Found by Tempe Regan this morning while doing standardized surveys for YB Cuckoos.  I’ll send coordinates as soon as I get them.

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

I hope I’m not cluttering everybody’s inbox, but I wanted to share. Today I
couldn’t find the Solitary Sandpiper at ESP but instead found 2 Western
Sandpipers in the very same spot. I only saw one on the outbound ride, but
there were 2 when I got back.

I also couldn’t find a Spotted, until I was downriver by Veterans Parkway
and one flew to a gravel bar across the river. The flight pattern is
unmistakable and then he bobbed around a while so we could get good looks.

Tom McCabe, Boise

The last few days juvenile hummingbirds have started showing at the nectar feeder. Yesterday, a juvenile Black-chinned & today, a juvenile Rufous. During the same time frame, I’ve had adult males & females of both species coming in to feed.

It’s interesting, 30 yrs ago our most prominent hummer was Broad-tailed. The occasional Rufous would come in, as well, and the rare Calliope. Never, a Black-chinned. In the past decade, that has changed, so that Broad-tailed is rare & Black-chinned is my most common hummingbird. Followed by the Rufous, esp this year. Last year, I had one each of Broad-tailed & Calliope, late Aug/early Sept. Will see what this fall brings, hummingbird-wise.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

When I got to ESP today, the YMCA was running a triathlon so I exited
quickly without seeing any sandpipers. But when I got back, things had
quieted down and I could search the little mudflat. The baby Killdeer kept
getting in the way, but I finally found a sandpiper, but it was a Spotted. I
traversed back and forth several times and suddenly realized I had both
Spotted and Solitary. They got to within 8-10 feet of each other, so I was
able to study the similarities and differences. The Spotted definitely does
more tail bobbing, but the Solitary is no slouch either. It’s not often that
I get to see 2 very similar birds near each other for direct comparison, as
opposed to photographic comparison.

Tom McCabe, Boise

Thanks for the SOSA, Tom!!

And congrats on your record early “fall migrant” date for the county by several days at least, since the eBird bar chart for Ada County shows it present beginning the 3rd week of July (presumably 15 July or later).

Someone will grab pix, right? 😉

Larry

—– Original Message —–

From: “‘Tom McCabe’ tmccabe9@cableone.net [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2018 3:43:07 PM
Subject: [IBLE] Solitary Sandpiper at ESP

Along the Whitewater Park Blvd. side of Esther Simplot Park there is a storm water runoff pond that at times is one long pond and at other times is a mud flat. Today it is mudflats with some shallow water and Killdeer, Mallards and C Geese and a Solitary Sandpiper. I first saw the bird on Wednesday, but I was in a hurry and thought it was a Spotted Sandpiper (because that’s what I was expecting). Then I started reviewing Sibley, iBird Pro and any other sources and began to wonder if it was a Solitary, even though the map in Sibley shows only scattered sightings. When I looked again yesterday, I only saw a Spotted (at the other end of the mudflats), so I decided I’d made a mistake.

But today I had the time to really observe the bird, finding the white spotting on the back and white on the face. So of course I emailed Larry and Missy to ask them to look at the bird. They just called to confirm it’s a Solitary and I’m a happy camper!

If you go looking for it, the runoff area is currently surrounded by orange mesh fencing (apparently because of high levels of e.coli). If you enter from the traffic circle at Stewart and Whitewater, park in the first available parking spot and walk towards the fencing. The bird has been at the end of the mudflats closest to the traffic circle.

Tom McCabe, Boise

Along the Whitewater Park Blvd. side of Esther Simplot Park there is a storm
water runoff pond that at times is one long pond and at other times is a mud
flat. Today it is mudflats with some shallow water and Killdeer, Mallards
and C Geese and a Solitary Sandpiper. I first saw the bird on Wednesday, but
I was in a hurry and thought it was a Spotted Sandpiper (because that’s what
I was expecting). Then I started reviewing Sibley, iBird Pro and any other
sources and began to wonder if it was a Solitary, even though the map in
Sibley shows only scattered sightings. When I looked again yesterday, I only
saw a Spotted (at the other end of the mudflats), so I decided I’d made a
mistake.

But today I had the time to really observe the bird, finding the white
spotting on the back and white on the face. So of course I emailed Larry and
Missy to ask them to look at the bird. They just called to confirm it’s a
Solitary and I’m a happy camper!

If you go looking for it, the runoff area is currently surrounded by orange
mesh fencing (apparently because of high levels of e.coli). If you enter
from the traffic circle at Stewart and Whitewater, park in the first
available parking spot and walk towards the fencing. The bird has been at
the end of the mudflats closest to the traffic circle.

Tom McCabe, Boise

hey Jon, I’ve misplaced your phone number, but email works better anyway, if you don’t mind sharing your email address with me, thanks!
I have questions….. =)
Larry

—

I want to comment of the function if IBLE as an intelligent and informative Forum. In operated as it was supposed to, from beginning to end. And for me , being up on the berm that morning with RL Roland, who talked about Ibis coloration and questioned the species we were scoping. And Janet Phillips, up on the berm, who took the photo of the bird and also  questioned the ibis.  To all the other individuals involved and their input. And the perspective that everyone gave in their eBird and emails and from Cheryl Huizinga whose email made me run to my 5th wheel and retrieve my Sibley ‘Guide to Birds’.  So kool, thanks. 

BOB

So yesterday I went biking-birding *early* along the Boise River Greenbelt……

eBird.org reports that July is one of the least eBirded months, and reminds us that post-breeding dispersal is beginning, that birds are wandering out of their usual ranges, into unexpected habitats, and show up at crazy locations. See https://ebird.org/news/july-ebirder-of-the-month-challenge-2018

I would add that in the western U.S. we have high elevation habitats, e.g., spruce-fir and tundra, where avian breeding activity lags behind that at lower elevations and is still popping! Plus the temperatures are pleasant, eh? =)

Even here in Boise at ~ 2600 ft elevation, the ‘lil beasties are still singing emphatically, and their cousins – the silent ones – are still very active. I’m delightfully surprised at how birdiful it is here in mid-July! By 1130 hrs yesterday I had tallied 67 species, but by 0545 hrs I had already enjoyed these encounters:

Boise River Greenbelt SW 6.4, Ada, Idaho, US
Jul 11 , 2018 4:10 AM – 5:45 AM ? Nocturnal

Protocol: Traveling
2.7 mile(s)
Comments: We stward from SW 6.4, 55F clear and calm, heavily armed with LED headlamp and headlights. Quest for owls and CONI, possibly heard GRHE call once at 0520, but I didn’t use playback to confirm, dang me, I know how responsive they often are! Moon was a mere sliver. Now carrying both 8x and 10x bins (it’s a geezer thing)

22 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose 6
Mallard 2
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Great Blue Heron 6
Bald Eagle 1 0545, adult, why flagged as rare? They nest here annually, 4-6 pr in the area per RL, and in winter there are many more, likely different birds, yes, but Ada County bar chart suggests they’re here every month of the year, eh? Nesting has been photo-documented by several birders.
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Mourning Dove 3
Western Screech-Owl 2 counter-calling at 0410 hrs, thus began this list……….
Great Horned Owl 5 2,3, first time one called, both YBCH and GBHE replied, crazy!! =)
Common Nighthawk 1 0545, almost missed this bird, t’was in warp drive, late for work?
Belted Kingfisher 2
Willow Flycatcher 8
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Bank Swallow X
swallow sp. X no idea how many, nor species other than the two that I heard (with low ambient noise at this hour and place)
American Robin 2
Common Yellowthroat 1 seemingly everywhere this year, at more locations than in recent years (just my obs)
Yellow Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 1 same comment as for COYE
Black-headed Grosbeak 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( http://ebird.org )

Happy summer birding,

Larry

—

Went out this afternoon in search of the adult Glossy Ibis. All the birds were clustered in the middle of the north shore and it was extremely windy. I went around the northwest corner as close as I could get overland and finally saw several Ibis at the eastern end of the bird groups. All the Ibis seen had red/brown/green colorations and the red skin patch with white lines around the eye was easy to see; I felt I saw an Ibis with a dark eye and no red skin patch below the eye but I could not get a photo at that distance so I am not going to report it. I changed my 7/10/18 eBird report to reflect indeterminate ID but left the pictures up for people to see.