I really enjoy living in the Rocky Mt West, where the change in seasons is not measured by the calendar but by a subtle “feel”. This past week, nights are getting cooler, the mornings are “crisper” and daylight hours are shorter. Great Horned Owls are more vocal in the evenings & coyotes are “yipping” more. Mule deer & whitetail bucks are reaching the peak of their antlers being in velvet.

The past few days, Yellow Warblers have vacated and House Wrens are vocal & gathering in numbers. I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch this AM & Black-capped Chickadees are hitting the seed feeder again. Black-headed Grosbeak numbers are decreasing with most feeder visits coming from juveniles now. And, it appears, that only a single juvenile Black-chinned Hummingbird is coming in for nectar. What really tipped me off though, besides the “feel” that fall is coming, was finding a group of 15 or so juvenile, with one adult, Chipping Sparrows in the sagebrush area of our place this morning. Adults in the spring & juveniles in the fall are one my hallmarks of a seasonal change. Fall is on its way!

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

I believe that this is a second adult, it was on the opposite side of the
pier than the other birds.

On Fri, Aug 18, 2017 at 07:41 Austin Young wrote:

> Hello,
> I am currently observing FIVE Green Herons at the Willow Bay Pier near
> American Falls. It appears One adult and 4 first-year birds. I can’t help
> but wonder if they possibly successfully nested here!
>
>
>
> Austin Young
> Pocatello
> —
> Austin Young
> Twin Falls, ID
> austinyoung224@gmail.com
>
—
Austin Young
Twin Falls, ID
austinyoung224@gmail.com

Hello,
I am currently observing FIVE Green Herons at the Willow Bay Pier near
American Falls. It appears One adult and 4 first-year birds. I can’t help
but wonder if they possibly successfully nested here!

Austin Young
Pocatello
—
Austin Young
Twin Falls, ID
austinyoung224@gmail.com

Camas NWR was very active this morning. The bulk of the migrants were Wilson’s Warbler and Empids (particularly Willow Flycatcher). There were a couple of Townsend’s Warblers, an American Redstart, an occasionally vocalizing Least Flycatcher, a Northern Waterthrush, and a very quick look at an unmistakable fall-plumaged Magnolia Warbler (not sure if it was a female or a young bird). I saw it very briefly and could never relocate it. Most of the activity (including the Magnolia Warbler) was in the straightaway, which is the big double row of Cottonwoods along a ditch just prior to turning into the refuge.

Darren Clark
Rexburg, ID

Sent from my iPhone

Hi all,
Today I had the pleasure of observing a Hermit Warbler and Northern
Waterthrush at Lake Walcott State Park. For those who want to know, the
Hermit Warbler was seen in the vicinity of 42.6717, -113.4808 and the
Northern Waterthrush was seen in the vicinity of 42.6715, -113.4798.
Northern Waterthrushes are expected fall migrants but I don’t believe they
are encountered often.

I also followed up on Pat Weber’s Green Heron at American Falls reservoir
and I found not one, but two adult Green Herons right there at the Willow
Bay Pier. Thanks Pat!

Photos can be found in the eBird checklists provided here:

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38690970

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38690719

Austin Young
Pocatello

—
Austin Young
Twin Falls, ID
austinyoung224@gmail.com

Birders,

Over the last few days Missy and I have been on a quest for shorebirds, with
these results:

Boise River Greenbelt westward to Eagle Island SP (Ada)- we’re not seeing
proper shorebird habitat, only 2 sp were Killdeer and Black-necked Stilt

Ted Trueblood Wildlife Area (Elmore) – nada but Killdeer!

River Rd from Grand View to CJ Strike Dam (Owyhee) – Killdeer and a Lesser
Yellowlegs, c’est tout!

CJ Strike WMA at Jack’s Creek (Owyhee) – 5 sp, plus a few Caspian Terns =)

Bruneau Duck Ponds (Owyhee) – buggy! only patch of mud was at NW corner, 8
sp

Reynold’s Pond (Elmore) – Killdeer and peeps

Adin Hall Reservoir (Elmore) – 9 sp, best was a Semipalmated Plover

Mountain Home Reservoir (Elmore) – water level very low, approach was
off-limits to our Prius

Black’s Creek Bird Reserve (Ada) – toppermost rating!! 18 sp this morning,
including a continuing Stilt Sandpiper, first reported by Cheryl et al. on
12 Aug

Total tally = 19 sp of shorebirds

Good boid’n!

Larry and Missy, west Boise

The past 2 days, I’ve had a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird coming into the feeder. Also, 2 Black-chinneds: one female, one juvenile. Hummingbird feeder excitement continues!

Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot

Hello birding friends,

Had a great last day hiking down Balde near Sun Valley with Kathleen! We found her lifer BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER among other things, as well as THREE-TOED WP, a calling FLAMMULATED and multiple NORTHERN PYGMY OWLS in broad daylight, TOWNSEND’S WARBLER, and RED CROSSBILL. All were found either on the Bald Mountain and/or the Warm Springs Trail on Mt. Balde. Email me if you want specific locations for species (Owl locations will not be given bc of birding ethics). What a day! The full list is attached below. Photos will be posted soon on my blog: worldbirding.travellerspoint.com

Have a great year everybody! Hope to be back next August!

Happy birding,
Henry Griffin (Ketchum, Blaine flying back to Chicago tomorrow)

1. Turkey Vulture
2. Red-tailed Hawk
3. FLAMMULATED OWL
4. Northern Pygmy-Owl
5. Belted Kingfisher
6. Hairy Woodpecker
7. AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
8. BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER
9. Northern Flicker
10. Western Wood-Pewee
11. Hammond’s Flycatcher
12. Dusky Flycatcher
13. Steller’s Jay
14. Clark’s Nutcracker
15. Black-billed Magpie
16. Common Raven
17. Violet-green Swallow
18. Mountain Chickadee
19. Red-breasted Nuthatch
20. Brown Creeper
21. Rock Wren
22. House Wren
23. Golden-crowned Kinglet
24. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
25. Hermit Thrush
26. American Robin
27. Gray Catbird
28. Cedar Waxwing
29. Yellow-rumped Warbler
30. MacGillivray’s Warbler
31. TOWNSEND’S WARBLER
32. Chipping Sparrow
33. Song Sparrow
34. Dark-eyed Junco
35. Lazuli Bunting
36. Red-winged Blackbird
37. Brewer’s Blackbird
38. Bullock’s Oriole
39. Cassin’s Finch
40. RED CROSSBILL
41. Pine Siskin

42. American Goldfinch

There will be a taxonomy update on ebird on Tuesday, August 15th. So birds who have Red Crossbills from South Hills or Type 9 should see Cassia Crossbill on your life list. I suppose this also means that Thayers Gull is going away.

The ebird team is suggesting that on August 16 everyone submit a checklist from an area where you haven’t birded recently. They are updating filters and if you use a recent spot your phone won’t update properly.

For the entire story go to the ebird link at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/2017-ebird-taxonomy-update-coming-15-august/

Denise Hughes
Caldwell, Idaho

Hello birding friends,

Had a great morning of birding on the Warm Springs Trail up Mt. Balde in the Sun Valley Area! The two most noteworthy birds were a photographed TOWNSEND’S WARBLER, as well as a heard-only BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER. The Woodpecker was identified because I heard it calling its “pik! pik!” call multiple times, and it called in response to playback from iBird Pro – I just never managed to lay eyes on the bird this time. Full list is attached below.

Photos will be posted on my blog soon: worldbirding.travellerspoint.com

Good birding,
Henry Griffin (Ketchum, Blaine County)

Red-tailed Hawk 1
hummingbird sp. 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Black-backed Woodpecker 1 Heard clearly calling “pik! pik!” multiple times, including in response to iBird Pro tape. Has been seen at this location multiple times in the past. In the burned area about two miles up the trail from the base of the mountain.
Pileated Woodpecker 1 Heard only far down the mountain from above
Olive-sided Flycatcher 3
Western Wood-Pewee 1
Hammond’s Flycatcher 4
Dusky Flycatcher 8
Cordilleran Flycatcher 2
Cassin’s Vireo 2
Black-billed Magpie 2
Clark’s Nutcracker 5
Common Raven 1
Violet-green Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Mountain Chickadee 30
Red-breasted Nuthatch 20
Brown Creeper 1
House Wren 8
Mountain Bluebird 1
Townsend’s Solitaire 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 12
Cedar Waxwing 7
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Townsend’s Warbler 1 Pics
Chipping Sparrow 15
Dark-eyed Junco 7
Green-tailed Towhee 3
Western Tanager 2
Lazuli Bunting 1
Cassin’s Finch 10
Pine Siskin 25
American Goldfinch 1
passerine sp. 20

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38607823 http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38607823