Approximate coordinates according to my phone: 43.0121 -116.1110
Sent from my iPhone
> On Nov 18, 2017, at 10:52 AM, Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]
>
> Bryce just found on Audubon field trip along dirt road E of pond, ~1/2 way between wooden fence crossover & 2 trees on either side of road. Seen very well by many … still trying for a pic.
>
> Jay
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
Bryce just found on Audubon field trip along dirt road E of pond, ~1/2 way between wooden fence crossover & 2 trees on either side of road. Seen very well by many … still trying for a pic.
Jay
Sent from my iPhone
Still getting Evening Grosbeaks & RB Nuthatches coming into the black-oil sunflower seeds. Fun to see them.
Glad to read Cliff’s report of both Blue Jay & Pine Grosbeaks, too. Pine is the last winter irruption bird I need for my yard list. So, keeping my fingers crossed. Based on some of the IBLE reports & info from Ontario, Canada, it is definitely a winter finch irruption year.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Yesterday I was again in the Henry’s Lake Mountains and heard a Blue Jay
calling. It was hanging with a group of Clark’s Nutcrackers. The
nutcrackers would start calling once in a while and the Blue Jay would
join in. I never got a look at it but I’m sure it was a Blue Jay call.
No Rosy Finches this time but there were Pine Grosbeaks up high and a
group of 5 Bald Eagles flying around in the same place way up on top.
Being concentrated like that I wonder if they were scavenging an Elk
carcass or gut pile. I’ve never seen a Bald do that but I have seen two
Golden Eagles scavenging Elk kills so I’m sure they would if they had
the chance.
Cliff
—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com
My apologies. I did not mention that the sightings in the 1st paragraph of
my previous posting were from Camas NWR.
Steven F. Kahl
Deputy Project Leader
Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex
4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A
Chubbuck, ID 83202
P (208) 237-6615 ext 112
F (208) 237-8213
*Like and follow us on Facebook
*WEEKLY SIGHTINGS*
The waterbird survey on Nov 15 included a LONG-TAILED DUCK, Tundra Swan –
28, Trumpeter Swan – 42, Canada Goose – 16, Mallard – 1410, Northern
Pintail – 7, American Wigeon – 169, Northern Shoveler – 20, Green-winged
Teal – 6, Canvasback – 2, Redhead – 17, Lesser Scaup – 104, Ring-necked
Duck – 41, Common Goldeneye – 3, Bufflehead – 6, Ruddy Duck – 14, Eared
Grebe – 1, Common Merganser – 4, Red-breasted Merganser – 3, Hooded
Merganser – 10, American Coot – 80, Long-billed Dowitcher – 4.
An interesting Ring-billed Gull vs Crayfish observation was made at Bear
Lake NWR this week. The gull was trying to swallow the crayfish whole. But
it must have pinched on the way down as it then exited the gull’s bill and
got away! The results of the weekly waterbird survey included Canada Goose
– 131, Trumpeter Swan – 54 adults + 20 cygnets, Mallard – 42, American
Wigeon – 48, Northern Shoveler – 12, Gadwall – 6, Common Goldeneye – 129,
Bufflehead – 5, Lesser Scaup – 20, Canvasback – 4, Redhead – 2, Ruddy Duck
– 1, Common Merganser – 9, American Coot – 415, Western Grebe – 6,
California Gull – 6. Best public viewing is on Mud Lake along North Beach
Road and the southeast corner of Mud Lake along Merkley Lake Road.
Up to 5 CATTLE EGRETS and 2 SABINE’S GULLS are still being found at the
Lake Walcott Spillway at Minidoka NWR. Other sightings at the refuge this
week include Mallard, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common
Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Western
Grebe, Eared Grebe , Common Loon, Eared American White Pelican, and
Bonaparte’s Gull. The big movement of Snow Geese, Tunda Swans and Trumpeter
Swans throughout SE ID this past week seems to still be continuing but
waning. On the upswing are reports of winter finches, including Evening
Grosbeaks and COMMON REDPOLL at Minidoka NWR.
Thank you for your interest!
If you want to know about all that we’re doing at Bear Lake, Camas, Gray’s
Lake and Minidoka Refuges, check us out and Like us at
https://www.facebook.com/SEIdahoRefuges/. We have posts this week
recognizing our veterans, audio of sandhill cranes, and roosting eagles at
Camas NWR.
Steven F. Kahl
Deputy Project Leader
Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex
4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A
Chubbuck, ID 83202
P (208) 237-6615 ext 112
F (208) 237-8213
*Like and follow us on Facebook
Today’s ride included 3 Red-tails, 2 Kestrels, 1 Bald Eagle, and an Osprey.
The Osprey flew by while I was having a snack at the junction of Remington
St., the river and the greenbelt. He was flying low over the river and
looked like he was intent on getting downriver. Quite a treat.
Today was also the 2d day with no sign of the Snow Goose at ESP. They
started construction on the final phase of ESP and Veterans, and there was
constant noise from diesels and back-up alarms. Surprisingly few Canada
Geese as well.
Tom McCabe, Boise
Fascinating reading, thank you Austin! I knew many of the old timer master banders across the southern U.S., and I have fond memories of discussions and of times with them! =)
Hummingbirds were The Reason for my 19 birding trips to Latin American countries. I haven’t kept track of lumps and splits (most have been the latter), but I’ve seen 190+ species so far.
Thanks again,
Larry
From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Austin Young austinyoung234@gmail.com [ible]
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 12:44 PM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Fwd: [New post] Open Mic: Idaho’s Humbanders and Their Discoveries
Hello all,
Today, the American Birding Association’s blog posted a neat account of Idaho’s significant hummingbird banding operation(s). I encourage you to take a gander, especially if you are unaware, like myself prior to reading the blog, of the history and current status of Idaho hummingbirds and the research being done!
Austin Young
Pocatello, ID
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ABA Blog
Date: Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 6:30 AM
Subject: [New post] Open Mic: Idaho’s Humbanders and Their Discoveries
To: austinyoung234@gmail.com
Nate Swick posted: “At the Mic: Elise Faike In the early 2000s, Stacy Jon Peterson and Fred Bassett arrived in Idaho within a week of each other and started banding hummingbirds. With several assistants, they explored Idaho’s hummingbird inhabitants throughout the state. ”
New post on ABA Blog
by
At the Mic: Elise Faike
In the early 2000s, Stacy Jon Peterson and Fred Bassett arrived in Idaho within a week of each other and started banding hummingbirds. With several assistants, they explored Idaho’s hummingbird inhabitants throughout the state. I first met them when Stacy accepted an invitation to visit my home in Challis in 2004. It was fascinating to watch him capture hummers on my back deck and band them right on my dining room table! The coolest part was holding the tiny creatures for release. Their rapidly beating hearts felt electric on my palm.
Stacy and I visited neighbors and friends nearby to see what hummers are here. When he couldn’t return to Challis in 2006, Fred came instead and brought along Carl Rudeen. They also banded in North Fork and Gibbonsville, where they caught a hummer in 2006 that was banded two months before in Montana, thus defining a previously unknown southward migration route.
They found that Idaho has five commonly occurring hummingbird species: Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Rufous, Calliope, and Anna’s. The first four occur during summer months and Anna’s often overwinter at heated feeders. Others rarely seen or captured in Idaho include Broad-billed, Costa’s, Ruby-throated, and the infrequent hybrid. Except for Anna’s, Idaho’s hummers primarily winter in Mexico.
The author holds a Rufous Hummingbird captured at the Rudeen Ranch Hummingbird Roundup in southeastern Idaho
While many bird banders will choose a location and return annually, Idaho Humbanders also like going wherever the hummers are, when circumstances allow. Early on they hadn’t yet selected many project areas, except the Rudeen Ranch in Southeastern Idaho in 2003, one of the first places they banded. Now they concentrate their efforts throughout southern Idaho, mostly at private homes.
Both Stacy and Fred were master banders when they came to Idaho. Stacy added Carl Rudeen as a sub-permittee on his permit in 2006, Fred trained him, and Carl has since attained his master bander status.
Carl grew up on his family’s ranch watching hundreds of hummers, always wanting to study them. He’s conducting research on spatial hummingbird biology and populations at Rudeen Ranch and will eventually publish a summary of data from the ranch. He also continues to monitor Anna’s Hummingbirds and believes there is a range expansion by that species into southwestern Idaho. He has noticed more summer observations of Anna’s which were previously only found in Idaho during the winter.
Jessica Pollock is Idaho’s newest Humbander. She was an experienced Humbander when she arrived from British Columbia in 2011 to work as Research Biologist at Boise State University’s Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO). IBO conducts ongoing songbird and raptor projects on Lucky Peak and elsewhere, but didn’t yet have a Humbanding program until Jessica initiated one. (Such small birds require different banding skills, procedures, and permits than other birds, although if one was caught, data were collected and stored in house without banding it.) Jessica is a sub-permittee of IBO’s master permit. She also bands songbirds, owls, and large raptors.
It took Jessica only two seasons to find the perfect project area: private land near Idaho City with an unusually high concentration of breeding Calliopes, where in 2012 she established a unique long-term research endeavor to study them. It’s the only breeding Calliope station in the Hummingbird Monitoring Network, which tracks all species at sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (
Interesting Idaho Discoveries
Idaho Humbanders have observed some cool things about hummingbirds. Jessica once caught a gravid Calliope at Idaho City and could see the egg through its skin, then recaptured her a couple of hours later and the egg was gone! Jessica remarked, “She was healthy and energetic and I’m sure she’d just laid her egg in a nest nearby.”
Carl has noticed how tough and resilient hummingbirds are. “Birds really aren’t as fragile as you’d think,” he says. “It’s still snowing when they show up in spring, migrating tremendous distances through extreme weather.”
Carl and Stacy have learned that, “a fairly high proportion of the population is long-lived”. Before closing the last trap at Rudeen Ranch in 2010, Stacy recaptured #N05909, a Black-chinned first banded there as an after-hatch-year bird in 2003, which made it 8+ years old. They recaptured it every year until then!
Jessica also “recaptured a male Calliope on April 27, 2016 that we initially banded in 2012 and we have caught him every single year since 2012. He was an adult in 2012, so he is at least 5 years old and likely older”.
Several other 8-year-olds have also been recaptured at Rudeen Ranch. In 2015, Stacy recaptured #N57688, another after-hatch-year Black-chinned first banded in 2004, making it more than 11 years old. It was recaptured six of 11 years. “About 30% of the birds we catch are returns from previous bandings at the ranch,” Carl says. “More old birds could be out there.”
Fred bands birds all over the country, which gives him a good overview of hummer populations nationwide. Bergmann’s Rule (usually applied to mammals) holds that animals are bigger in the north than the south, because larger individuals can withstand colder temperatures better, and he’s discovered that “Black-chinned Hummingbird sizes get larger as you go north. The largest ones are in Idaho. All other hummer species are the same sizes.”
Idaho’s Humbanders always look forward to their next banding sessions; they know their next exciting discovery is only a matter of time. It will be interesting to learn more about hummingbird natural history and behavior as their research activities continue in Idaho.
–=====–
Elise Faike is a geologist and adventure travel planner who lives in Challis, Idaho, with her husband Dave and little Blue Heeler Tater. She enjoys birding and watching wildlife locally and around the world. She also likes holding and releasing banded birds whenever possible for her “Birds Held” list.
Change your email settings at
Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
—
Austin Young
eBird’s new treatment of sensitive species was rolled out about 3 weeks
ago. They were planing to highlight and introduce these changes on their
homepage (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/) this week, but server crash at
Cornell presumably delayed that roll-out. The species in Idaho that are
affected include Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, and Gyrfalcon. You can
test this (or discover what species in other regions may be included) by
zooming in on eBird’s range maps. For affected species, you can no longer
see the location-specific blue/red markers for individual occurrences.
Instead you only see the smallest-scale purple blocks indicating one or
more record within that block. Regional editors were not consulted about
which species deserved inclusion, and I don’t want to get into the weeds of
discussing specific species. But, the important point is that this is for
the benefit of birds that are subject to illegal hunting and other forms of
human persecution. Of course, researchers can still access the raw data
for legitimate scientific enterprises.
Look for more details to be highlighted on the eBird homepage (
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/) as soon as they get this week’s server
problems fully rectified.
Good Birding,
Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID
On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 12:57 PM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net
[ible]
>
>
>
>
> Have folks on IBLE heard about this “blockage” thing?
>
> Any ideas as to what might be hidden in Idaho? Possibly Boreal Owl? For
> you, Cliff……. 😉
>
> Thread begins at bottom.
>
>
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* obol-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:obol-bounce@freelists.org
>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 15, 2017 9:07 AM
> *To:* Bob Archer
> *Cc:* OBOL
> *Subject:* [obol] Re: Interesting Ebird update
>
>
>
> “Qualified scientists?” Oh my. Is there a definition or explanation of
> what that means?
>
>
>
> Alan Contreras
>
> acontrer56@gmail.com
>
>
>
> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>
>
>
> Eugene, Oregon
>
>
>
> www.alanlcontreras.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:59 AM, Bob Archer
>
>
>
> “qualified scientists” seem to have access. The rest of us see a 400 km2
> area of where bird was.
>
>
>
> Bob
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:49 AM, Alan Contreras
> wrote:
>
> That would seem to limit eBird’s use for research purposes. If I want to
> know where GGOs were found in Oregon, do I submit a yellow form in
> triplicate swearing not to harm the lovelies?
>
>
>
> Alan Contreras
>
> acontrer56@gmail.com
>
>
>
> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>
>
>
> Eugene, Oregon
>
>
>
> www.alanlcontreras.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:45 AM, Bob Archer
>
>
>
> Seems the block is mandatory, all Gyrfalcon sightings are gone. Great
> Gray Owl are gone. The original observers can see info, that is all.
> Perhaps Mr Irons knows if regional editors have any say?
>
>
>
> Bob
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:43 AM, Alan Contreras
> wrote:
>
> Is the block mandatory or a choice made by the observer?
>
>
>
> Alan Contreras
>
> acontrer56@gmail.com
>
>
>
> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>
>
>
> Eugene, Oregon
>
>
>
> www.alanlcontreras.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:41 AM, Bob Archer
>
>
>
> Ebird now has a list of protected species, you can enter precise location
> info for certain owls etc without info being provided to users of the
> site. Northern Spotted Owl will show as a large block on the range map, no
> balloons. I tested system, try and find all the markers for the Gyrfalcon
> last Feb.
>
>
>
> Feel free to enter Northern Hawk Owl if you find one. Location will be
> blocked. Seems like a good idea rather than entering false info into site.
>
>
>
> http://help.ebird.org/customer/en/portal/articles/
> 2885265-sensitive-species-in-ebird
>
>
>
> Bob Archer
>
> PDX
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Meant to send this to everyone.
Zeke Watkins
208-731-1471
Instagram : @idahobirder
Not all those who wander are lost – J.R.R. Tolkien
Without the animals, Man would die of a great loneliness of the Spirit – Chief Seattle
An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only great curiosity but great fulfillment – Sir David Attenborough
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Zeke Watkins
> Date: November 15, 2017 at 2:27:27 PM MST
> To: Larry Arnold
> Subject: Re: [IBLE] FW: [obol] Re: Interesting Ebird update
>
> There was a post on eBird’s main page last month about the Sensitive Species issue explaining what would be hidden. Here is a link: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/2885265
>
>
> Zeke Watkins
> 208-731-1471
> Instagram : @idahobirder
>
> Not all those who wander are lost – J.R.R. Tolkien
>
> Without the animals, Man would die of a great loneliness of the Spirit – Chief Seattle
>
> An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only great curiosity but great fulfillment – Sir David Attenborough
>
>> On Nov 15, 2017, at 1:57 PM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible]
>>
>>
>>
>> Have folks on IBLE heard about this “blockage” thing?
>>
>> Any ideas as to what might be hidden in Idaho? Possibly Boreal Owl? For you, Cliff……. 😉
>>
>> Thread begins at bottom.
>>
>>
>>
>> Larry
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: obol-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:obol-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Alan Contreras
>> Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2017 9:07 AM
>> To: Bob Archer
>> Cc: OBOL
>> Subject: [obol] Re: Interesting Ebird update
>>
>>
>>
>> “Qualified scientists?” Oh my. Is there a definition or explanation of what that means?
>>
>>
>>
>> Alan Contreras
>>
>> acontrer56@gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>>
>>
>>
>> Eugene, Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>> www.alanlcontreras.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:59 AM, Bob Archer
>>
>>
>>
>> “qualified scientists” seem to have access. The rest of us see a 400 km2 area of where bird was.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:49 AM, Alan Contreras
>>
>> That would seem to limit eBird’s use for research purposes. If I want to know where GGOs were found in Oregon, do I submit a yellow form in triplicate swearing not to harm the lovelies?
>>
>>
>>
>> Alan Contreras
>>
>> acontrer56@gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>>
>>
>>
>> Eugene, Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>> www.alanlcontreras.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:45 AM, Bob Archer
>>
>>
>>
>> Seems the block is mandatory, all Gyrfalcon sightings are gone. Great Gray Owl are gone. The original observers can see info, that is all. Perhaps Mr Irons knows if regional editors have any say?
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:43 AM, Alan Contreras
>>
>> Is the block mandatory or a choice made by the observer?
>>
>>
>>
>> Alan Contreras
>>
>> acontrer56@gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>> “Nostalgic for Nixon”
>>
>>
>>
>> Eugene, Oregon
>>
>>
>>
>> www.alanlcontreras.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 15, 2017, at 8:41 AM, Bob Archer
>>
>>
>>
>> Ebird now has a list of protected species, you can enter precise location info for certain owls etc without info being provided to users of the site.. Northern Spotted Owl will show as a large block on the range map, no balloons. I tested system, try and find all the markers for the Gyrfalcon last Feb.
>>
>>
>>
>> Feel free to enter Northern Hawk Owl if you find one. Location will be blocked. Seems like a good idea rather than entering false info into site.
>>
>>
>>
>> http://help.ebird.org/customer/en/portal/articles/2885265-sensitive-species-in-ebird
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob Archer
>>
>> PDX
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>