Toppermost birds today include these beautiful creatures:

1 Virginia’s Warbler City of Rocks–General US-ID 19 May 2017
2 Ash-throated Flycatcher Black Pine Rd. at Stone Hills US-ID 19 May 2017 — hit eBird filter but shouldn’t have, since this area is predictable for them
3 Pinyon Jay Black Pine Rd. at Stone Hills US-ID 19 May 2017
4 Northern Mockingbird Black Pine Rd. at Stone Hills US-ID 19 May 2017 — also hit eBird filter, but shouldn’t for this area?
5 Bobolink (male) Black Pine Rd. at Stone Hills US-ID 19 May 2017 — also hit eBird filter, and I guess rightly so, since it was out of breeding habitat (migrating)

6 Black Tern at Stone Res

I also had a kingbird that I assumed was a Western Kingbird until I saw the whitish terminal tail band, suggesting Cassin’s Kingbird, in the same habitat I found them in W Colorado: old juniper burn areas. If it had called or sang, or if I had been able to see a white chin, I would have claimed it as a CAKI on my eBird list, waaaaaaaaa. was at junction of Black Pine Rd and Cow Creek Rd

Birders, check this out……. the Curlew CG host at Stone Res in Oneida County offered free camping there if I (any of us?) would take him birding! This is a first, eh? =)

good boid’n!
Larry
Boise

Hey fellow birders,
I’m sure some of you have seen my eBird report by now of a Summer Tanager in Mountain home. It is unfortunately at a private residence and inaccessible. I was able to visit my friend today and observe the bird and I will do a rare bird report later today. Just thought you would all want to know about this wonderful vagrant even though it’s not accessible. Happy birding! Mary

Sent from my iPhone

Just saw at close range, a red-wing like bird but slightly smaller and not as glossy as a male red-wing. I t shows a “muddy” white slash where the epaulets should be while perched and reddish on the shoulders in flight. I wonder if I was looking at a first year male tri-color? If so it’s a lifer for me. The Baltimore is still here.

Jack Oar
Howe

On May 19, 2017, at 2:21 PM, Diann Stone wrote:

> Exciting! Your watchful and fiscerning eyes found a special treat.
>
> On May 19, 2017 9:29 AM, “Jack Oar jackoar@atcnet.net [ible]” wrote:
> This morning among the twenty or more Bullocks we had a Baltimore appear at the feeder.
>
> Jack Oar
> Howe, Butte Co.
>
>

My day lists have been getting bigger, thanks to the new arrivals. Yesterday
was a “little wet” but I still managed to find 38 birds during my ride.

But today was the best yet this year, aided by the Western Grebe that’s
hanging out at Quinn’s Pond (and there was another at Silver Lake), plus
Bullock’s Orioles, Black-headed Grosbeaks and my first of year Olive-sided
Flycatcher (by the back pond at Esther Simplot). In addition, I got to watch
a “murder” of crows-with murder in their hearts– harassing a Great Horned
Owl who kept hooting in response to their incredible racket. I left the
noisy scene, but the GHOW looked unscathed when I came back to his location
later.

In addition, I saw a River Otter at Veteran’s Pond, the first time I’ve ever
seen an otter along the greenbelt. I’ve seen plenty of mink, muskrat,
beaver, deer and even a coyote, but this was my first otter. A real treat.

Then, when I got home, my feeder was visited by a female Black-headed
Grosbeak, a bird I haven’t seen in my yard for years. And a short time later
a Lazuli Bunting visited as well, bringing my day list to 43. A good day.

BTW, back in 2007, when I was still recovering from the effects of chemo,
the late Harry Krueger dragged me around southwest Idaho on what I thought
was a Big Day. Since we “only” saw 123 species, Harry decided it was a
“good” day. My recollection is that we drove 450 miles, went as far north as
Crouch, as far east as Indian Creek, and as far south as Silver City. And I
was more exhausted after that than my later “Green Big Days” on a bike. (And
it was Harry who suggested I look at a “green” birding web site that started
me down the path I follow now. I do miss Harry. He taught me a lot about
birding.)

Tom McCabe, Boise

It would be awesome if somebody who has old paper records lying around could try to get them into some sort of digital format one of these days so we could come up with a consolidated list.

________________________________
From: Charles Swift
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 10:47 AM
To: Stoddard Davenport; Kathleen Lopez; Larry Arnold
Cc: damnempid; IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Chuck Trost et al. have a slew of Idaho Big Days in the 150’s I think (in fact they should have the majority of the top 10 except for the top 2 listed below). I presume those plus the ones listed here follow the ABA Big Day rule that 95% of shared species must be seen/heard by each member of the team. These other Big Days are archived in the old paper ABA Big Day reports of which there should be a few around still (perhaps somebody else has them handy than mine!).

Charles.

On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 9:37 AM Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com [ible] > wrote:

This is a bit dated, but in spring 2015 I had downloaded the entire eBird dataset for Idaho and looked at the biggest days that had been eBirded up until that point. Of course there could be bigger days that haven’t been eBirded or that have happened in the 2 years since the last time I was playing with the data. But here were the leaders at that point:

#1 – 133 species – Zeke Watkins (June 2, 2012)

#2 – 127 species – Zeke Watkins and Kathleen Cameron (June 1, 2013)

#4 – 119 species – Kathleen Cameran (May 31, 2011)

#5 – 114 species – Joshua Little (July 2, 2013)

#6 – 112 species – Terry Little (July 2, 2013)

#7 – 111 species – Harry Krueger (July 2, 2013) and Larry Arnold (May 8, 2013)

#9 – 110 species – Ian Gardner (May 25, 2014), Sarah Harris (June 2, 2012), and Bill Schiess (May 25, 2013)

The Idaho Birding website has a few records that are noteworthy, though these records include multiple observers, and I’m not sure whether or not each observer saw every bird on the list, so this may or may not be directly comparable to the eBird records:

#1 – 176 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 9, 2005)

#2 – 174 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 1, 2004)

#3 – 144 species – Charles Swift and Joe Lipar (June 24, 2001)

#4 – 132 species – John Gatchet and Andy Crabtree (July 26, 1997)

The ABA also warehouses big day reports, but it looks like the only report anybody has submitted for Idaho was Josh and Terry Little’s big day in 2013, which is already included in the list from eBird.

One of these days I’ll get another download of the full dataset from eBird to check for bigger days in the last 2 years.
________________________________
From: ible@yahoogroups.com > on behalf of ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible] >
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 9:52 AM
To: ‘Kathleen Lopez’

Cc: ‘damnempid’; ‘IBLE To Post’

Subject: RE: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Thx Kathy! =)
I just uncovered last year’s list for Elmore County, when on 14 May 2016 we tallied 107 species over 11.5 hrs and 97 miles
I’m fairly certain Chuck Trost has tallied big day lists that smoke these numbers, but I don’t have details in front of me… Ouch, I should have kept notes on that! Maybe he’ll chime in?
Larry

From: Kathleen Lopez [mailto:kathylopez80@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 8:13 AM
To: Larry Arnold
Cc: damnempid; IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Impressive lists Larry & Wendy!

Kathy Lopez
Nampa

On May 17, 2017, at 7:23 AM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible] > wrote:

Impressive list, Wendy!
Saturday was a driving day for us (in a blizzard while crossing Caribou County, low temp was 22F), so Missy and I did our Bear Lake County “little big day” on Sunday, and tallied 101 species during ten hours of roaming 68 miles.
Larry

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of damnempid damnempid@yahoo.com [ible]
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 11:31 PM
To: IBLE To Post
Subject: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

I also participated in eBird’s Global Big Day on Saturday. I wanted to improve on the 13 species reported for Custer County during last year’s Big Day, even though I’ve only been in Idaho for a month. I came up with a game plan for Saturday to try to maximize sightings by going to as many of the places I’ve explored in Custer County as possible.

I spent 17 long and cold hours in the field, covering a variety of habitats from Mackay Reservoir to Pennal Gulch, including a short ways up the Mt. Borah trail, Chilly Slough, and Bar-D Reservoir. On Hwy 75, I visited Land of the Yankee Fork State Park and the Bayhorse Recreation Site.

Two species I see regularly eluded me on Saturday: Bald Eagle and Lewis’s Woodpecker. I’d also hoped for a calling Virginia Rail but they were silent until Sunday. However, as the sole participant in the county, I’m pleased with what I did find and the fact that I moved Custer County up to third position in Idaho for this year’s Big Day.

I’m rather surprised to see that I apparently had the most sightings for the day at 106 species, one of which is yet to be approved*. My Big Day species list is below. The 21 checklists I submitted can be viewed at http://ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a.

Good birding,
Wendy McCrady
Challis, ID

Custer County Big Day 5/13/17

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark’s Grebe
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Common Poorwill
White-throated Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Western Wood-Pewee
*Hammond’s Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Say’s Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Gray Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Rock Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
American Robin
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Western Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

—
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
chaetura@gmail.com

Chuck Trost et al. have a slew of Idaho Big Days in the 150’s I think (in
fact they should have the majority of the top 10 except for the top 2
listed below). I presume those plus the ones listed here follow the ABA Big
Day rule that 95% of shared species must be seen/heard by each member of
the team. These other Big Days are archived in the old paper ABA Big Day
reports of which there should be a few around still (perhaps somebody else
has them handy than mine!).

Charles.

On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 9:37 AM Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com
[ible] wrote:

>
>
> This is a bit dated, but in spring 2015 I had downloaded the entire eBird
> dataset for Idaho and looked at the biggest days that had been eBirded up
> until that point. Of course there could be bigger days that haven’t been
> eBirded or that have happened in the 2 years since the last time I was
> playing with the data. But here were the leaders at that point:
>
>
> #1 – 133 species – Zeke Watkins (June 2, 2012)
>
> #2 – 127 species – Zeke Watkins and Kathleen Cameron (June 1, 2013)
>
> #4 – 119 species – Kathleen Cameran (May 31, 2011)
>
> #5 – 114 species – Joshua Little (July 2, 2013)
>
> #6 – 112 species – Terry Little (July 2, 2013)
>
> #7 – 111 species – Harry Krueger (July 2, 2013) and Larry Arnold (May 8,
> 2013)
>
> #9 – 110 species – Ian Gardner (May 25, 2014), Sarah Harris (June 2,
> 2012), and Bill Schiess (May 25, 2013)
>
>
> The Idaho Birding website has a few records that are noteworthy, though
> these records include multiple observers, and I’m not sure whether or not
> each observer saw every bird on the list, so this may or may not be
> directly comparable to the eBird records:
>
>
> #1 – 176 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 9, 2005)
>
> #2 – 174 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 1, 2004)
>
> #3 – 144 species – Charles Swift and Joe Lipar (June 24, 2001)
>
> #4 – 132 species – John Gatchet and Andy Crabtree (July 26, 1997)
>
>
> The ABA also warehouses big day reports, but it looks like the only report
> anybody has submitted for Idaho was Josh and Terry Little’s big day in
> 2013, which is already included in the list from eBird.
>
> One of these days I’ll get another download of the full dataset from eBird
> to check for bigger days in the last 2 years.
> ——————————
> *From:* ible@yahoogroups.com on behalf of ‘Larry
> Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 17, 2017 9:52 AM
> *To:* ‘Kathleen Lopez’
>
>
> *Cc:* ‘damnempid’; ‘IBLE To Post’
>
> *Subject:* RE: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thx Kathy! =)
>
> I just uncovered last year’s list for Elmore County, when on 14 May 2016
> we tallied 107 species over 11.5 hrs and 97 miles
>
> I’m fairly certain *Chuck Trost* has tallied big day lists that smoke
> these numbers, but I don’t have details in front of me… Ouch, I should have
> kept notes on that! Maybe he’ll chime in?
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Kathleen Lopez [mailto:kathylopez80@yahoo.com]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 17, 2017 8:13 AM
> *To:* Larry Arnold
> *Cc:* damnempid; IBLE To Post
> *Subject:* Re: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17
>
>
>
> Impressive lists Larry & Wendy!
>
>
>
> Kathy Lopez
>
> Nampa
>
>
> On May 17, 2017, at 7:23 AM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible]
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Impressive list, Wendy!
>
> Saturday was a driving day for us (in a blizzard while crossing Caribou
> County, low temp was 22F), so Missy and I did our Bear Lake County “little
> big day” on Sunday, and tallied 101 species during ten hours of roaming 68
> miles.
>
> Larry
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com
> ] *On Behalf Of *damnempid damnempid@yahoo.com
> [ible]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 16, 2017 11:31 PM
> *To:* IBLE To Post
> *Subject:* [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17
>
>
>
>
>
> I also participated in eBird’s Global Big Day on Saturday. I wanted to
> improve on the 13 species reported for Custer County during last year’s Big
> Day, even though I’ve only been in Idaho for a month. I came up with a game
> plan for Saturday to try to maximize sightings by going to as many of the
> places I’ve explored in Custer County as possible.
>
>
>
> I spent 17 long and cold hours in the field, covering a variety of
> habitats from Mackay Reservoir to Pennal Gulch, including a short ways up
> the Mt. Borah trail, Chilly Slough, and Bar-D Reservoir. On Hwy 75, I
> visited Land of the Yankee Fork State Park and the Bayhorse Recreation Site.
>
>
>
> Two species I see regularly eluded me on Saturday: Bald Eagle and Lewis’s
> Woodpecker. I’d also hoped for a calling Virginia Rail but they were silent
> until Sunday. However, as the sole participant in the county, I’m pleased
> with what I did find and the fact that I moved Custer County up to third
> position in Idaho for this year’s Big Day.
>
>
>
> I’m rather surprised to see that I apparently had the most sightings for
> the day at 106 species, one of which is yet to be approved*. My Big Day
> species list is below. The 21 checklists I submitted can be viewed at
> http://ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a.
>
>
>
> Good birding,
>
> Wendy McCrady
>
> Challis, ID
>
>
>
> *Custer County Big Day 5/13/17*
>
>
>
> Canada Goose
>
> Wood Duck
>
> Gadwall
>
> American Wigeon
>
> Mallard
>
> Cinnamon Teal
>
> Northern Shoveler
>
> Green-winged Teal
>
> Canvasback
>
> Redhead
>
> Ring-necked Duck
>
> Lesser Scaup
>
> Bufflehead
>
> Barrow’s Goldeneye
>
> Hooded Merganser
>
> Common Merganser
>
> Ruddy Duck
>
> Wild Turkey
>
> Common Loon
>
> Pied-billed Grebe
>
> Eared Grebe
>
> Western Grebe
>
> Clark’s Grebe
>
> American Bittern
>
> Great Blue Heron
>
> Osprey
>
> Golden Eagle
>
> Northern Harrier
>
> Red-tailed Hawk
>
> Sora
>
> American Coot
>
> Sandhill Crane
>
> Killdeer
>
> Long-billed Dowitcher
>
> Wilson’s Snipe
>
> Wilson’s Phalarope
>
> Spotted Sandpiper
>
> Willet
>
> Franklin’s Gull
>
> Ring-billed Gull
>
> California Gull
>
> Rock Pigeon
>
> Eurasian Collared-Dove
>
> Mourning Dove
>
> Short-eared Owl
>
> Common Poorwill
>
> White-throated Swift
>
> Belted Kingfisher
>
> Red-naped Sapsucker
>
> Downy Woodpecker
>
> Northern Flicker
>
> Pileated Woodpecker
>
> American Kestrel
>
> Prairie Falcon
>
> Western Wood-Pewee
>
> *Hammond’s Flycatcher
>
> Dusky Flycatcher
>
> Say’s Phoebe
>
> Western Kingbird
>
> Gray Jay
>
> Black-billed Magpie
>
> American Crow
>
> Common Raven
>
> Horned Lark
>
> Northern Rough-winged Swallow
>
> Tree Swallow
>
> Violet-green Swallow
>
> Bank Swallow
>
> Barn Swallow
>
> Cliff Swallow
>
> Black-capped Chickadee
>
> Mountain Chickadee
>
> Red-breasted Nuthatch
>
> White-breasted Nuthatch
>
> Rock Wren
>
> House Wren
>
> Marsh Wren
>
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet
>
> Mountain Bluebird
>
> Townsend’s Solitaire
>
> American Robin
>
> Sage Thrasher
>
> European Starling
>
> Common Yellowthroat
>
> Yellow Warbler
>
> Yellow-rumped Warbler
>
> Chipping Sparrow
>
> Brewer’s Sparrow
>
> Lark Sparrow
>
> Dark-eyed Junco
>
> White-crowned Sparrow
>
> Vesper Sparrow
>
> Savannah Sparrow
>
> Song Sparrow
>
> Lincoln’s Sparrow
>
> Western Tanager
>
> Red-winged Blackbird
>
> Western Meadowlark
>
> Yellow-headed Blackbird
>
> Brewer’s Blackbird
>
> Brown-headed Cowbird
>
> House Finch
>
> Cassin’s Finch
>
> Pine Siskin
>
> American Goldfinch
>
> House Sparrow
>
>
>
—
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
chaetura@gmail.com

This is a bit dated, but in spring 2015 I had downloaded the entire eBird dataset for Idaho and looked at the biggest days that had been eBirded up until that point. Of course there could be bigger days that haven’t been eBirded or that have happened in the 2 years since the last time I was playing with the data. But here were the leaders at that point:

#1 – 133 species – Zeke Watkins (June 2, 2012)

#2 – 127 species – Zeke Watkins and Kathleen Cameron (June 1, 2013)

#4 – 119 species – Kathleen Cameran (May 31, 2011)

#5 – 114 species – Joshua Little (July 2, 2013)

#6 – 112 species – Terry Little (July 2, 2013)

#7 – 111 species – Harry Krueger (July 2, 2013) and Larry Arnold (May 8, 2013)

#9 – 110 species – Ian Gardner (May 25, 2014), Sarah Harris (June 2, 2012), and Bill Schiess (May 25, 2013)

The Idaho Birding website has a few records that are noteworthy, though these records include multiple observers, and I’m not sure whether or not each observer saw every bird on the list, so this may or may not be directly comparable to the eBird records:

#1 – 176 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 9, 2005)

#2 – 174 species – Bob Kemp, Steve Gross, and Ron Weeks (June 1, 2004)

#3 – 144 species – Charles Swift and Joe Lipar (June 24, 2001)

#4 – 132 species – John Gatchet and Andy Crabtree (July 26, 1997)

The ABA also warehouses big day reports, but it looks like the only report anybody has submitted for Idaho was Josh and Terry Little’s big day in 2013, which is already included in the list from eBird.

One of these days I’ll get another download of the full dataset from eBird to check for bigger days in the last 2 years.
________________________________
From: ible@yahoogroups.com on behalf of ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible]
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 9:52 AM
To: ‘Kathleen Lopez’
Cc: ‘damnempid’; ‘IBLE To Post’
Subject: RE: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Thx Kathy! =)
I just uncovered last year’s list for Elmore County, when on 14 May 2016 we tallied 107 species over 11.5 hrs and 97 miles
I’m fairly certain Chuck Trost has tallied big day lists that smoke these numbers, but I don’t have details in front of me… Ouch, I should have kept notes on that! Maybe he’ll chime in?
Larry

From: Kathleen Lopez [mailto:kathylopez80@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 8:13 AM
To: Larry Arnold
Cc: damnempid; IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Impressive lists Larry & Wendy!

Kathy Lopez
Nampa

On May 17, 2017, at 7:23 AM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible] > wrote:

Impressive list, Wendy!
Saturday was a driving day for us (in a blizzard while crossing Caribou County, low temp was 22F), so Missy and I did our Bear Lake County “little big day” on Sunday, and tallied 101 species during ten hours of roaming 68 miles.
Larry

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of damnempid damnempid@yahoo.com [ible]
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 11:31 PM
To: IBLE To Post
Subject: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

I also participated in eBird’s Global Big Day on Saturday. I wanted to improve on the 13 species reported for Custer County during last year’s Big Day, even though I’ve only been in Idaho for a month. I came up with a game plan for Saturday to try to maximize sightings by going to as many of the places I’ve explored in Custer County as possible.

I spent 17 long and cold hours in the field, covering a variety of habitats from Mackay Reservoir to Pennal Gulch, including a short ways up the Mt. Borah trail, Chilly Slough, and Bar-D Reservoir. On Hwy 75, I visited Land of the Yankee Fork State Park and the Bayhorse Recreation Site.

Two species I see regularly eluded me on Saturday: Bald Eagle and Lewis’s Woodpecker. I’d also hoped for a calling Virginia Rail but they were silent until Sunday. However, as the sole participant in the county, I’m pleased with what I did find and the fact that I moved Custer County up to third position in Idaho for this year’s Big Day.

I’m rather surprised to see that I apparently had the most sightings for the day at 106 species, one of which is yet to be approved*. My Big Day species list is below. The 21 checklists I submitted can be viewed at http://ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a.

Good birding,
Wendy McCrady
Challis, ID

Custer County Big Day 5/13/17

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark’s Grebe
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Wilson’s Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Common Poorwill
White-throated Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
Western Wood-Pewee
*Hammond’s Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Say’s Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Gray Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Rock Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
American Robin
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Brewer’s Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Western Tanager
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer’s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Thx Kathy! =)

I just uncovered last year’s list for Elmore County, when on 14 May 2016 we tallied 107 species over 11.5 hrs and 97 miles

I’m fairly certain Chuck Trost has tallied big day lists that smoke these numbers, but I don’t have details in front of me… Ouch, I should have kept notes on that! Maybe he’ll chime in?

Larry

From: Kathleen Lopez [mailto:kathylopez80@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 8:13 AM
To: Larry Arnold
Cc: damnempid; IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

Impressive lists Larry & Wendy!

Kathy Lopez

Nampa

On May 17, 2017, at 7:23 AM, ‘Larry Arnold’ larnold47@cableone.net [ible] <ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Impressive list, Wendy!

Saturday was a driving day for us (in a blizzard while crossing Caribou County, low temp was 22F), so Missy and I did our Bear Lake County “little big day” on Sunday, and tallied 101 species during ten hours of roaming 68 miles.

Larry

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of damnempid damnempid@yahoo.com [ible]
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 11:31 PM
To: IBLE To Post
Subject: [IBLE] Custer County Big Day, 5/13/17

I also participated in eBird’s Global Big Day on Saturday. I wanted to improve on the 13 species reported for Custer County during last year’s Big Day, even though I’ve only been in Idaho for a month. I came up with a game plan for Saturday to try to maximize sightings by going to as many of the places I’ve explored in Custer County as possible.

I spent 17 long and cold hours in the field, covering a variety of habitats from Mackay Reservoir to Pennal Gulch, including a short ways up the Mt. Borah trail, Chilly Slough, and Bar-D Reservoir. On Hwy 75, I visited Land of the Yankee Fork State Park and the Bayhorse Recreation Site.

Two species I see regularly eluded me on Saturday: Bald Eagle and Lewis’s Woodpecker. I’d also hoped for a calling Virginia Rail but they were silent until Sunday. However, as the sole participant in the county, I’m pleased with what I did find and the fact that I moved Custer County up to third position in Idaho for this year’s Big Day.

I’m rather surprised to see that I apparently had the most sightings for the day at 106 species, one of which is yet to be approved*. My Big Day species list is below. The 21 checklists I submitted can be viewed at <ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a> ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a.

Good birding,

Wendy McCrady

Challis, ID

Custer County Big Day 5/13/17

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Barrow’s Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Wild Turkey

Common Loon

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Western Grebe

Clark’s Grebe

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Golden Eagle

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

Sora

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Killdeer

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson’s Snipe

Wilson’s Phalarope

Spotted Sandpiper

Willet

Franklin’s Gull

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Short-eared Owl

Common Poorwill

White-throated Swift

Belted Kingfisher

Red-naped Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Prairie Falcon

Western Wood-Pewee

*Hammond’s Flycatcher

Dusky Flycatcher

Say’s Phoebe

Western Kingbird

Gray Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Horned Lark

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Rock Wren

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Mountain Bluebird

Townsend’s Solitaire

American Robin

Sage Thrasher

European Starling

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer’s Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

White-crowned Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Western Tanager

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

House Finch

Cassin’s Finch

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow