Apologies for the obvious typo (“yellow-bellied loon”??) in the text of my
last post. I must have sapsuckers on the brain today!

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID

On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 12:01 PM Carl Lundblad
wrote:

> To make a long story short, I photographed a YELLOW-BELLIED LOON near
> Rocky Point on Lake Chatcolet (Heyburn State Park in Benewah County) on
> November 2. I almost blew if off as a pale-billed look-alike Common Loon,
> but upon critically re-evaluating my photos in the past week I realized it
> was in fact a Yellow-billed (photos in eBird:
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S61120883). I’ll be submitting my
> documentation to the IBRC.
>
> Dave Griffin and I were back up there yesterday (Nov. 16) morning and saw
> one likely-continuing PACIFIC LOON and only 2-3 Common Loons. The whole
> area was pretty quiet.
>
> Good Birding,
>
> Carl Lundblad
> Moscow, Idaho
>

To make a long story short, I photographed a YELLOW-BELLIED LOON near Rocky
Point on Lake Chatcolet (Heyburn State Park in Benewah County) on November
2. I almost blew if off as a pale-billed look-alike Common Loon, but upon
critically re-evaluating my photos in the past week I realized it was in
fact a Yellow-billed (photos in eBird: https://ebird.org/checklist/S61120883).
I’ll be submitting my documentation to the IBRC.

Dave Griffin and I were back up there yesterday (Nov. 16) morning and saw
one likely-continuing PACIFIC LOON and only 2-3 Common Loons. The whole
area was pretty quiet.

Good Birding,

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, Idaho

I figured it was going to be a good day for birding when I discovered a
Merlin in a neighbor’s tree, overlooking my feeders. But then as I was
leaving with my bike, I noticed a Robin-sized bird in another neighbor’s
tree, that turned out to be a Townsend’s Solitaire. Neither are regulars in
my neighborhood.

Things settled down for a while after that, and I accumulated 27 birds along
my ride. That’s when I heard the distinctive call of a White-breasted
Nuthatch, who hung around “honking” for a little while. I continued on to
Les Bois, picking up birds as I went.

Then, on my way back, I heard the call of a Cooper’s Hawk, protesting about
something. I kept trying to get a look at the bird when I noticed a hulking
shape in the trees, and I realized the Cooper’s was complaining about a
Great Horned Owl sitting low in a tree. That helped to explain why
Black-billed Magpies would be anywhere near a Cooper’s.

So now I had 35 birds, but the treats kept coming. The next bird was a
Pacific Wren, hanging out in his winter quarters that Jay Carlisle pointed
out to me a number of years ago. He even came out to greet me. (Or was he
complaining about my presence?)

Of course, any time I get near a round number (like 40), my BADD (Birder’s
Attention Deficit Disorder) kicks into high gear, and I quickly added a
Pied-billed Grebe, then an American Goldfinch and an American Coot. But by
then I’d seen most of the “usual suspects,” and I was wondering what I could
do for #40.

That’s when I saw the Greater White-fronted Goose, hanging out with a bunch
of Canada Geese at Esther Simplot. Forty birds, my Extreme Daily Allowance,
in November!

The icing on the cake was #41, a Lesser Goldfinch in my back yard. A truly
special day.

Tom McCabe, Boise

Thanks for both your viewpoints, Carl & Larry. Will be interesting to see if any of the current Blue Jays overwinter from this year into next. Just refilled the feeder for afternoon & all 3 appeared within minutes.

Have to admit to mixed feelings of the possibility of Blue Jay range expansion. And, I was leaning toward the chance that we might be witnessing range expansion. But, I know Blue Jays feed on songbird nester eggs & hatchlings from previous experience with the jays in Texas. I also know that I would not want another songbird predator thrown into the mix, as spring songbirds already have enough challenges. At the same time, the Blue Jay is striking with its variations in blue color from turquoise to bright blue. And, definitely, the jays are not shy in alerting one to their presence! Qualities which make for a fun feeder bird.

All in all, however, hoping Carl is correct & this fall’s Blue Jay numbers represent a noticeable irruption. Again, thanks for the great information & input.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

awe shucks, i’d love their raucous cacophony to become a fixture in S Idaho…..

must remind IBLE that Missy and I found a pair in Idaho Falls a few yrs ago, with one carrying what looked like gnarly nesting material

[ https://ebird.org/checklist/S18397496 | https://ebird.org/checklist/S18397496 ]

absolutely love their “personality” =)

From: “Carl Lundblad carl.lundblad@gmail.com [ible]”
Cc: “IBLE”
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 9:28:37 AM
Subject: Re: [IBLE] And Then There Were…Three

Blue Jays move (presumably mostly out of Alberta) into (mostly north) Idaho each year in the fall. Some years it’s a few. Some years it’s a lot. This year happens to be a banner year with large numbers arriving throughout Idaho, including in more places than usual, and some making it as far south as northern Nevada, Utah, and southern Wyoming (below which they bump up against the breeding population on the Front Range). Montana is complicated because they have a breeding population (and some of our winter birds may come from there), but they also receive an influx during fall and winter. They are undoubtedly attracted to and facilitated by feeders and urbanization. While there may have been a slow range expansion over the last quarter century, this is much more a case of year-to-year variation in an irruptive species than a directional trend. Most or all of them will leave in the spring, although it wouldn’t be surprising if a few eventually began breeding in Idaho (probably initially following with a big irruption year, like this).
Good Birding,

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, Idaho

On Fri, Nov 15, 2019 at 7:32 AM [ mailto:lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com | lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com ] [ible] wrote:

Since sunrise this morning, I’ve been watching 3 Blue Jays coming in to feed on both whole corn kernels & black-oil sunflower seeds. Oftentimes, with all 3 present at once.

Given the reports this fall of Blue Jays, esp in E ID, I pulled my records. My only Steller’s Jay sighting at our place along the Snake River was 10/8/2000, feeding in our dry overflow channel. First Blue Jay sighting was 5/16/2012 at the feeder. Then, last year, the one which overwintered, arrived on 10/21/2018 to the feeder.

Makes for some interesting questions. Are we witnessing a fall irruption of Blue Jays? Or, do we have a front row seat to observing the range expansion of Blue Jays? Is providing a seed source through feeders aiding a range expansion? Would be interested in others’ thoughts. Probably too early to draw firm conclusions, but interesting, nonetheless.

My 3rd generation farmer buddy tells me his mom, who was a hobby birder used to see the occasional Blue Jay years ago, at the family homestead, a mile directly west of me. And, as an aside, until Starlings showed, Mt Bluebirds would nest all through this area…even in their mailbox once! The mailman had them nail a box up nearby, so as not to disturb the bluebirds. That would have been in the 1960’s. A lot has changed since then.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Blue Jays move (presumably mostly out of Alberta) into (mostly north) Idaho
each year in the fall. Some years it’s a few. Some years it’s a lot.
This year happens to be a banner year with large numbers arriving
throughout Idaho, including in more places than usual, and some making it
as far south as northern Nevada, Utah, and southern Wyoming (below which
they bump up against the breeding population on the Front Range). Montana
is complicated because they have a breeding population (and some of our
winter birds may come from there), but they also receive an influx during
fall and winter. They are undoubtedly attracted to and facilitated by
feeders and urbanization. While there may have been a slow range expansion
over the last quarter century, this is much more a case of year-to-year
variation in an irruptive species than a directional trend. Most or all of
them will leave in the spring, although it wouldn’t be surprising if a few
eventually began breeding in Idaho (probably initially following with a big
irruption year, like this).

Good Birding,

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, Idaho

On Fri, Nov 15, 2019 at 7:32 AM lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible] < ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
> Since sunrise this morning, I’ve been watching 3 Blue Jays coming in to
> feed on both whole corn kernels & black-oil sunflower seeds. Oftentimes,
> with all 3 present at once.
>
> Given the reports this fall of Blue Jays, esp in E ID, I pulled my
> records. My only Steller’s Jay sighting at our place along the Snake River
> was 10/8/2000, feeding in our dry overflow channel. First Blue Jay sighting
> was 5/16/2012 at the feeder. Then, last year, the one which overwintered,
> arrived on 10/21/2018 to the feeder.
>
> Makes for some interesting questions. Are we witnessing a fall irruption
> of Blue Jays? Or, do we have a front row seat to observing the range
> expansion of Blue Jays? Is providing a seed source through feeders aiding a
> range expansion? Would be interested in others’ thoughts. Probably too
> early to draw firm conclusions, but interesting, nonetheless.
>
> My 3rd generation farmer buddy tells me his mom, who was a hobby birder
> used to see the occasional Blue Jay years ago, at the family homestead, a
> mile directly west of me. And, as an aside, until Starlings showed, Mt
> Bluebirds would nest all through this area…even in their mailbox once!
> The mailman had them nail a box up nearby, so as not to disturb the
> bluebirds. That would have been in the 1960’s. A lot has changed since
> then.
>
> Brian Carrigan
> Blackfoot
>
>
>

i love to speculate, crawl out on a limb, like what the hay, yada yada…..

LA

// below

From: “lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2019 8:11:59 AM
Subject: [IBLE] And Then There Were…Three

Since sunrise this morning, I’ve been watching 3 Blue Jays coming in to feed on both whole corn kernels & black-oil sunflower seeds. Oftentimes, with all 3 present at once.

Given the reports this fall of Blue Jays, esp in E ID, I pulled my records. My only Steller’s Jay sighting at our place along the Snake River was 10/8/2000, feeding in our dry overflow channel. First Blue Jay sighting was 5/16/2012 at the feeder. Then, last year, the one which overwintered, arrived on 10/21/2018 to the feeder. // three cheers for record keeping… =)

Makes for some interesting questions. Are we witnessing a fall irruption of Blue Jays? // could be, but… Or, do we have a front row seat to observing the range expansion of Blue Jays? // my vote is here Is providing a seed source through feeders aiding a range expansion? // maybe one of several factors? Would be interested in others’ thoughts. Probably too early to draw firm conclusions, but interesting, nonetheless. // every few yrs in W Colorado we’d experience an “outbreak” of one or two BLJAs, nothing ever like this…!! and recently, for example, I see no ebird reports in what I consider WCO, i.e., west of the Continental Divide.. …. great questions, Brian =)

My 3rd generation farmer buddy tells me his mom, who was a hobby birder used to see the occasional Blue Jay years ago, at the family homestead, a mile directly west of me. And, as an aside, until Starlings showed, Mt Bluebirds would nest all through this area…even in their mailbox once! The mailman had them nail a box up nearby, so as not to disturb the bluebirds. That would have been in the 1960’s. A lot has changed since then.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Since sunrise this morning, I’ve been watching 3 Blue Jays coming in to feed on both whole corn kernels & black-oil sunflower seeds. Oftentimes, with all 3 present at once.

Given the reports this fall of Blue Jays, esp in E ID, I pulled my records. My only Steller’s Jay sighting at our place along the Snake River was 10/8/2000, feeding in our dry overflow channel. First Blue Jay sighting was 5/16/2012 at the feeder. Then, last year, the one which overwintered, arrived on 10/21/2018 to the feeder.

Makes for some interesting questions. Are we witnessing a fall irruption of Blue Jays? Or, do we have a front row seat to observing the range expansion of Blue Jays? Is providing a seed source through feeders aiding a range expansion? Would be interested in others’ thoughts. Probably too early to draw firm conclusions, but interesting, nonetheless.

My 3rd generation farmer buddy tells me his mom, who was a hobby birder used to see the occasional Blue Jay years ago, at the family homestead, a mile directly west of me. And, as an aside, until Starlings showed, Mt Bluebirds would nest all through this area…even in their mailbox once! The mailman had them nail a box up nearby, so as not to disturb the bluebirds. That would have been in the 1960’s. A lot has changed since then.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Wow!! thank you * ALL * for so quickly responding… IBLE is alive and well 😉
have been chatting with Jeff about our raptorish intentions
LA

From: “Larry Arnold”
To: “IBLE”
Cc: “Larry Arnold”
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2019 7:06:55 PM
Subject: raptor surveys……. RFI

for some reason I’ve lost track of who posted about this, that there were still a few available spots for doing these in Idaho this winter
and
Missy and I are wanting to participate this season……. does anyone have contact info for this?
I believe it was posted by someone in Oregon??

sincere thx……!!

Larry Arnold
Boise

Larry,

Contact:

Jeff Fleischer

e-mail raptorrunner@yahoo.com

Jack Oar