[IBLE] Re: Camas NWR Great Crested Flycatcher (fwd)

My mistake, I now see I somehow missed Darren’s previous email. Anyway
there are photos on FB and I presume shortly on eBird.

On Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 11:32 AM Charles Swift wrote:

> Forwarding from Darren Clark on Facebook, Great Crested Flycatcher
> confirmed at Camas NWR (1st state record):
>
> “Hilary Turner
> notified
> me yesterday that she found a Myiarchus Flycatcher at Camas NWR (Jefferson
> County). She had a very brief look and didn’t get enough of a look to
> identify it. I went out this morning and located the bird and it was a bit
> more accommodating. Turns out it’s a Great Crested Flycatcher (first Idaho
> record). The bird was in the row of Olive/Willow/Cottonwood trees that run
> east/west and parallel camas creek about 1/4 mile west of headquarters.”
> —
> Charles Swift
> Moscow, Idaho
> chaetura@gmail.com
>

Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
chaetura@gmail.com

[IBLE] Migrating Warblers in Custer County

Greetings, Birders!

Warblers seem to be coming through. An impromptu walk through the Land of the Yankee Fork State Park this morning yielded MacGillivray’s, Orange-crowned, and Wilson’s Warblers foraging in the willows along  the irrigation canal, in addition to the breeding Yellows. The bird list for the park hotspot is nearing 90 species since mid-April. We’ll be heading out of here in less than a month so I’m not sure I can break 100 at this location. ☺

Wendy McCrady
Challis, ID

Don’t dream it, be it.

[IBLE] Clay-colored Sparrow!!!

What? Really??? I admit I didn’t look real closely at my books when I
listed it as a White-crowned Sparrow, it just looked like an immature one
to me. It does kind of look like one doesn’t it? But now that I look at
various books closely I can see why you say it is a Clay-colored. Thank you
for checking up on my list, because that’s a lifer for me!

Did you notice the little guys feet? It looks like something is wrong with
them.

I will go and change the sparrow in eBird. Am also adding two grouse I saw
in the same area. I got some ID help on Idaho Birding but I’m not totally
convinced of the one I will list as a Sharp-tail. The crest on the head
looks more like a Ruffed Grouse.

Thanks again!

Marya Moosman
Driggs

[IBLE] Birds on the Move

This AM have seen 1 female & 1 juv male Rufous Hummingbird, 1 female Calliope & 1 female Black-chinned. Also, juvenile W Tanagers coming through. 10 Black-headed Grosbeaks & they like Russian Olive berries. 1 Red-naped Sapsucker & 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches. A couple of Wilson’s Warblers, as well. And it’s only 9:15 AM!

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

[IBLE] Unusually pale Gray Catbird juvenile (Challis, Custer County)

While birding along the Salmon River on Hwy 75 between Challis and Bayhorse (Custer County), I came across a very pale Gray Catbird juvenile today. I managed to get a couple of photos through layers of vegetation and posted them on my eBird checklist. (http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38786956) Looking through photos online of darker juvenile Gray Catbirds makes me wonder if this individual might be leucistic. 
I wanted to also note that the birds really like the white berries on the Red Osier Dogwood. Both along the river today and up at Bayhorse yesterday, the bushes were hotbeds of activity with foraging Warbling Vireos and Western Tanagers. Chipmunks also seem partial to the berries, providing some nice photo ops.
Happy Birding,
Wendy McCradyChallis, ID

[IBLE] Quick eclipse trip

Four of us set out for Ontario and points northwest, wanting to get into the
zone of totality. The rest area just across the border in Oregon was jammed,
but orderly. We continued on and took the exit at Farewell Bend. The road
was lined with cars in places and the state park looked packed. We continued
on into Huntington and there were lots of cars and campers, but one block
off the main highway we found easy parking. We sat in a small park and had
lunch at a vacant picnic table (never expected that on eclipse day). We
walked uphill a couple of streets to the edge of town and got to watch the
whole thing unfold. Way cool.

What was even cooler was when the eclipse was just a few minutes past its
peak, the sky over town filled with Common Nighthawks, all calling and
flying much closer to the ground than in Boise. Prior to the eclipse we had
not heard or seen any of their ilk.

The drive back was a bit congested at times as folks came down out of the
zone of totality to the interstate, but we were home by 2pm, and it was cool
enough still that we managed a short bike ride (and 20 birds!).

Tom McCabe, Boise

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