I’ve had a handful of straggler Warblers come thru the past sev days: singles of MacGillivray’s, Yellow & Wilson’s. Did have a half dozen W Tanagers, mainly juvs in a group, & one White-breasted Nuthatch. Red-breasted stay yr round now. But, my hummingbirds seemed to have pulled out & only critters coming into the feeder were yellow jackets. 

 

Brian Carrigan 

Blackfoot 

We are still getting a few hummingbirds here in Idaho Falls and my sister in Driggs is still getting some. 

Pulled the hummingbird feeder this AM. Activity had stopped. Correspondence with a naturalist in Colorado found that they experienced a noticeable decrease at their feeders, this Fall, too. And, are near pulling theirs, as well. 

 

What I lost in hummingbird activity though, seems to have been more than compensated by Spotted Towhee activity, this season! I’ve counted no fewer than 25 on the place today. One group, back in the woods, had at least 8 birds. In the yard, have counted 5 at a time, in separate groups. Must have had a really successful hatch season this yr. 

 

Brian Carrigan 

Blackfoot 

Think it must have been this summer’s excessive heat, combined with wildfires, that disrupted usual migration corridors. Aug into first couple wks of Sept has been really good, past few Falls, for Rufous & Calliope Hummingbirds coming through. Haven’t seen a single Calliope & the handful of Rufous came thru in July. I’ve seen a single juv female Black-chinned past few days. About ready to just pull my feeder.

 

Brian Carrigan 

Blackfoot 

Looks as if Fall migration is simply passing me by. Seemingly overnight, Gray Catbirds are gone, down to 1 or 2 BH Grosbeaks & 1 juv BC Hummingbird. Yellow Warblers, Bullock’s Orioles, W Tanagers…all gone. Zero Calliope & Broad-tailed Hummers. A few Rufous mid-July, zero since. Had 5-6 Western Wood-Pewees, up until today, overnight…gone. 

 

Largest number of platform feeder birds are now House Finches & BC Chickadees. Will see what next few wks brings. 

 

Brian Carrigan 

Blackfoot 

If you get an invitation to attend my party, delete the email.  It is not legit. 

On Aug 24, 2026, at 9:33 AM, John Schmidt via groups.io <jsecho03@…> wrote:

Thanks for the pics Ken. It happened so fast and was over in a flash, but upon further review it most likely was an immature bald eagle. I was watching the heron escape so I didn’t get as long a look at the eagle. We saw quite a few immature balds but none had a golden hue. Your pics certainly help!