Greetings, as of ~10am this morning there was no sign of the barred owl in or around the ID Shakespeare Festival grounds. Traveling further upstream of the Boise River (Lucky Peak State Park-Discovery Unit) there were about a dozen red crossbills congregating in the trees around the restrooms building.
Cheers,
Marty Marzinelli
All – Just wanted to say thanks for your input. I am enjoying the process
of learning and hoping I can shed some light on the subspecies of CANG/CACG
that winter in our area, and not just taking for granted that they are all
moffitti because that is what they are “supposed” to be.
Interestingly, the numbers of these smaller geese continues to climb around
here. Sat I counted over 700 CANG loafing/preening at the Pocatello Water
Pollution Control Plant pond. At LEAST 50 were these smaller birds. I
especially noted a group of 6 that separated themselves from the rest of
the masses and took off as a (perhaps family) group.
Part of my thought process about these possibly being parvipes birds is
that the range maps in Baldassare’s Ducks, Geese, and Swans of NA (the
update to the famous Frank Bellrose tome) shows parvipes wintering in all
of ID, but the SE. In contrast, the map for Taverner’s CACG show them
wintering in far west OR/WA. Thus, it would seem to be that the closer
wintering population would be more likely to show up here.
I did more research on Taverner’s and it underscored the size similarity w/
parvipes that has been mentioned. Coming from the east, where Richardson’s
is the typical CACG, I am used to cacklers being very small and obvious.
I’m working on the pictures, but can’t seem to get close enough to the
birds to get decent snaps. The geese around here still seem very jittery
from the waterfowl season.
I have not been able to find Krueger’s treatise on these birds. I can find
Google hits for it. But they all bring me to the Idaho Birds home page and
the article does not seem to be located there anymore. If anybody by
chance has a hard copy or some other means to see it let me know.
Thanks again!
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
Good evening all!
The Ruth Melichar Bird Center (AIDA) is preparing for the Spring 2018 baby bird season.
Last week the crow family group that lives in my area delighted me with two days of socialization / begging vocalizations, alerting the world that nesting activities will soon begin.
Last year, our baby bird season began May 1st and lasted through September. However, with the mild temperatures we are experiencing this winter, it is possible that we may be opening earlier.
If anyone notices birds beginning to build nests in the Treasure Valley area, please let me know.
Your help is much appreciated!
Thank you,
Beverly Taylor
Ruth Melichar Bird Center / Animals In Distress Association Inc.
Howdy,
This afternoon I found a Northern Mockingbird about a mile south of Springfield on Chandler Rd., near where it turns into Edwards Rd. It flew into a hedge on the east side of the road. The Danielson Pool (Springfield effluent) is still frozen, as is much of the NE end of the reservoir. Two Bald Eagles were sitting near nests (Edwards Rd. and Strang Rd. on an Osprey platform). It feels like spring is on the way, despite the groundhog’s prediction.
Good Birding!
Chuck Trost
Always forward, never straight…
Cliff,
I don’t know if Harry Kueger’s blog is still accessible, but I used it back in the day as THE guide for figuring out Canada Goose subspecies. I don’t even know how to find it, and my printed copies are in storage. My two cents worth…
Louie Quintana
Enviado desde mi iPhone
> El feb 1, 2018, a las 7:39 AM, Cliff and Lisa Weisse cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com [ible]
>
> Hi Steve,
>
> I’ve been on the road for the last month and haven’t seen any response to this so I’ll give you my two cents’ worth. Yes, parvipes/Lesser occurs here in Idaho. I’ve seen birds like you describe and to me they fit very well into parvipes based on the longer bill length to head ratio. Of course there will always be intermediate birds you can’t comfortably identify.
> Here are a few links to references for separating Cackling/Canada Goose to subspecies:
> http://www.sibleyguides.com/2007/07/identification-of-cackling-and-canada-goose/
> http://www.sibleyguides.com/2010/09/bill-size-not-shape-distinguishes-cackling-and-canada-goose/
> http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/IDhelp/Cackling_Goose-NAB.pdf
> I found the bill size post on Sibley’s site really interesting. Apparently the deeper based appearance of the bill on Cackling Goose is an optical illusion. Actually the bill shape is almost almost identical to Canada. Definitely worth a look.
>
> Cliff
>
>> On 01/21/2018 09:56 PM, Steve Kahl Steve_Kahl@fws.gov [ible] wrote:
>>
>> About 4 weeks ago I started noticing a few Canada geese w/ noticeably smaller bills and shorter/thicker necks among the typical moffitti/maxima. They are also noticeably smaller than the moffitti/maxima but not nearly small enough to be cackling geese. These smaller birds are similarly light chested to the moffitti/maxima.
>>
>>
>> The first week or two I just attributed it to individual variation of a couple individuals. But, this weekend out of over 600 Canadas I counted in three locations, at least 15 stuck out as these small birds. This included birds within flocks of moffitti/maxima flying over, standing along the shoreline preening/loafing, and grazing in a pasture.
>>
>> Can anyone advise on which subspecies this more likely could be? My best guess would be lesser/parvipes. But, I’m well aware of how tricky ID’ing Canada geese to subspecies away from their breeding grounds can be.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>
> —
> Cliff and Lisa Weisse
> Island Park, Idaho
> cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com
>
Hi Steve,
I’ve been on the road for the last month and haven’t seen any response
to this so I’ll give you my two cents’ worth. Yes, parvipes/Lesser
occurs here in Idaho. I’ve seen birds like you describe and to me they
fit very well into parvipes based on the longer bill length to head
ratio. Of course there will always be intermediate birds you can’t
comfortably identify.
Here are a few links to references for separating Cackling/Canada Goose
to subspecies:
Bill size, not shape, distinguishes Cackling and Canada Goose
http://www.utahbirds.org/RecCom/IDhelp/Cackling_Goose-NAB.pdf
I found the bill size post on Sibley’s site really interesting.
Apparently the deeper based appearance of the bill on Cackling Goose is
an optical illusion. Actually the bill shape is almost almost identical
to Canada. Definitely worth a look.
Cliff
On 01/21/2018 09:56 PM, Steve Kahl Steve_Kahl@fws.gov [ible] wrote:
>
> About 4 weeks ago I started noticing a few Canada geese w/ noticeably
> smaller bills and shorter/thicker necks among the typical
> moffitti/maxima. They are also noticeably smaller than the
> moffitti/maxima but not nearly small enough to be cackling geese.
> These smaller birds are similarly light chested to the moffitti/maxima.
>
>
> The first week or two I just attributed it to individual variation of
> a couple individuals. But, this weekend out of over 600 Canadas I
> counted in three locations, at least 15 stuck out as these small
> birds. This included birds within flocks of moffitti/maxima flying
> over, standing along the shoreline preening/loafing, and grazing in a
> pasture.
>
> Can anyone advise on which subspecies this more likely could be? My
> best guess would be lesser/parvipes. But, I’m well aware of how tricky
> ID’ing Canada geese to subspecies away from their breeding grounds can be.
>
> Thank you!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com
could be fun!
________________________________
From: obol-bounce@freelists.org
Sent: Thursday, February 1, 2018 10:10 AM
To: Oregon Birders OnLine; BOO List
Subject: [obol] job notice of interest
Hi all,
Just wanted to make folks aware that Portland Audubon is recruiting for a full time position to be located in Harney County to support conservation work of the High Desert Partnership and other Audubon initiatives in the area.. Please share this announcement with anybody you think might be interested..
http://audubonportland.org/files/employment/malheur-field-coordinator-2018-final
Cheers,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joe Liebezeit
Avian Conservation Program Manager
Audubon Society of Portland
5151 NW Cornell Road
Portland, OR 97210
971-222-6121
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saw it early this morning … same area … we were behind the gate on left of parking lot. Photographed it then someone came up from below toward the river and it flew into the dense conifers between the parking lot and the stage/back stage area. Did not see it again before we left about 8:55 AM
> On Jan 31, 2018, at 5:55 PM, Bird birdkimliebich@gmail.com [ible]
>
> Boise
>
> As of 5:45 the Barred has moved from where we found him earlier. Did not snoop around to re-find him… he may just be out getting dinner. A Great-horned out there was making quiet a bit of noise.
> =)k
> ____________________
> Kim Liebich =)
>
> On Jan 31, 2018, at 10:16 AM, Jason Talbot jason.talbot1@yahoo.com
>
> RL called and said he had a Barred Owl at Shakespeare Festival Grounds. I imagine the Wednesday morning group. He said to go left instead of past the ticket gate from the main parking lot. Will update with better details later. People will be there for a little while.
>
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
>
>
>
Ken Miracle
chukar28@icloud.com
208-908-9493
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
We all know how much fun it is to see a new bird, but that becomes harder as
we explore our environs. So we fall back to the joy of the first time we see
a bird in a particular year or even a season. We expect it when spring
arrives, but I wasn’t expecting it at the end of January.
My first FOY bird for today came at about 2:30 in the morning when a Western
Screech Owl started calling from the Ponderosa just outside our bedroom. We
have been looking and listening for them on our evening walks, but this one
came to us!
My second FOY bird for today came when I found at least 4, and maybe 6,
Northern Shovelers at Esther Simplot Park. I saw 2 in the main pond where it
is closest to Whitewater Park Blvd. The next 4 were in the back pond.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t be certain that the first 2 hadn’t moved over to
the back pond, hence the uncertainty as to numbers. And they were definitely
male/female pairs.
The third FOY bird was a Northern Pintail at Mallard Point, an assisted
living type operation at 50th St. in Garden City. In prior years I’ve seen a
Northern Pintail, probably this same one, across the river near Silver Lake.
But because Veteran’s Park is partially closed to bikers and the greenbelt
under Veterans Parkway is still being rebuilt, I haven’t been on that side
of the river for some time. Fortunately, he decided to come visit. 😉
A separate treat was a pair of Brown Creepers who flew across the path right
in front of me as I arrived at Ann Morrison today. They then posed for me on
the trunk of a small Locust tree. Even though they weren’t FOY’s, it’s
always fun to see them.
Tom McCabe, Boise
Boise
As of 5:45 the Barred has moved from where we found him earlier. Did not snoop around to re-find him… he may just be out getting dinner. A Great-horned out there was making quiet a bit of noise.
=)k
____________________
Kim Liebich =)
On Jan 31, 2018, at 10:16 AM, Jason Talbot jason.talbot1@yahoo.com [ible]
RL called and said he had a Barred Owl at Shakespeare Festival Grounds. I imagine the Wednesday morning group. He said to go left instead of past the ticket gate from the main parking lot. Will update with better details later. People will be there for a little while.
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone