The three young Cooper’s Hawk are calling for food. Bkack-capoed Chickadees
are chittering frequently and visiting my tube feeder. Meanwhile, one of
the he Cooper’s Hawks is stealthily moving limb to limb and tree to tree in
my yard. I love Chickadees and don’t want the hawk to win this one.
Diann Stone Boise Depot Bench
I just had an Ash-throated Flycatcher at Foote Park. See details: eBird Checklist – Foote Park, Ada County, Idaho, US – Tue Jul 03, 2018 – 20 species
|
|
| |
eBird Checklist – Foote Park, Ada County, Idaho, US – Tue Jul 03, 2018 –…
|
|
|
Jason Talbot
Every year as I watch hummingbirds visit my feeders I wonder âHow many different birds are coming by each day?â Of course, at this time of year this means âI wonder how many Black-chinned Hummingbirds are coming by my feeders each day?â as that is the only species I see during the summer. This year I finally decided to move beyond wondering and see what I could do to actually figure it out.
A little searching on the internet found a few estimation methods. The best way is to do local banding to create an identifiable sample of the birds, but that approach is not available for me. The easiest estimation method is to count the maximum number of birds you see at one time and multiply by 6. This was created by someone who had done local banding and discovered this was a reasonable and simple estimate. In my case I often see 4 birds at once, especially in the sunset feeding frenzy. I once saw 5 but 4 seems like a consistent maximum. So, this would get me to somewhere around 24 different hummingbirds coming by during the day. The other estimation method is based on several peopleâs studies that hummingbirds drink between 0.25 and 0.50 ounces of sugar water a day (based on the typical 1 part sugar to 4 parts water mix). During the last week, birds have been drinking around 12 to 15 ounces of sugar water a day. This approach results in a range of between 24 and 60 different birds coming by each day â and the numbers will be even higher if they are also visiting other feeders in the neighborhood. And there are many neighbors also with feeders.
Where does that leave me? It seems like based on these estimates that I have at least 24 different Black-chinned hummingbirds visiting each day and it would be plausible for this number to be 30 or even a little more. I find that pretty amazing that this many of them are around. A number which will jump dramatically in a few weeks as the young of the year fledge and join their parents in feeder visits.
Scott Tuthill/Boise
This is the first day I’ve seen the Cooper’s Hawk young out with their
parents. The young are calling for food, and the parents deliver. How lucky
to listen and watch from my backyard.
Diann Stone Boise Depot Bench
Hi birders,
Yesterday Amy Bechtel and I walked the whole trail at Gold Fork (off Hwy 21 near mile marker 59). There is still extensive fire damage following from the 2016 fires in this area, which has created a lot of relatively open areas along the trail. As a result, there is a huge proliferation of wild flowers growing there of many colours and varieties, including geranium species, penstemon, larkspur, mallow, and Indian paintbrush, to name a few. For birds, it was a good day for woodpecker species, with the burnt areas good for Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers. We also had excellent views of a pair of MacGillivray’s Warblers which we watched for several minutes, calling from the low growth along one of the creeks there.
Good birding!John Shortis
In case anyone has interest in this,
‘tis a beautiful best kept secret part of Colorado………. =)
Larry
From: Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition [mailto:coloradocranes=coloradocranes.net@mail122.wdc01.mcdlv.net] On Behalf Of Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2018 12:00 PM
To: larnold47@cableone.net
Subject: Yampa Valley Crane Festival Registration
Dear Crane Supporter,
Registration for the 2018 Yampa Valley Crane Festival (August 30 – September 2) begins Sunday, July 1 at 8 a.m. MDT. To register and view the full festival schedule, go to
Many events for the four-day festival are free and do not require registration. Some events with limited space will require advance registration and a fee. These events are noted in the schedule. Be sure to register early as we expect these events to fill quickly.
Registration is not required for all speaker presentations, films, sketch-a-bird workshop, crane viewing on your own, HawkQuest raptor booth, educational displays, crane yoga, crane story-telling, children activities on the Library Lawn, big sit and nature walk at Yampa River Botanic Park and the Carpenter Ranch Saturday night event (unless you wish to purchase a picnic dinner or take the shuttle).
Registration is required for all guided crane viewing shuttles, birding by boat, guided bird walks, nature-writing workshop, guided nature walk and gondola ride on the Steamboat Ski Mountain, guided “crane and critter” walking tour, HawkQuest live raptor photo shoot, shuttles to the Carpenter Ranch and purchase of a picnic dinner at the Carpenter Ranch event.
Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, Inc. (CCCC), presenter of the annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival, is dedicated to the conservation and protection of Greater Sandhill Cranes and their habitat in Colorado. When you visit our website
For questions regarding CCCC, festival registration, festival lodging, or the festival itself email us at
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s festival.
Sincerely,
Nancy Merrill, President
Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, Inc.
Mailing Address: 40625 CR 69A Hayden, CO 81639
Phone: 970-276-1933
Email: coloradocranes@gmail.com
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can
This email was sent to larnold47@cableone.net
Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, Inc. · 40625 County Rd. 69A · Hayden, CO 81639 · USA
RL Rowland just called and said that the Indigo Bunting is still present on the Kingfisher Trail near mile marker 1.4 near a survey monument sign.
Here’s a recent checklist for reference: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46530522
Jason Talbot jasonbackcountry.com
Albinism would have a complete lack of pigment and color.
This is a domestic mallard variety. It may be a cross between a wild bird and a Kakhi Campbell. It could very well be one that was purchased as a duckling for the kids and then dumped when it grew up and became a nuisance.
Ken Miracle
chukar28@icloud.com
208-908-9493
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
> On Jun 29, 2018, at 8:02 AM, Judie jachkr@gmail.com [ible]
>
> [Attachment(s)
> This is my first attempt to post on this site, so if I am inappropriate, please let me know. We have a “white” mallard in our area. Am wondering how to know if it is albino or Leucistic. These are some pictures of it. I do have more. Thanks for your help
>
>
>
>
> Judie
>
This is my first attempt to post on this site, so if I am inappropriate, please let me know. We have a “white” mallard in our area. Am wondering how to know if it is albino or Leucistic. These are some pictures of it. I do have more. Thanks for your help
Judie
Thanks Brian for the insights
The poaching threat, as serious as it is for birds on public lands in SW Idaho (People Keep Shooting Long-Billed Curlews in Southwest Idaho), does seem to be relatively localized and I’m sure other issues are at play elsewhere. And, to your point, some of the best current populations of curlews – both in terms of abundance and reproductive success – we’ve studied in recent years are on private lands with flood irrigation (or at least sub-irrigated meadows), including sites in eastern Idaho and western Wyoming.
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
| |
People Keep Shooting Long-Billed Curlews in Southwest Idaho
A shot mother is the latest in a string of poaching deaths, now considered the greatest threat on what was once …
|
|
|
As you said, center pivots and other forms of sprinkler irrigation use less water and require less labor. But, there are other factors worth considering in the “conservation equation”, including impacts on aquifers as well as what kind of habitat these agricultural areas provide. Flood irrigation, though water & labor-intensive, provides a pretty good substitute for seasonally flooded wetlands and also allows for aquifer recharge. To that end, many organizations in the state – including members of the Idaho Bird Conservation Partnership – have dedicated energy & effort in recent years to the goal of maintaining flood irrigation in at least some valley areas that are within natural floodplains. This is especially so in eastern Idaho where White-faced Ibis and other birds that breed at Market Lake and Mud Lake WMAs and feed extensively in nearby flood-irrigated fields … but there’s a very rapid turnover to center pivot in the area which could end up severely reducing important foraging habitat for colonially-nesting waterbirds as well as migratory waterfowl & shorebirds that pass through.
Thanks for chiming in and I hope this adds a little more to your “food for thought” 🙂
Jay
—
Jay Carlisle
Research Director, Intermountain Bird Observatory
Associate Research Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University
Coordinator, Idaho Bird Conservation Partnership, IBCP on Facebook
On Monday, June 25, 2018, 7:22:14 PM MDT, lcarrigan_55@yahoo.com [ible]
Recently, I’ve read sev articles about Long-billed Curlew numbers dropping in S ID & a disturbing reason for the decline. It appears that poaching, specifically “target shooting” is a major factor. The LB Curlew is federally protected by the Migratory Bird Act but that, obviously, doesn’t deter everybody. As unconscionable as “thrill-killing” such a magnificent bird is, I would also like to raise the discussion of, perhaps, another factor playing a role in lower Curlew numbers.
30 years ago in SE ID, LB Curlews were fairly common in most irrigated fields, particularly pastures. But, about a decade ago, I started seeing fewer & fewer. To the point now, at least in my area, Curlews have become rare. I think the switch from flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation is a factor in the decrease. Certainly, sprinkler irrigation conserves water & is less labor intensive but the flooded fields with standing water have virtually disappeared. And with the disappearance of soaking wet, short grass pasture fields, appears the Curlews have moved on. I’m not advocating a return to flood irrigation, but I believe the change has made a difference. Food for thought. I’d be interested in what others may think.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot