Tons of gulls up at the ACL this morning. Thousands of mostly mixed
California/Ring-billed. Among the standouts were a single Iceland Gull
(formerly known as Thayer’s Gull) in juvenile plumage along with several
juvenile Herring Gulls. The Iceland seems to be staying near the shore on
the upper leaching ponds.

Good birding,
Jordan Ragsdale

We – RL Alexander Sapiens and I – are seeing 2 juvenile Surf Scoters at same time here. With grebes and lesser scaup by dam area.
Cheryl

Cheryl Huizinga
Caldwell, Idaho

Oops, Surf Scoter, not a Black Scoter.

On Oct 13, 2017 2:03 PM, “Robert Kiernan” wrote:

> Top of email you say surf scoter then further down black scoter which one
> is it
>
> On Oct 13, 2017 1:31 PM, “Jordan Ragsdale salmanazar@gmail.com [ible]” < > ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Saw a Juvenile Black Scoter at Black’s Creek Reservoir south of Boise
>> this morning. It was hanging on the far side opposite the main parking lot
>> and not diving much.
>>
>> Good birding!
>> Jordan Ragsdale
>>
>>
>

Saw a Juvenile Black Scoter at Black’s Creek Reservoir south of Boise this
morning. It was hanging on the far side opposite the main parking lot and
not diving much.

Good birding!
Jordan Ragsdale

I still have a few fall stragglers coming through: Yellow-rumped Warblers, Red-breasted Nuthatch & Swainson’s Thrush. White-crowned Sparrows still here & Dark-eyed Juncos are now common. The first winter resident Townsend’s Solitaire has arrived & best bird of the day was a fly-over by a flock of 10+ American Pipits.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

I birded this morning and early afternoon around Moscow and Lewiston. At
the UI Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, highlights included a(nother or
continuing) WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, a getting-late ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER,
VARIED THRUSH, MERLIN, and an apparent intergrade Red-shafted Flicker
(exhibiting both red malar and complete red nape crescent). In the Ash
Grove, were dozens each of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers
(including multiple Myrtles) eating aphids. Full checklist on eBird:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39619661. More kinglets and
yellow-rumps (including more Myrtles) were in a couple of areas of main
campus.

At Mann Lake, I found the continuing BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS and GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE (2) each, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, 18 Long-billed
Dowitchers, and a drake EURASIAN WIGEON (eBird checklist:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S39622919). Hell’s Gate SP had
another 40 Yellow-rumps (including several Myrtles) and a few other
migrants.

Good Birding,

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID

Kuna sewage. I don’t think this is in the category of leucistic more like
feral.?

After I let the dog out around 6, I climbed back into bed. That’s when I
heard the W. Screech Owl, bird (1) of the day. Birds (2) through (5) were
the usual suspects, M. Dove, H. Sparrow, H. Finch and L. Goldfinch. But (6)
was a Pine Siskin, an irregular visitor to the yard. Then, while doing my
backyard Poop Fairy duties, I was nearly hit by one of the many RB
Nuthatches (7) that like my feeders. Also chiming in were RC Kinglet (8) and
BC Chickadee (9), followed by a flyover of A. Robins (10) and a screech from
a N. Flicker (11). Last, but not least, was my first DE Junco (12) in the
yard this season.

The ride down Brumback produced the first of many YR Warblers (13) of the
day, as well as EC Doves (14). The R Pigeons (15) at St. Mary’s are pretty
reliable, but the C. Quail (16) on Stewart is more of a will o’ the wisp.
The Mallards, Killdeer and C. Geese (17-19) are to be expected at Esther
Simplot Park (ESP), but I haven’t seen Horned Grebes (20) in winter plumage
for a long time. The B. Swallows (21) are late, but the DC Cormorants (22)
are still to be expected.

Veteran’s Pond produced a PB Grebe (23) and Wood Ducks (24). The trail along
the canal bank produced the usual Song Sparrows (25), but the A. Coot (26)
that splashed away from me was a surprise. My last bird at ESP was a BB
Magpie (27), expressing his raucous displeasure at something.

I didn’t encounter any new birds along the river until I heard A. Crows (28)
in Ann Morrison Park. My loop through the park wasn’t productive until I got
to the duck pond and found Gadwalls, RB Gulls, and A. Wigeons (29-31).

Then I headed downriver, heading to my daily scouring of Remington St. and
Les Bois track. But at the footbridge to ESP, I heard and then saw a Downy
Woodpecker (32). This was followed by a couple of flocks of previously seen
Nuthatches and YR Warblers. But as I cruised the south side of the river, I
caught a glimpse of something black and white and moving. Unfortunately, it
was a soccer ball caught in an eddy of the river. Fortunately, a couple of
C. Mergansers (33) were cruising by just at that moment. And right after
that, I heard my first B. Kingfisher (34) of the day.

When I got to Remington St., I realized I hadn’t noted a E. Starling yet,
but there were a gazillion there for bird number (35). A scan of the pond in
the Les Bois infield produced a GB Heron (36), perched on a deteriorating
goose platform. Then I spotted some of the (winter) resident WC Sparrows
(37) at one of the puddles along the street.

I paused at the river end of Remington to eat a Clif Bar and marvel at all
the Flickers, YR Warblers, Chickadees and Magpies that call that area home.
Then I headed home, pleased with my tally but hoping for something new and
different. While it wasn’t exactly “new,” the Osprey (38) at Quinn’s Pond
was nevertheless quite different, given the time of year.

While it was a cold ride the whole way, it was a very rewarding 15 miles on
my bike.

Tom McCabe, Boise

Not sure if it’s a harbinger of anything but a single evening grosbeak flew
over the house (Chubbuck) yesterday later followed by a flock of 5.

Meanwhile, “Oregon” juncos, a few white-crowned sparrows (all immatures of
the Gambel’s form), a spotted towhee and a few pine siskins are coming to
the feeders. A Cassin’s vireo stopped in the yard for about a minute,
called a few times and moved on.

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

Nice find, Tom!

They’re now added to our database for the Boise Greenbelt. =)

Interesting they are also being reported in unexpected places in both OR and
CA.

And when Missy and I chased the Great Crested Flycatcher at Camas NWR, we
encountered a Clark’s near HQ, a seemingly crazy place for one of those
beasties!?

Maybe this is their year to wander? Motivated by extensive fires in their
habitat?

Larry

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ‘Tom
McCabe’ tmccabe9@cableone.net [ible]
Sent: Monday, October 2, 2017 11:00 PM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Clark’s Nutcrackers

Just a quick heads up to those in the Boise area. This morning, on my
regular bike ride, I encountered 2 Clark’s Nutcrackers in the vicinity of
Veteran’s Pond (VP). I was biking to the downstream end of Esther Simplot
Park (ESP), where it butts up against VP. The first one flew out of some
trees between VP and the river and flew off over the back pond of ESP. I
started down the dirt road along the side of VP, hoping to get another look,
when a second one called out and then flew over in the same direction. Susan
and I got great looks at the birds in flight.

I went back later in the day, on the return leg of my ride, but I couldn’t
find either bird. But I also couldn’t find many of the other birds that had
been in the vicinity earlier (including at least 2 Barn Swallows).

Needless to say I intend an early ride to the same location tomorrow.

Tom McCabe, Boise