A couple of Fall arrivals this weekend: Pine Siskins & a White-throated Sparrow.
Plus, more small columns of Red-tailed Hawks overhead.
And, a Sharp-shinned Hawk has kept House Finches away from the platform feeder for a 2nd day now. I noticed yesterday afternoon the only visitors coming into the feeder were all BC Chickadees. And, most were giving alarm “chatters”. Plus, all the DE Juncos were gone. Toward evening, House Finches returned &, suddenly, there was the streaking missile flight of a bird with a screeching whistling through its feathers as it pulled up suddenly at the feeder! A Sharp-shinned Hawk attack…unsuccessful. This morning, it must have had better luck, as I found a small pile of Junco feathers under a spruce tree in the yard. And, once again, other than Chickadees, feeder activity was quiet.
Looks like our amazing Fall is about to move more toward Winter conditions, as the week progresses. But, what a mild & colorful Fall it has been!
Over the years, I have advertised vacant winter raptor survey routes in Idaho on IBLE. In one week we are about to embark on our 21st season of surveys for the Winter Raptor Survey Project sponsored by the East Cascades Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon Society). Surveys will be conducted on 580+ survey routes covering more than 34,000 miles of transects throughout all of ID, OR, and WA, through the northern tier of CA and UT, and throughout western MT. More than 470 primary volunteers will do once a month surveys from December through February, with additional options to survey in November and March.
I would like you to know that the following survey routes, with their mileage lengths, are still available for volunteers to be assigned to this winter :
Winchester 73 Craigmont – Mohler. 60 Nez Perce 71 Troy – Deary 78 Churchill – Oakley 68 Dietrich 63 Richfield 44 Heyburn 41 Acequia. 39 Rupert North 69 Burley East – Lake Walcott 67 Burley SW 51
The fact that we have 153 routes throughout Idaho and that we only need these 12 routes to fill the entire state for this project says volumes regarding the dedication that Idaho volunteers in this project put forth 🙂
To participate, I ask that our volunteers commit to one survey per month during the primary survey period from December through February. Volunteers can select survey dates each month to dovetail with their own life schedules. November and March are also available for surveying but these are optional months as they do contain migrational activity and this is a wintering project. You should have at least a pair of binoculars to help you find and ID the birds, spotting scopes are encouraged but not mandatory.
If this sounds like something that you would like to do, I encourage you to email me soon so that you can hopefully cover the route(s) of your choice, I will necessarily fill these on a first come first served basis. If you make that decision, I will provide additional information and instruction to get you properly prepared for what you will be doing on these surveys. This is a fun way to enjoy winter birding while at the same time collecting valuable population data for this wonderful family of birds, I hope that you will join us this winter! :). Thank you,
Jeff Fleischer Project Developer / Coordinator Winter Raptor Survey Project East Cascades Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon Society) Bend, OR
Since I see RT Hawks year-round, guess I just hadn’t given it much thought & assumed they stay within a local area. Will see both Rough-legged & Red-tailed Hawks in winter, as well. And, as noted, oftentimes the Rough-leggeds will noticeably outnumber the Red-taileds. But, had never really put 2 & 2 together, to think that a number of Red-taileds had simply left for milder climates. Until today, when watching small kettles of Red-tailed Hawks soaring overhead. Fascinating thing about nature & birds, specifically…always something new to learn.
In Valley Cointy the RTHWs tend to migrate out in winter, replaced by rough-legged hawks, which stay until snow has started to open up in March or so. That said, some red-tails do winter here.
Got up early this AM, started fire in the woodstove, ground & made my coffee & took a long walk along the Snake River. Saw my Bald Eagle couple perched in their favorite riverside snag. Heard Townsend’s Solitaires calling & DE Juncos are numerous. Common Ravens are sure boisterous this morning!
Now, on back deck & had an observation I haven’t paid that much attention to in the past. Have seen 4 small groups of Red-tailed Hawks (8-12 birds each) in flight overhead, headed South. Looked it up & RT Hawks are classed as “partial migrants” mainly in the Fall & Spring. I had just assumed they all stayed in an area year-round. Indeed, some do remain year-round, but others also migrate. With the explosion of mice & vole numbers we had this summer, must have been a good year for the Red-tails!
Now, given the last post, hoping some of Pocatello’s Evening Grosbeaks find their way north to my place! My sunflower seeds are ready in the feeder.
I finally heard from.enforcement F.G THEY SAID VERY BUSY HUNTING SEASON THEY SAID CALL POACHING # 800 6325999. SHOULD BE SOMEONE WHO SEEN THE DEAD GREBE WHICH I DIDN’T ITS. THE BEST I COULD DO
It does indeed seem odd they told one person they hunted there all the time. Prior to that they asked me and another person parked at the main parking lot if they could hunt there I told them that to be sure they should call IDFG. The person sitting in a blue car told them that they could and could also on the BLM land on the other side of the reservoir. That is when they left and went down to the parking area near the dam.
On Oct 23, 2024, at 9:53 AM, Regan,Tempe via groups.io <tempe.regan@…> wrote:
This is pure speculation but as a hunter I can tell you what I am not going to do…I am not going to take two piddly grebes and spend a bunch of time grinding them up WITH my venison to THEN make sausage with them??? Haha no way. I doubt those guys were telling the truth particularly bc other statements you said they made make it sound like they don’t even know how to identify what they are shooting at. I hope it gets looked in to further because their behavior seems odd.
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When I heard them asking me and others at the main parking lot if hunting was allowed there, I told them it probably was but that to be sure they should call IDF&G. They said they were hunting ducks and I told them the only ducks I had seen were Ruddy Ducks.
They left the main parking area and then I drove down to the little parking area by the dam to go check out what was on that end of the reservoir. They were there putting waders on and getting their shotguns out. They said they had seen some ducks and were going to give it a go.
I saw no ducks when I went down to the shore just a lot of Eared Grebes close and far out, a couple of Pied-billed Grebes and a few Western Grebes far out from shore.. About the time I turned around and headed back I heard the shots and wondered what they were shooting at.
When I got to them after I heard the shots they were trying to retrieve the Grebes but found out quickly that it dropped off fast and said they were going to let the wind blow them to shore up by the dam.
I also told them what they had shot and that they were not good to eat. And they said they ground them up with venison and made sausage and jerky. I did not see them shoot the birds but they said they did. I saw a flock of mallards flying by on the other side of the reservoir just after they shot. When I talked to them I told them what the ducks were that flew after they shot and they were the only ducks I had seen on that end of the reservoir. One told the other “I told you they were mallards”.
I did not know until this string started that Grebes were not legal migratory game birds. As I noted earlier back in my hunting days I did not hunt grebes since I had no intention of eating them. My grandfather said they were not good to eat so that was that and I never paid any attention to them until I got into birding many years later. Now I even know there are a number of different types of Grebes and after today that none of them are migratory game birds that can be hunted.
I’m waiting to hear back from fish &game just in case they want to check it out to catch these guys does any one know how long grebe stay around the 2 hunters I talked to said they hunt there often I did not witness them with grebes Ken did
Ken Miracle chukar28@… 208-570-2780 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
Ken Miracle chukar28@… 208-570-2780 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
This is pure speculation but as a hunter I can tell you what I am not going to do…I am not going to take two piddly grebes and spend a bunch of time grinding them up WITH my
venison to THEN make sausage with them??? Haha no way. I doubt those guys were telling the truth particularly bc other statements you said they made make it sound like they don’t even know how to identify what they are shooting at. I hope it gets looked in
to further because their behavior seems odd.
The latest I photographed them there last year was 10-21.
On Oct 22, 2024, at 11:12 PM, Robert Kiernan via groups.io <photobirder@…> wrote:
I’m waiting to hear back from fish &game just in case they want to check it out to catch these guys does any one know how long grebe stay around the 2 hunters I talked to said they hunt there often I did not witness them with grebes Ken did
Ken Miracle chukar28@… 208-570-2780 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
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