke up to this morning, and it was awesome to get back to some of my routine…  WinCo for groceries at 0515 hrs, followed by my first visit to the gym in months, if only briefly, it was great to be back, moving, again… 

 

BIRDS were popping EARLY this morning, all across the spectrum (of taxonomic orders and families and such), this hormonal thing is intense, and with a little clear sky, orchestrations were in crescendo, like everywhere.  Here in the wild wild west we are blessed with dramatic elevation changes and their associated habitats…  when birds go quiet while nesting here in the valley, we can go up a few thousand feet and get a whole ‘nuther

intense dose of song!   =)     I “matured with birding” at elevations ranging from 2K to 13K+, and I can tell you that tundra is an exciting place to bird in mid-summer !!

 

I always figure that birders with an interest, or those who care, already know our usual “alpha codes” but if not, again, the ones I rely on are these…  https://www.birdpop.org/docs/misc/Alpha_codes_eng.pdf

For me, easiest to remember birds by are their vocals, next are these codes, and last are their many specific field marks per se, maybe a geezer thing?

 

Yes, WETA are recently everywhere, but in our little patch of the Boise Greenbelt, others have ramped up in numbers and in “tra-la-la” as well, e.g., WAVI, HOWR, WWPE, BHCO everywhere YEWA are of course,

can’t even name them all

So many chattering / sputtering SPSA, BUOR, BHGR

Chats in strange places

A nervy YEWA caught me by surprise with a convincing WIFL call

Layers and layers of swallows on the wing above so many ponds, and lining overhead utility wires

Constant motion of herons and cormorants to / from local rookeries

Our local screaming SWHA(s)

Neither of the adult BAEAs were at their nest for the first time this season

Occasional flybys of EVGR, and a small noisy group of RECR caught me off guard

A couple of CAFI still using our feeders

Hummingbird wing-song of flight displays

A silly LOL moment watching a smallish doe foraging with 7 WITU   

And finally =)   my FOY WIFL at 0725 hrs this morning, whereas (absent one outlier) my recent FOY dates have ranged 22-29 May.

 

Meanwhile, the yard needs mowing, weeds need pulling, and my ornithophilous (pollinated by humbirds in particular) seedlings of salvia and stache need TLC…..

 

This is your lucky day, because the above words are a condensed version of what I really wanted to post    ðŸ˜‰   


Good boid’n !!

Larry

 

 

 

Listserv Posts

stormy weather in May usually = great birding

This is old news for veteran birders but the unsettled weather over the last week has brought us a lot of migrants – and the forecast for the coming few days looks to be more of the same. The basic idea is that birds initiate migration after dusk (most of our songbirds are nocturnal migrants) and then are grounded (i.e., they stop migration for the night and make do where they are) if they run into rain or even a strong weather system with very little rain but keep migrating if the weather is good. In my experience in Idaho, this phenomenon is much more pronounced in spring migration than in fall – and May is the peak migration for many Neotropical migrants.

For example, on a quick neighborhood walk with the dog this AM, I eBirded 26 Western Tanagers (probably a conservative #), 3 Western Wood-pewees, & more migrants. In contrast, last weekend Heidi & I birded after a clear night and found relatively few migrants.

Take home message – get out birding when you can during breaks in the weather & you;ll be rewarded! I would guess there are currently many hundreds, if not well over a thousand, Western Tanagers in and around Boise – and just imagine the #s across southern Idaho.

Enjoy spring migration,

Jay

Listserv Posts

Observations

A few observations from this weekend. Have seen that Bald Eagles take advantage of soaring with large groups of White Pelicans. Nearly every larger Pelican group I saw the last few days had at least one, & in another case 3, Bald Eagles soaring with the group over the Snake River. Wondering if they use the Pelicans to hide themselves in, to make a sudden dive toward a rising fish? Or, if it’s just that the same thermals attracting Pelicans, also attract the Eagles? 

Another obs is of dandelions. I do try to keep dandelions under control in the lawn, but never kill out all. Have found that Lazuli Buntings, Pine Siskins & Am Goldfinches like the seeds in fluff. At one point today, had 3 male Lazulis all eating dandelion seeds at the same time. Striking colors!

And, lastly, learned a new sound. While the male Black-chinned Hummingbird was displaying to a female perched on the feeder, kept hearing distinct & rapid bell-like tones as it would buzz past the feeder, in addition to the usual trill of air through its feathers. Finally, found on Cornell University’s bird site the exact description of what I was hearing. The males don’t always make the sound and it’s also caused by air rushing through the feathers during descent & straight flight. The male did this about 10 times, back & forth, over a distance of about 50 yds. His previous display flights to the female were only made up of trills. So, can obviously control the sound, just with its feathers & speed. Plainly…fascinating.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
 

Listserv Posts

Pine Siskins

Evening Grosbeaks still coming in to feeder, down to about 10 now. BH Grosbeaks are here in force now, males & females. Counted 11 at feeder at same time. Up to 3 male Lazuli Buntings at a time, too. No females yet. Also, seeing Bullock’s Orioles, House Wrens & Yellow Warblers. A Red-breasted Nuthatch pr may be nesting. Sure are active.

Robins are nesting now. Both Chipping Sparrows & WC Sparrows are here. And Pine Siskins are back at feeder this AM. A Black-chinned Hummingbird pr is setting up for nesting. The male was doing large U-shaped display flights for the female for 5+ mins at a time this AM. 

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

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