Howdy,
The LTDU is still below Am. Falls dam on the Snake River. It is with many courting Common Goldeneye and a few Barrow’s, as well as many Red-breasted Mergansers. There is a Spotted Towhee at the river feeder on the Nature Trail in the trout farm.
Further south there are many Tundra and Trumpeter Swans near Downata Hot Springs, as well as on Swan Lake south of Downey on the road to Logan. Also, three Am. Avocets and Sandhills Cranes were near Swan Lake yesterday.
Good Birding!
Chuck Trost

Always forward, never straight…

Hi birders,
In the group of 150 Western Grebes seen from first campground area SE of
the dam. Also picked out 1 Clark’s (probably more). Using a spotting scope
but initially found through binos.

Danette Henderson
Boise

Driving through Ontario, OR Sunday evening, 2000? Snow Geese flying in huge flocks heading west/northwest. Really cool to watch so many of them in movement.

Boise – Barber Park – did a quick run through as I was trying to build up my Spring Break Bird List for the Riverstone Competition, wanted to take a quick peek to see if the cutie Northern Saw-whet was there – GUESS WHAT? He was. Same tree, same adorable little face.

Back Yard Bird Box
… 4 screech owl eggs. Super fun! Counting down to fuzzy babies.
….No Kestrels… 2nd year in a row. Don’t know if it’s the Screech Owls or the Great Horned close by, but for some reason the Kestrels aren’t returning. Only posting to motivate you to put up your own boxes! =) (hope I’m not violating the rules)

Happy Birds and birders.
____________________
Kim Liebich =)
Boise Idaho

Registration will open soon for the 8TH ANNUAL DEAN HALE WOODPECKER
FESTIVAL.  This popular event will be held in Sisters, Oregon from May
31-June 3.  Festival participants have a choice of 20-guided tours in
search
of 11 different species of woodpeckers and 200 other birds that make
central Oregon a birding hot spot. Sponsored by East Cascades Audubon
Society, this festival offers a fun, friendly, casual atmosphere that is
all about the birds. The trips are affordable and guided by two local
volunteers with the proceeds supporting the many ECAS projects and
programs fostering bird conservation. 

ONLINE REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 2 AT 9 AM PDT. More information is on
the website:  http://www.ecaudubon.org/dean-hale-woodpecker-festival
   You can email questions to dhwf2018@gmail.com  Trips fill quickly.

Honoring Dean, our charismatic birding friend who led many people to
love birds and birding, Judy Meredith, jmeredit@bendnet.com

Hi,

Today March 25 we had an American Robin appear on the aspen tree that is the main perch for the territorial pair that nests every year by or on the house. I saw another one yesterday in the neighborhood also.

With the snow today and yesterday, the large flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch returned (estimate at least 200 birds). Still could not find one Black RF in the bunch.

We also still have about 12 Pine Grosbeaks hanging out, a few magpies, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Small flocks of juncos appeared down the hill but overall, it is still very quiet birdwise up here in Packsaddle in the foothills of the Big Holes.

Best, Susan

At 3:30 this morning I was awakened by one of my favorite sounds-a Western
Screech Owl. I smiled in the dark, thinking this would be the start of my
day list.

But when I woke up to a snowstorm, I figured I wasn’t going to be able to
bike today. Then, when the sun came out, I started eyeing the streets for
bikeability.

Along the way, while doing “poop fairy” duties in my yard, I was visited by
a wonderful Sharp-shinned Hawk, putting my day list at 10 and scaring
everybody with feathers. This made a bike ride an absolute necessity. After
all, I can’t write them down unless I do a bike ride. 😉

So off I headed, with the streets not nearly as wet as I had expected and
not icy as I had feared. I was greeted at Esther Simplot by a flyover of an
Osprey. Now I had 15 birds and 3 of them were raptors . I rounded up the
usual suspects, including the lingering female Greater Scaup at Veterans
Pond and a Common Goldeneye on the back pond. By the time I left the park
and headed downstream, I was up to 29 birds.

A quick detour for my favorite Great Horned Owls was disappointing at first
when they weren’t in their usual tree, but as I stood looking around, one of
them hooted to let me know they were still in the neighborhood. Then I had a
flyover by a Cooper’s Hawk near Veterans Park, followed by a flyover by a
Bald Eagle near Willow Lane.

I rode downstream on the Boise side until I found the wintering N. Pintail
and saw a small raft of Lesser Scaup at Silver Lake. Along the way I came
upon another Sharp-shinned Hawk, this one having dinner al fresco. Bird 39
was a DC Cormorant back at the Whitewater Park, and a flock of California
Gulls on Quinn’s Pond put me at 40.

My neighborhood Red-tailed Hawks seemed to be hiding when I got home, but
then they got noisy and active again and made me happy. That brought my
final tally to 42 birds in 13 miles, with 7 of them raptors. Not bad for a
day that looked like a snow day in the morning.

Tom McCabe, Boise

P.S. As I sit here at my computer, my friendly neighborhood Western Screech
Owl is calling constantly and making me smile.

Howdy,
This afternoon I found three huge flocks of Snow Geese on the north side of the reservoir. One was in a field. Just south of Hwy 39 about three miles from Am. Falls, near where they were last weekend. Another was in a field east of Yuma Rd. Finally, a huge flock was south of Vambaur Rd., which is south of Springfield. The entire reservoir is now unfrozen, and many diving ducks are moving through.
Good Birding!
Chuck Trost

Always forward, never straight…

Thanks, Larry. I’ve never actually seen that photo displayed on eBird.
Heidi Ware saw it on March 9 and Mary Rumple a few days before that, so I’m
guessing it’s rotating? Would be fun to see it there for myself!

Marya

The Snake River below our home is quickly showing signs of spring runoff. And with it, some bird signs of spring. Today, saw my first White Pelicans of the season and White-crowned Sparrows. DE Juncos, American Robins and Song Sparrows are all singing. Watched a Townsend’s Solitaire gorging itself on Rocky Mountain Juniper berries.

The Bald Eagle pair that has successfully nested near our place for the past 5 years, is nesting now. As are Great Horned Owls. Others to report from this past week: 2 pr of Hooded Mergansers on the river, numerous Mallards & Canada Geese prs, sev Belted Kingfishers, Green-winged Teal & a DC Cormorant. Flyovers of Tundra Swans are heard nightly about 10 PM.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

tagging onto Cliff’s note below because my email is presently flaky (in similar fashion to RL’s???

*** logging into eBird just now i see a great photo of a male Calliope that is credited to Marya, nice !!

still no swallows on our west end section of the Boise greenbelt, but plenty of new waterfowl species are passing thru (drake pintail this morning), as are occasional sandhill cranes. =)
strangest/rarest observation this morning was NO KINGFISHERS were heard or seen, hmmmmmmm

Larry

—– Original Message —–

From: “Cliff and Lisa Weisse cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com [ible]”
To: “IBLE”
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2018 9:18:46 AM
Subject: [IBLE] Early Swainson’s Hawk Reminder

The annual spate of early Swainson’s Hawk reports has begun in Idaho. As
yet there are no validated interior records in eBird north of Las Vegas.
They are showing up in southern AZ and NM and in the TX panhandle but
this is still exceptionally early for Idaho. Migration timing in this
species is very consistent so even a couple days early is very rare. If
you think you see a Swainson’s Hawk please do your best to grab a photo.
They are distinctive so even a crummy photo can be very useful. Keep
your eyes peeled…

Cliff

—
Cliff and Lisa Weisse
Island Park, Idaho
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com