Have you asked him to share?
Category Archives: Listserv Posts
Sharp-shin
I’ve been watching a Sharp-shinned Hawk plucking and then eating a Eurasian Collared-Dove in my backyard for over two and a half hours.
Kit
Kit Struthers
Idaho Falls, ID
kit619@…
Lake lowell
Lower dam tons of golden eyes several common mergansers two red neck grebes.lions pond sharpie
Snow Day!
In the last week I have been pleased to welcome as many as 30 Pine Siskins at a time to my feeders. Frequently they have been accompanied by A. Goldfinches, a bird that had disappeared from my yard for a while. In fact, for 3-4 weeks in late December into January, I didn’t have to touch my sock feeder because nobody was interested. Then the Siskins arrived and then a horde of L. Goldfinches as well. It’s nice to have them all back.
Also, yesterday, for the first time in a long time (years?), I saw a Spotted Towhee on my regular route. He was skulking in the brush along Remington St., across from the entrance to LarKen, the folks who make concrete vaults for toilets. I was looking for White-crowned Sparrows and he was suddenly there. Hopefully he’ll stick around for a while.
And hopefully tomorrow will be biking weather again.
Tom McCabe, Boise
Hoot Owl BIrds
I haven’t posted this winter as we’re getting usual visitors and no real rarities.
Both BC and mountain chickadees hit the feeders. Mountain numbers are up and, about ⅓ the number of black capped. A few siskens show up but not as many as other years. I see siskens all year long and they hang with the goldfinches. We have a good sized flock of Evening Grosbeaks, counted 40 in the tree in front staging for a feeder rush. Even have juncos at hanging feeder. I’m going through 10-15 lbs black oil sunflowers a week.
Turkeys are around but lying low and providing sustenance for local predators and carcasses as well for general feeding. I saw a flock of 12 Ruffed Grouse in field below, larger flock size than before, but they are always around.
Magpies continue their recent winter feeding habits, hanging off feeders for seeds, scavenging underneath for spills and working dog poop for whatever. I’ve noticed little raptor action except for trolling eagles and our usual good flock of ravens.
Bill Moore
Hoot Owl
Inkom
Re: Winter Finch Irruption
Are some of your info sites western Canada if so can you forward some to me.
Winter Finch Irruption
I read Robt Kiernan’s post about most probably no winter finch irruption this season. I follow sev Canadian sites for winter finch irruptions & all agree, not much chance this year. At my feeders, personally, have only seen a lone Evening Grosbeak early on, a handful of Pine Siskins since & no other migratory winter finches.
But, it also got me thinking. It’s been documented that N Amer bird populations have decreased by approx 30% overall since 1970’s. Certainly, in great pine seed crop winters, there’s no need for even an abundance of finches to migrate. But if, for instance, numbers of finches are down by 30%, in a lower pine seed crop year, would there be enough seed for the remaining fewer finch numbers, that there would also be no need to migrate? Perhaps, we won’t see winter finch irruptions as often. Maybe, a grad student thesis project?
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
Grytviken!
ible, moi understanding this is of limited interest……..
LA
Re: a good raptor run
love those birds
ick ssss on habitat loss
i’m with you
LA
a good raptor run
We had a good Raptor Run out in the Roswell area. Our best birds were a Merlin, Cooper’s Hawk, and three Great Horned Owls. We saw 33 Red-tailed Hawks, 25 American Kestrels, but only 3 Northern Harriers over the 78 mile route. We survey through ever growing numbers of hop fields…..we are watching habit and ecosystems vanish before our very eyes.
Billie Farley and Steve Smith