I just became aware of a few reports of Wedge-rumped Storm Petrels in northern Utah. One is at Hyrum Reservoir, only 30 miles from Bear Lake. If anyone is down that way, or at any southern Idaho reservoir, it might be worth taking a look just in case.
It’s rather curious the Blue Jay has yet to establish a regular visitation pattern in the Treasure Valley, but they are very enjoyable to see/hear when passing through. I did get on briefly about 7-8 yrs ago at our Valley Co. place. I also get a kick out of watching the Stellar’s jays cache peanuts under a patch of moss, high up on Ponderosa’s.
So, today a Blue Jay has appeared & the Steller’s Jay seems to be gone. The Blue Jay has been busy at the platform feeder making repeated trips, gathering as many as 10 seeds at a time, & caching them all around the yard. Stashing them at bases of trees, bushes, along crooks of tree limbs, etc. Have seen sev over the years. A few yrs back, one did quite similar and stayed for sev wks during the winter.
Same here in the Moonlight Mine area east of Pocatello where we’ve gotten 2″ of snow this a.m.. The usual winter gang, chickadees, mountain and black capped, house finches, pine siskins, red breasted nuthatches, hairy and downy woodpeckers are all around. Stellars Jays showed up a few weeks ago and have stayed. Evening grosbeaks arrived a couple of days ago too. Even had a red squirrel capture a finch at one feeder, second time we’ve seen that happen. A lack of pine cones this year might account for that.
Here, about 6 miles north of Idaho Falls, I’ve been having a mini irruption of Juncos. Normally this time of year I would be host to a few, maybe 5 or 6, but the last 2 weeks or more there must be over 100 foraging in my yard and the field next door.
Last few days, have had regular visits by: a Mtn Chickadee, sev Pine Siskins, an Evening Grosbeak &, going on a week now, a Steller’s Jay. All hitting the sunflower seeds on the platform feeder. Think they must have known, a change in the weather was coming.
Good list! Haven’t had Northern Pygmy, but get nightly calls of both Great-horneds & Saw-whets in our woods. No Golden-crowned Kinglets this Fall, so far. I keep looking, sev yrs back had a large flock of them, pass thru.
Valley Co. forest walk today, high numbers of RCKI and GCKI’s foraging in “dense” flocks. Also had a NOPO, GHOW’s, and a NSWO calling about 0600. Fun times in the forest!
Had to look twice to convince myself what I was observing. I watched a Black-capped Chickadee, fly-catching. Six times in a row from a backyard cottonwood tree branch. Usually, they go right for the platform sunflower seeds.
Took me a bit to see what it was actually fly-catching. Turned out to be Woolly Aphids. The aphids usually appear Sept/Oct &, this AM, seeing a bunch of the fuzzy, light blue aphids flying about. Just hadn’t witnessed a chickadee fly-catching before, that I recall.
About the only migrants coming thru now are a handful of both YR Warblers & RC Kinglets. Also have DE Juncos & White-crowned Sparrows about. Best bird yest was a Prairie Falcon flyover.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
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