Wed.tom rennebaum and I birded w.fork sinker crk.off of road to silver city
got there about 3: 30 birds very active especially chat got good photos
other birds blk hd.gros.kestral lazuli bull.oriole med.lark.w.king
brd.gam.quail n.flick.olive side fly cat.lewis.wood pk.am.gold finch
w.tanager Thursday drove to silver city ny.summit always place for Mt.
Blue bird onto silver city area yellow warbler yellow rump warbler song
sparr.chip sparr.willow fly cat.violetgr.swall.blk.chin humm.house finch
h.wren fox sparr.nice to see lots of birds of color

I have at least 4 different Black-headed Grosbeak pairs coming into my feeders now. And I’m finding that the males have distinctive head patterns. 2 have the more common black head & burnt orange throat pattern but another one has a very distinct white chin & throat patch while an additional one has a lemon yellow chin patch. Also their belly patterns are distinct. Some with definite lemon yellow fading into the burnt orange and others with barely any yellow on the belly. It’s just been fun watching their increasing numbers over this past week.

Bullock’s Orioles have arrived now, as have female Red-winged Blackbirds. And I found a small flock of Chipping Sparrows coming through today.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

After a leisurely breakfast and a late start, I headed out for my daily
ride. Western Tanagers were again/still in my neighborhood, and our
neighborhood Swainson’s was up stretching her legs. While watching her, I
heard the distinct sound of an Osprey and discovered one doing loop-de-loops
high above the North End. I think he may have had a fish in his talons while
he was doing aerobatics. A real treat.

I arrived at Hull’s Gulch just hoping to see something new. As it turns out,
I met another IBLEr, Mary Rumple, and she helped me locate several birds
that had eluded me the other day. Gray Catbirds were noisy and then visible,
and a baby Great Horned Owl was peeking out of the Russian Olive near their
nest. Mary and I walked part of the center walking trail together, and it
was obvious we both have BADD (Birders Attention Deficit Disorder).

I entered Hull’s Gulch with 13 birds and left with 46, including a pair of
Cooper’s Hawks soaring above Camelsback. I then stopped at the house for
another leisurely meal and headed for the river. At Quinn’s Pond there were
at least 20 paddleboards on the water, plus a BFD dive crew practicing, so I
couldn’t find the Western Grebes that have been hanging out there. But I was
able to increase my tally to 58 birds, despite the newest chain link fencing
that totally cuts me off from Veteran’s Pond. I rode the south side of the
river to Ann Morrison Park, because the north side is impassable in many
places. When I got back to Quinn’s, there were only a few people on the
water. I scanned from several vantage points and found the 4 WEGR’s that
have been there at least a week. Final tally was 59 birds in 13 miles.

Another good day. And thank you, Mary! Tom McCabe, Boise

Greetings, Birders,
I had an adult Red-headed Woodpecker in Challis today. It was in the deciduous trees at the Challis Bridge BLM day use area between the flooded boat ramp area and the parking area. I lost it high in the trees and could not relocate it before several vehicles of rowdy young folk and dogs showed up, parking in the boat ramp area. I plan to return shortly and try again. With school out and the holiday weekend, I’m not sure how much human activity there might be at this particular area that might hamper birding efforts.
Feel free to e-mail me if you come to look for it. My location is literally 3 minutes away and I’d be delighted to meet other Idaho birders.
Wendy McCradyChallis, ID

Hi IBLErs,

I got an early morning tip from Missy Arnold that a White-winged Dove was present at the Warm Springs Golf Course. Presumably this is the same individual that’s used the area on and off for a couple of years now. I made it over there a little after 8 and could hear it calling from deep within one of the large pine trees between the clubhouse and the greenbelt, but couldn’t get a visual. It kept going silent as I approached, and must have flown out the backside (towards the clubhouse) as I approached from the greenbelt, because I heard it calling again in some trees on the far side of the clubhouse as well. I ran out of time to try to get a visual on it before I had to get back to work, but others may have better luck.

Thanks for the heads up Missy!

Good birding!

Stoddard Davenport

Boise

I love seeing reports of birds from my area that you are excited to see in your state. Here is Wisconsin now we are enjoying a visiting Lewis’s Woodpecker, one of your birds! I had to look up the range of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak to appreciate why it is a nice surprise to have one in your back yard.

Mary Korkor
Hartland, Wisconsin
(frequent visitor to Boise)

Where?

Sincerely,

Michael D. Hunter

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rubybreleigh@yahoo.com [ible]
Sent: 23 May, 2017 11:01 PM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Rose-breasted Grosbeak [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from rubybreleigh@yahoo.com [ible] included below]

The last two days I have had a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my feeder with a flock of Black-headed Grosbeak. Here is a picture of it.

The last two days I have had a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my feeder with a flock of Black-headed Grosbeak. Here is a picture of it.

>
> No Lazuli Buntings for the past three days. This afternoon three Lazuli showed up with a Indigo Bunting.
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> IMG_0029
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Since my access to some of my favorite places on the river is limited, I
decided to do a Hull’s Gulch tour and then my regular ride. So not a “Big
Day” per se, just a good day (using Harry Krueger’s definition).

My bike trip through Hull’s Gulch netted 35 species, most of them expected
at this time of year, but still a treat. The Blue Gray Gnatcatchers are back
in their usual gully, Western Meadowlarks were singing up a storm, and the
Yellow-breasted Chat did not disappoint. Like Scott, I found Western Wood
Pewees, plus an Olive-sided Flycatcher. And on one of the walking trails I
found a baby Western Screech Owl peering at me from a Wood Duck box.

On the greenbelt I found the 4 Western Grebes that have been hanging out at
Quinn’s Pond, despite the huge number of people that were doing paddleboards
and kayaks there yesterday. Silver Lake also had a single WEGR. But I dipped
on a number of “the usual suspects.”

I rode all the way to the closed bridge at Plantation Island, but most of my
birds came upstream of Veteran’s Parkway. On the way back I was still one
bird shy of my goal of 50 birds (Extreme Daily Allowance), but I again
stopped at the Swainson’s nest near my house and a head popped up, and I was
happy. As I said, a good day.

Tom McCabe, Boise