Filled three 4 cup feeders today. Several Rufous are in area, based on seeing them side by side and plumage variation, loads of others. Turkeys poults are starting to show up following their minders in and out of grasses.
Four Sandhills hanging around and young are flying, one smaller than others. Spent part of afternoon in field in shade.
Wow, small world for sure ! :). I will contact Joe (by the way, I read the same book and it was awesome) and if he okays it, I will send you his email address to forward to your friend. Stay tuned 🙂
A friend was somewhere in Asia and found a book where he stayed a few days. It was a book on eagles by Joe Atkinson which he read and wants to tell him some things about coming across the book. I think Joe and his spouse do WRS routes near Ontario and Vale and maybe you could ask whether they could give me their contact info?
Hope you get a lovely summer and some down time however you define that!
I am trying to get in touch with Billie Farley who helps me by doing winter raptor surveys for me in the Boise area, the email address that I have been using no longer works. Any help with this request will be greatly appreciated, thank you 🙂
This past Saturday, 19 July, a small truck of some sort, P/U possibly, pulled off I-84E, Milemarker 65, just before the ITD Weigh Station entrance, a bit after Noon, likely overheated, caught fire (totalled) and started a grass fire (Milemarker 65 Fire, BLM designation) which later grew to encompass some 9000+/- acres by evening, windy conditions pushed the fire to the SE. Fire was kept to the South side of the Interstate except for a small part of the median in the area of the Weigh Station.
The fire stretched from the afore-mentioned Milemarker 65 clear along the Interstate to Indian Ck. Reservoir taking out the entire West end up to the road at the base of the dam/berm as well as a portion of the North end down to the heavy greenery just above the current waterline, ending at the culvert where Indian Ck. proper enters the reservoir. Most everything else within the confines of the reservoir is all okay, the Westside outside of the dam is now barren of vegetation, the canyon… everything. The Southside between the dam, entry road and the private shooting range is also okay. Stage Stop truck stop also not touched. I don’t know the extent of any damage down Orchard Access Rd. or further down Indian Ck.
Well, what does this have to do with birds. This fire has essentially left a small green spot on the edge of all this blackness that with the upcoming Fall migration might possibly provide some very interesting birding. None of the trees/willows were touched. Only problem is that the water surface area is about 75-90% currently covered with smartweed/knotweed and evaporation will decrease water level.
One of my favorite places, will keep an closer eye on as migration nears.
CGB. RL
An aside. There is to be a new subdivision (Mayfield Springs or some-such name) going in catty-corner across I-84 from the Stage Stop over the next few years, some 14/1500 homes. The amount of water drawn from wells will pretty much spell the end of Indian Ck. Reservoir as we have known it.
Just had my first Rufous Hummingbird of season show at the nectar feeder. A beautiful, completely rufous-colored male. So, their migration back South has started in the E ID Snake River Riparian areas. Last year, within a week of my first sighting, they really put on a show for sev weeks, followed by a good number of Calliope Hummers, as well. Will see how numbers go this season.
Amy Bechtel was on her way home yesterday and made a quick stop at Blacks Creek. She found an American Bittern which was seen last month between June 15 & June 20 by Thomas Czubek, Kent Kleman, Jason Talbot, and Mark Selle. V likely the same individual. She said it was between the trees on the east side. Hopefully, it will be seen again; Amy & I will probably try later today.
Amy saw several peeps also, so as we approach mid-July, they should be starting to come in more numbers soon.
John Shortis
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
