Liz Medes and I found a Lewis’s Woodpecker and a few Fox Sparrows today in Gem County on Nesbitt Lane.
Denise Hughes
Barrows Goldeneye-Boise River
Hi, I saw a BAGO this afternoon. The bird was seen just downstream from the NW corner of the West Boise Waste Water Treatment plant on the south channel of the Boise River. Access this trail from the west via Eagle Rd/E. River Meadow Dr. intersection. It is ~1.5 miles one-way. Stop at the cell tower and the river is to the left/north. Note, access from the east along the river is closed due to construction.
Details
Best Birds of Winter!
59°(!!!) & bright blue skies with sunshine & snow’s melting. Took a break from the chainsaw & cleaning up downed tree limbs around the place, from the recent heavy, wet snow. Sitting on back deck & have seen: 5 Bald Eagles, numerous Canada Geese, 5 Sandhill Cranes, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk & 3 Red-tailed Hawks.
Spotted a couple birds up in a cottonwood that quickly reinforced…always use the binoculars. Put the glass on them & a male & female pair of Red Crossbills. Best birds this winter! They were totally silent, so no idea as to type. Plus, to be honest, not that interested in getting down to the “type” level, anyway. Just plain cool to see, though. Stayed around about 15 minutes before taking off.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
One of my favorite sounds!!!
Was enjoying the sunshine (been in short supply since Feb) on back deck & watching all the usuals: American Goldfinches, BC Chickadees, RB Nuthatches, DE Juncos & House Finches hitting the feeder. Plus, Canada Geese, Trumpeter Swans and Ravens overhead, when I stepped back inside.
Hadn’t been in more than 2 minutes, when I heard one of my all-time favorite sounds of nature! And, first for this Spring for me. The croaky call of Sandhill Cranes in flight. Of course, stepped right back outside & had 3 groups of around 15 birds each fly directly overhead. Each group with members calling back & forth to one another. Love that sound! Right up there with: bull elk bugling, first light wolf howls from a ridgeline, Trumpeters overhead & wind through the spruce trees…
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Re: The Bird Gods smiled again
I love to read your lists Tom! Thank you!! Keep on having those 40+ days – means spring is arriving!
Take care, Cheryl
The Bird Gods smiled again
After a week where appointments conflicted with my normal biking and birding, today was fantastic. My back yard has been taken over by hordes of A. Goldfinches and P. Siskins, so I left the house with a good start. As I headed to the greenbelt,
I found most of the “usual suspects,” but it started to get interesting when I spotted 2 DC Cormorants at Veterans Pond. Then I found a Brown Creeper where the Black and White Warbler hung out earlier this year, but the day got
real interesting when I found a Great Horned Owl perched along the greenbelt! That’s when I decided to extend my ride by crossing to the south side and heading for Remington St. (There was still a blockage on the north side near Wylie Land—hopefully
for not much longer.) The GHOW was bird 30 for the day.
By the time I saw the Cooper’s Hawk on the south side, I already had 36 birds. The RT Hawk on Remington St. made it 40, and the Barrow’s Goldeneye in the river really made my day (haven’t been seeing them on my usual route). Then a pair
of calling A. Kestrels together on a power pole was a real treat.
The final tally from my ride was 43 species in 14 miles, but our evening walk gave me 44 when a W. Screech Owl sat in a tree across from our house and wouldn’t shut up. This is my highest total in a long time. Needless to say, I’ve been
typing with a big smile on my face. 😉
Tom McCabe, Boise
Killdeer
We still have ~12″ of snow on the level. Interestingly, a lot of it has dried out, losing moisture to wind, & crystalized in such a manner that I can walk right on the top in my pack boots. In fact, snowshoes are a hindrance. Between single digit lows at night, highs in the 20s (although today it’s headed to 43°) and very dry ground subsurface, the thaw should help the Snake River Aquifer.
Before last weekend’s storms, Spring migration appeared to be getting underway. Then…a standstill. My resident chickadees, goldfinches, house finches, towhees (you know things are tough when the Spotted Towhees fly up into the platform feeder, instead of scratching beneath) & Red-breasted Nuthatches are going through 15 lbs of black-oil sunflower seeds daily! In fact, American Goldfinches are the most numerous visitor to the feeder this past week. A walk down to the river this AM, showed a group of around 50 American Robins working through a frozen river edge mudflat. And, mixed in, was a Killdeer, first for this Spring. My favorite bird, this Winter, remains Townsend’s Solitaire…still see &/or hear 3-4 daily, vigorously defending their tree crop of juniper berries.
BTW, the Rocky Mountain Junipers took a beating with last weekend’s heavy, wet snow! I weighed it at 20 lb/cubic foot, almost 3 gallons water/cubic foot! Compared notes with my farmer friend & checked Pocatello NWS site & it was a record-setting wet snow. The juniper, pine & spruce trees easily shed our Rocky Mountain powder, but this stuck to branches & needles, literally bringing down large limbs & even a few trees! I have a couple days of chainsaw cleanup to do on our place, once it warms enough.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Sandhill Cranes
If you were near Esther Simplot Park this morning around 11:30, then you got a Spring Treat: Sandhill Cranes flying over. Since I don’t bike to places that host Sandhill Cranes, I only get to enjoy them when they pass over.
Side note: Along with all the Common Mergansers at Quinn’s Pond, there has been a Red-breasted Merganser. Not sure how long he’ll hang around.
Tom McCabe, Boise
Re: Barrows Goldeneye
Looks like on eBird there have been 63 records of Barrow’s Goldeneye in Bonner County:
You can check out the map for where, and the bar chart gives a nice breakdown of when.
Peter
Barrows Goldeneye
I spotted a group of Barrows Goldeneyes in the Johnson Creek area of Clark Fork yesterday afternoon. I have never seen a Barrows there. Usually there are between 20 and 50 Common Goldeneyes swimming the river. They were present but in a different area. My question is how can I check to see if this is a new bird for Bonner County or if not new what is the frequency of them being spotted. It is the first time in 30+ years of birding the area that I have seen them in Bonner County.
Linda Lamb
Priest River, ID