While heading to Pennal Gulch this afternoon, I head the loud “coo” call of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo coming from a patch of willows on the west side of Hwy 93. I was already on the Pennal Gulch access loop off the highway, so I pulled around and got back on the highway in hopes of finding a place to pull off and check out the trees. No pull-offs plus signage that one is not supposed to park anywhere along the highway kept me from searching the trees, although I did pull to the side for a couple of minutes to scan the dense patch. Unfortunately, cuckoos are good at hiding and I had no luck spotting it. It’s possible, too, that it flew while I was getting turned around.
A Yellow-billed Cuckoo hung out at Pennal Gulch for a couple of weeks back in the latter half of June in 2000. Most migrant sightings reported on eBird have been in June. It would be worth checking this area to see if the cuckoo stops for a while, although access in to Pennal Gulch is somewhat hampered by high water.
Wendy McCradyChallis, ID

Will forgo my ego and vote. 😉

From the photos, Amy’s note to me about flight calls that she heard (favoring SB), considering the many factors discussed by Kaufman in his Advanced Birding (1990), and based on discussions of brightness and extent of the supercilium (not discussed in any of my field guides), discussions I recall having with birders on the Gulf Coast (leading TOS Conference field trips) who had much experience with both sp, my vote is for SB.

Problem areas for me are the neck (stripped of feathers?), flanks (spotting as opposed to barring), and the belly (can’t see well enough to determine extent, if any, of white). Wish Sibley would include ssp names, not just ranges, so I could cross-examine the bird 😉 because it strikes me most as L. g. hendersoni (ssp of SB) per Kaufman, based on the appearance of flanks and belly in the first photo below. But is this a stretch, since the range of hendersoni is more Prairie than Pacific (where L. g. caurinus lurks), even tho Kaufman drops a little hint on pg 69 that hendersoni is not impossible hereabouts?

Anyway, I vote for SB, for what it’s worth. Excellent find, Amy! Great discussion, Amy and Jay! =)

Larry

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [ mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]
Sent: Friday, June 9, 2017 10:29 PM
To: amysilver819@gmail.com
Cc: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Short-billed (?) Dowitcher still at Blacks Creek (Ada Co) [3 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below]

Amy Silver found an oiled-looking dowitcher at Blacks Creek Reservoir (Ada Co) a few days ago and the extent of white in the tail seemed promising for a Short-billed. She saw it again & heard it call yesterday. Early evening today Bryce, Heidi, & I re-located it near the mouth of Blacks Creek as it enters the reservoir on the E end and were able to grab a few pics that seem to support Short-billed: among other features, (1) tail ~50% white, (2) small spots on sides of chest that transition to barring on the flanks, and (3) gold edges on the back feathers. Any input welcome.

Also, lots of other diversity there & RL was out there looking earlier in the afternoon and found a Red-necked Grebe on the deeper water – a great find for this spot and time of year!

Jay

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On Jun 6, 2017, at 6:42 PM, amysilver819@gmail.com [ible] wrote:

Hi Everybody. This poor bird was at Blacks Creek Reservoir yesterday. Looks like some sort of dowitcher, but both short and long-billed are considered rare right now (by ebird). He seems thin, but that’s maybe just because he’s unwell?

The bird was pretty messed up, so I gave him plenty of space…

I’ve never really tried to differentiate between the dowitchers, but this one struck me as different (maybe just acting strangely because he was sick?) In most of the photos (not many), his tail is covered by his wings, but in this one, you can really see the white bands. The bill and face seem right, but he’s in bad shape and it’s hard to see color patterns in the sad mess of feathers. Any thoughts before I try to submit the report to ebird? There doesn’t seem to be a “short-billed/long-billed dowitcher” option 🙂

Thanks!

Amy Silver (Boise)

Hello all,
I visited the Island Park Dam around noon yesterday and, eventually, found the bird. It had moved way out on the water away from the dam. I set up my scope at the gravel boat launch adjacent to dam and scanned northward The scoter was alone and diving approx 150 yards out.

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interest skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” —Theodore Roosevelt

Amy Silver found an oiled-looking dowitcher at Blacks Creek Reservoir (Ada Co) a few days ago and the extent of white in the tail seemed promising for a Short-billed. She saw it again & heard it call yesterday. Early evening today Bryce, Heidi, & I re-located it near the mouth of Blacks Creek as it enters the reservoir on the E end and were able to grab a few pics that seem to support Short-billed: among other features, (1) tail ~50% white, (2) small spots on sides of chest that transition to barring on the flanks, and (3) gold edges on the back feathers. Any input welcome.

Also, lots of other diversity there & RL was out there looking earlier in the afternoon and found a Red-necked Grebe on the deeper water – a great find for this spot and time of year!

Jay

> On Jun 6, 2017, at 6:42 PM, amysilver819@gmail.com [ible] wrote:
>
> [Attachment(s) from amysilver819@gmail.com [ible] included below]
> Hi Everybody. This poor bird was at Blacks Creek Reservoir yesterday. Looks like some sort of dowitcher, but both short and long-billed are considered rare right now (by ebird). He seems thin, but that’s maybe just because he’s unwell?
>
>
>
> The bird was pretty messed up, so I gave him plenty of space…
>
>
>
> I’ve never really tried to differentiate between the dowitchers, but this one struck me as different (maybe just acting strangely because he was sick?) In most of the photos (not many), his tail is covered by his wings, but in this one, you can really see the white bands. The bill and face seem right, but he’s in bad shape and it’s hard to see color patterns in the sad mess of feathers. Any thoughts before I try to submit the report to ebird? There doesn’t seem to be a “short-billed/long-billed dowitcher” option 🙂
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Amy Silver (Boise)
>
>
>
>
>
>

The scoter was present this AM, again right against the base of the dam.
It was diving actively today.

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com

The scoter was there all afternoon today foraging among Western Grebes
in front of Island Park Dam. It was swimming around picking at the
surface and once it got chased a short distance by a Western Grebe. It
wasn’t as close and I only had 8x binocs with me but it definitely has
dark brown extending well out onto the base of the bill. Bill is getting
orange and has some pale whitish area on it. Nape is solidly dark brown
as is the entire upperparts. Flanks are paler brown contrasting slightly
but noticeably with back. Eye appeared pale/whitish but it was too far
to be sure if it was just the iris. I didn’t notice any white around the
eye yesterday. A very neat looking bird.

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com

Hi Everybody. This poor bird was at Blacks Creek Reservoir yesterday. Looks like some sort of dowitcher, but both short and long-billed are considered rare right now (by ebird). He seems thin, but that’s maybe just because he’s unwell?

The bird was pretty messed up, so I gave him plenty of space…

I’ve never really tried to differentiate between the dowitchers, but this one struck me as different (maybe just acting strangely because he was sick?) In most of the photos (not many), his tail is covered by his wings, but in this one, you can really see the white bands. The bill and face seem right, but he’s in bad shape and it’s hard to see color patterns in the sad mess of feathers. Any thoughts before I try to submit the report to ebird? There doesn’t seem to be a “short-billed/long-billed dowitcher” option 🙂

Thanks!
Amy Silver (Boise)

Hi birders,

I know this isn’t the typical post for this forum and my apologies for the diversion from the typical birding conversations, but I think our group might be able to uniquely contribute to the search for this missing person because he’s suspected to be spending time in a lot of natural areas (greenbelt, parks, etc.) and might be in the Boise area, potentially working his way towards Burley.

Ronald Ray Jones (goes by Ron) is my uncle’s father (I haven’t met him personally, but he’s family of family). He went missing from his home in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday evening, 6/2/2017. He was wearing black b-ball shorts, dark green shirt, and Ecco sandals. He’s 5ft 5in, 185 lbs, with graying hair. He left on foot without his wallet, phone, keys, or any other personal belongings.

He recently had heart surgeries and hasn’t been on his medications in several days now. He may be disoriented and confused. There have been tips suggesting he might be in the Boise area, and if so it’s possible that he might be working his way towards Burley where he grew up and has business connections.

The list of places he might be spending time includes:

* Natural areas – in particular the greenbelt or any of the parks in Boise.
* Hotels – one tip suggested he’s been using hotel key cards to gain access to the breakfast.
* McDonalds – part of his morning routine.
* Any similar places along the highway from Boise to Burley.

I know we have a lot of people in our group who spend time on the greenbelt and other parks in Boise, so I thought it would be worth asking folks to keep an eye out. Here’s the flyer (including a photo) that’s being distributed to area hotels and others that might be able to help:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12-VfFt1cnXqyAvq2Hq_hJKTAN2cNbL7u7O-jCY1km7A

[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Z2BF4xIZpSQBlmJELQH5oRvesZpZ47CZnSe2gBdNoF-TIAgDli3MAy-7BgULh5vjPxo8oA=w1200-h630-p]

MISSING PERSON HOTEL EMAIL
docs.google.com
MISSING PERSON RONALD RAY JONES Ronald Ray Jones 55 year old Caucasian Male. 5ft5in 185 lbs graying hair. Last seen Friday 6/2/17 between the hours of 5 and 6 pm. Wearing black basketball shorts, green/black shirt, and Ecco sandals. Last seen around Brookwood & TV highway, Hillsboro, Oregon….

He’s not a danger to others but may be a danger to himself. If you see him or have any information, try to get photo confirmation (cell phone photo works) and call 911, and then contact the family.

3852440159 -Alex Jones
9713616296- Chad Jones
aljrt2009@gmail.com

News Report:

http://katu.com/news/local/police-missing-hillsboro-man-could-be-at-risk-doesnt-have-medication

FIND RON JONES FACEBOOK PAGE:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/187727821752279/?multi_permalinks=188567031668358&notif_t=group_activity&notif_id=1496701071462725

Thanks so much for keeping an eye out.

Stoddard Davenport

Boise

I will be leading a field trip for visually impaired participants at 8am on Saturday 10 June at Hyatt Wetlands in Boise. This not an invitation for sighted people to learn birding by ear, but if you’d like to help guide participants and see how it’s done, you’re welcome to attend. We’ll meet at the parking lot on Maple Grove. Hope to see you there.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

The White-winged Scoter Austin Young found last weekend is still present
this afternoon. It was right in front of the dam, within 5 feet of the
base of the dam. Great looks even with binocs. The white secondaries
were even visible. This bird was reported as a Surf Scoter by someone in
eBird but I’m sure it’s the same bird. I’ll try to get a better look at
the bill tomorrow if it’s still there.

Thanks again to Austin for bringing it to our attention.

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com