I have been in this world a long time and much of that time spent outdoors from growing up in a rural to area, to being a working biologist, and being an avid fisherman and hunter since I was 6 years old. Sometimes I get to thinking that I have seen everything, but Nature just keeps on surprising me. Yesterday I was eating dinner at a friend’s house and she spotted a pair of CA quail walking up the edge of an irrigation lateral that passes by about 30 feet from the dinette window. She said that they had babies and seemed to be quite exposed, and I took a pair binoculars to look at them and just as I got them in view “BAM” a large hawk landed right in the middle of them. I think that it was a dark phase Swainson’s but things started happening so quickly that I didn’t time to be sure. Quail started running in all different directions and the hawk flew up the ditch and disappeared behind some bushes and trees followed about a second later by the male quail. The female promptly started to gather her brood and head back down the canal. The male didn’t show up for a little while and I figured that he was providing fine dining to the hawk but the little squirt showed up and they all headed into the grass and brush on the  other side of the ditch. 😮

I am still amazed at we watched but Nature just keeps providing new entertainment after all these years. I even got a new life lister this Spring ( which is getting rarer and rarer for me) in Arizona during my annual trip down there to see my kids and grandkids – a Northern Jacana. 😉

Fred Crase

New Plymouth

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Hi – I see that Snowy Plovers are still being reported, and the Pectoral Sandpiper was still mentioned the other day.

I drove out to Dry Lakes for the first time in years, last Sunday afternoon, hoping that with my high-powered camera lens (I don’t have a decent scope) and binocs, I might be able to see something, but it was impossible at that distance
from the road.

So, if anyone plans to head out there with a high-powered scope, I would sure appreciate knowing, and maybe I can coordinate another drive out there.  Thanks…Jon Barnett, 208-869-5164

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Not sure if the word has gotten around to everyone that a Common Loon has been hanging around at a pond in Garden City. The pond is on the north side of the river and just west of Glenwood. In fact, you can see the pond from the sidewalk of Glenwood. I’ve seen it the last 3 days on my bike rides. I was told about it by a couple of different people, but I haven’t seen any postings.

So, on the way home today, with 39 species in my head, I stopped at Esther Simplot Park to check out some RB Gulls. (If you squint hard enough, you can maybe make them into California Gulls, but not today.) Anyway, as I was about to tuck my binos away, something white in the sky caught my attention. It turned out to be a flock of circling White Pelicans. They were pretty high up so it’s hard to say how far down river they were from me, but they may have been as close as Veterans Pond. I tried to count them, but they kept banking and each time they banked, they shifted position. My best guess would 20+ birds. A nice way to finish my ride and get 40 species to boot. A Swainson’s Hawk on the neighborhood nest made it 41.

Tom McCabe, Boise

Hi Jay!  I looked at that earlier when it popped up – with only a brief sighting and no binocs, it sure sounded like a Cooper’s Hawk to me… for whatever it’s worth…

Since I’m sending an email anyway, might as well share a recent photo from my Bird Gallery FB site; I took an unexpected last-minute trip to Colombia, and this Green-and-Black Fruiteater surprised me on a trail.

What a beautiful bird when seen up close! 

Everyone have a marvelous June…best, Jonathan

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