I birded in the Lewiston-Clarkston area today. My first good bird was an
adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the Snake River between Red Wolf Crossing
in Clarkston and the Port of Wilma (
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40299850). Next, I had a SWAMP
SPARROW in the same Asotin location where one wintered last year.
Specifically, head north from the Asotin, WA water treatment plant about a
tenth of a mile. There is an oxbow pond to the east of the trail. The
sparrow was at the “cocklebur marsh” at the far northern end of the oxbow
pond. At Three Mile Rapids, on the Snake River south of Asotin, I had 6
species of gull including a first year GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, a first year
“Thayer’s” Iceland Gull, and one Bonaparte’s Gull.

My last stop was at Hell’s Gate State Park in Lewiston where I found the
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40307116), a
HARRIS’S SPARROW, and Barn Owl. A flock of roughly 300 SNOW GEESE flew
over from east to west and, and a single flock of up to 150 American
Goldfinches was quite a sight. I had a quick look at a Slate-colored type
junco that had moderate white wing bars. I suspect it was just that- a
slate-colored with wing bars, but it looked superficially similar to the
“White-winged” race of junco (which I still haven’t seen!). Something else
to keep an eye open for on Tammany Creek just above the main park road.

Good Birding,

Carl Lundblad
Moscow, ID

Today has been a day of migrating Tundra Swans. Flights of Tundras have been coming over all day & now, into the night. I can hear their distinctive flight calls as they come overhead in the dark.

Also, today saw a Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk, a group of 25 American Goldfinches & sev Townsend’s Solitaires.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

The Biologist at Minidoka Refuge reports that there are 20,000 to 25,000
Canada Geese using the refuge right now. He also reports large numbers of
Common Loons. It is not unusual to see 5-10 loons from one spot at Minidoka
NWR. Birder reports include many Western Grebes, Horned Grebe, Mallard,
Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, Dunlin,
Western Sandpiper, and Long-billed Dowitcher. Most people visit the part of
the refuge that is managed as Lake Walcott State Park, but there are many
other accessible areas. To see a map of the refuge visit
https://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Minidoka%20Map.pdf.

The results of the waterbird survey included Tundra Swan – 14, Trumpeter
Swan -9, Canada Goose – 2, Mallard – 2048, Northern Pintail – 37, Gadwall –
16, American Wigeon – 137, Northern Shoveler – 12, Green-winged Teal – 24,
Canvasback – 14, Redhead – 11, Lesser Scaup – 77, Ring-necked Duck – 143,
Bufflehead – 5, Ruddy Duck – 28, Hooded Merganser – 2, Eared Grebe – 3,
Pied-billed Grebe – 1, Western Grebe – 1, American coot – 300, Sandhill
Crane – 4, Killdeer – 2, Long-billed Dowitcher – 4, Greater Yellowlegs – 1.
Birder sightings also include Black-bellied Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper and
a Blue Jay – a rarity in Idaho.

The first Rough-legged Hawk of the season was at Grays Lake NWR Friday.
Staff report sightings of Mountain Bluebirds still, Trumpeter and Tundra
Swans, and Ruffed Grouse. The cold snap brought diving ducks such as Lesser
Scaup. The best place to see these species is along the trail to Bear
Island which is a stop on the Idaho Birding Trail. This is also a good
location to see moose. Parking for this location is on the east side of the
refuge on Grays Lake Road

The results of the weekly waterbird survey at Bear Lake Refuge included
Canada Goose – 25, Trumpeter Swan – 4, Mallard – 31, Northern Pintail – 2,
Gadwall – 498, American Wigeon – 1, Northern Shoveler – 194, Redhead – 4,
Canvasback – 4, Bufflehead – 26, Lesser Scaup – 20, American Coot – 1046,
American White Pelican – 3. Also noted were flocks of 15 Tundra Swans and
16 Snow Geese that flew over calling but did not stop.

If you want to know about all what we’re doing at Bear Lake, Camas, Gray’s
Lake and Minidoka Refuges, check us out and Like us at
https://www.facebook.com/SEIdahoRefuges/. We have posts this week about
neck-collared Trumpeter Swans and more.

Thank you for your interest!

Steven F. Kahl
Deputy Project Leader
Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex
4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A
Chubbuck, ID 83202
P (208) 237-6615 ext 112
F (208) 237-8213

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RL found one at Ada County Landfill. Currently present.

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

This AM at Jensen’s Grove in Blackfoot, there were 4 Common Loons, 2 within a few yards of boat launch, providing for great observation. No scoters nor rafts of ducks. At the Springfield Ponds, a few Trumpeter Swans, flights of Tundras overhead, numerous Pintails, Mallards, Gadwalls and Coots. Plus, some Buffleheads & Pied-billed Grebes are present.

At home, the Evening Grosbeaks are gone. I have seen a pr of Spotted Towhees coming in for spilled seeds. And Townsend’s Solitaires are arguing with Am Robins over Rocky Mountain Juniper trees, all heavy with berries.

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Hey, Darren.

I may have seen it at about 2:30 pm in a field Northeast of Idaho Falls (East side of Hitt Road about 2/10 mile south of Telford Road). Definitely an egret, but I wasn’t able to stop and look at it closely.

Michael D. Hunter

+1-435-830-2285

From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Darren Clark darrenclarkbird@gmail.com [ible]
Sent: 2 November, 2017 5:36 PM
To: Ible
Subject: [IBLE] Cattle Egret

I had a bit of a surprise this afternoon. I drove to a couple of ponds/gravel pits west of Rexburg looking for Scoters (no luck). While driving I noticed an egret flying away, on closer inspection I noticed it was a Cattle Egret. It continued flying away until I lost sight of it. I initially saw it a mile or so southwest of Rexburg High School. I lost sight of it flying southeast. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a Cattle Egret in Idaho.

Darren Clark
Rexburg

Sent from my iPhone

I had a bit of a surprise this afternoon. I drove to a couple of ponds/gravel pits west of Rexburg looking for Scoters (no luck). While driving I noticed an egret flying away, on closer inspection I noticed it was a Cattle Egret. It continued flying away until I lost sight of it. I initially saw it a mile or so southwest of Rexburg High School. I lost sight of it flying southeast. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen a Cattle Egret in Idaho.

Darren Clark
Rexburg

Sent from my iPhone

Hi Birders!
Jessica and I wanted to share an update on IBO’s winter Anna’s Hummingbird project for 2017, along with a request for information. You may remember this project from posts last year, but if not, you can read about the project in more detail here: http://ibo.boisestate.edu/winter-hummers

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Wintering Anna’s Hummingbirds – Intermountain Bird Observatory

We’re studying overwintering Anna’s Hummingbirds in Idaho. Help us by sharing any hummingbird sightings from Oct…
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We are studying the range expansion of Anna’s Hummingbirds in Idaho, in collaboration with other hummingbird banders in the state (if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the great article that Austin shared this week about Idaho’s network of banders). Since we started this wintering study in 2015 we have documented an average of about 40 Anna’s per winter in the state.
So far this year we have at least 27 confirmed individuals since October, thanks to reports from birders.

As part of our project, Francine Rudeen, Jessica, and I have been banding these overwintering Anna’s hummingbirds. We’re using this information to learn more about what ages and sexes overwinter here, whether individuals return between years, how much they move throughout the winter, and hopefully one day where they move to.
Each hummingbird we band is given a color mark to individually identify it. Every bird gets a white-out  dot on their forehead that makes banded birds easy to spot from a distance when they visit a feeder. We also give birds a “necklace” of color on their chest that is unique to that individual. These color marks are temporary, but last long enough to allow us to identify the bird for a few months each winter.
So far we have color marked 7 birds in 2017. Two near Hulls Gulch, one near the Gary Lane x State Street area, two on 14th street, and two in Caldwell. Plus Francine has banded a female near Inkom.
At almost all of these places there is an additional unmarked bird hanging around that we didn’t know about until we had banded the others! This is one reason why watching for color marked birds can be so valuable.

If you see an Anna’s Hummingbird we would love to hear from you! You can email Jessica at JessicaPollock@boisestate.edu. (also, don’t forget to eBird your sighting). We will record information about the timing and location of your sighting to add to our dataset. We’re especially interested in “date first seen” and “date last seen” to help us track their migration. If your hummingbird is coming to a feeder in an area where Jessica, Francine, or I are banding, we will band your bird (if that’s something you’d be interested in).

If you see a color-marked Anna’s Hummingbird please note the date and time of your sighting and get in touch with us. Please note whether the bird is an adult male or a female-type bird, and what color marks (white dot and/or colored necklace) you were able to see.
Thanks very much for your help and information on this project!

Good Birding,

~Intermountain Bird Observatory Hummingbird Team (Heidi and Jessica)

RL and the Wednesday morning group found a Harris’s Sparrow near the Foothills Learning Center at Hulls Gulch. Jordan Ragsdale and I were able to find it with the following description: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S40248930

RL also wanted me to relay a message that Kathy Barker-McCoy also found a Harris’s Sparrow at Foote Park (Lydle Gulch). It was in the riparian area just upstream from the bench. Both birds are immatures.
Happy birding!
Jason

Lower only few w.grebes stopped at cove off orchard east of river rd.scoped
and found some hooded mergansers a.widgeons and a few gadwalls a