I was there about 9:45am for a couple of hours. A few other birders also showed up. I didn’t see or hear either of them. It was pretty windy.

Kathy Lopez
Nampa, ID

> On Jun 17, 2017, at 6:55 AM, Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com [ible] wrote:
>
> No sign of either bird this morning, but I didn’t hang out as long as yesterday, so if you’re more patient (less sleepy) than I am your luck may differ. Good luck to whoever
> heads this way today!
>
> Stoddard Davenport
> Boise
>
> Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
>
>
> ——– Original message ——–
> From: “Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com [ible]”
> Date: 6/17/17 4:49 AM (GMT-07:00)
> To: Jay Carlisle , IBLE To Post
> Subject: RE: [IBLE] BT Pigeon & YB Cuckoo S of Magic Reservoir
>
>
> You guys are awesome, thanks for getting out there and documenting so many cool birds every year!
>
> I spent the last 2.5 hours of daylight listening for YBCU along the road wherever there were decent pullouts. There was a light drizzle when I arrived that let up soon thereafter, and came back for a little while an hour later. Most of the time it was a little breezy and overcast, but not raining. BNA says the kowlp call is the one heard most often, but it’s rarely given more than once in ten minutes, so if I hadn’t seen your report earlier in the day I wouldn’t have had the patience to wait for one to call within ear shot.
>
> Two times out of 2.5 hours I thought I heard a ka-ka-ka-kowlp call, and one of those was really convincing. It was somewhat distant relative to where I was parked but the trees it sounded like it was calling from were close to the road, so I drove closer to where I thought I’d heard it. I didn’t have a visual yet but when I got out of the car I saw a bird of approximately the right size and shape flush out of the back side of a cottonwood, and fly across the river, disappearing into the understory somewhere around here: 43.2056,-114.346.
>
> In flight I mostly saw the back but did see flashes of white on the underside. The back showed fairly uniform brown except for the rufous in the wings. The wings seemed slender and came to a point. Tail was long and slender but ended bluntly. Not the most satisfying encounter, so will be trying again at first light. Hopefully the higher calling frequency in the morning will make this a tiny but easier.
>
> I also thought I might have heard the Band-tailed Pigeon’s guttural/grunting call, but according to BNA that call is mostly given in response to close proximity to other pigeons (feeding closely together, perched close on a branch, unwanted mating attempts, etc.) which seemed like an unlikely scenario away from normal range/habitat. I’ll just assume I heard some kind of weird nestling/begging sound and not a pigeon, and will try again in the morning.
>
> Next, because I was traveling alone on this trip (usually have Ellen and the kids with me) and wasn’t sleepy yet I headed over to Silver Creek Preserve and found both Long-eared and Short-eared Owls out and about.
>
> Still not sleepy, (and trying to make the most of not having to factor kids into the logistics,) I headed up to the woods behind Lake Alturus where I’d heard of a Barred Owl that was reported to have been calling one night sometime in the past few summers. With limited internet access while on the road I wasn’t able to re-find that report to confirm the details. I parked at the end of the dirt road that goes past Lake Alturus where it terminates in a parking area / trailhead. I spent an hour listening and didn’t hear a Barred but did hear a couple of Northern Saw-whets and a Great Gray.
>
> I’m looking forward to seeing if there are going to be any early risers out here in the morning looking for the cuckoo or pigeon. I’ll be here probably until 7 or 8.
>
> Good birding!
> Stoddard Davenport
> Boise
>
>
> Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
>
>
> ——– Original message ——–
> From: “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]”
> Date: 6/16/17 4:14 PM (GMT-07:00)
> To: IBLE To Post
> Subject: Re: [IBLE] BT Pigeon & YB Cuckoo S of Magic Reservoir
>
>
> I neglected to mention that the area we surveyed is a parcel of BLM land but there is private mixed in. Thus, unless you have a property layer on your GPS (like the “Hunt & Fish” chips), likely best to view/listen from the road – and both the pigeon and cuckoo were observable from the road (though the cuckoo was much more secretive and we only knew it was there from the call). There is a good amount of traffic, especially by 7am, but there are places to safely pull over.
>
> Jay
>
>
> On Friday, June 16, 2017 12:05 PM, “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]” wrote:
>
>
>
> [Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below]
> This morning we (Intermountain Bird Observatory, with Austin of Idaho Fish & Game joining us) performed our first standardized Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys of the summer. Happily, we had a cuckoo respond on our 5th survey point!! Then, as a bonus, Austin found & photographed a Band-tailed Pigeon in a cottonwood along W Magic Rd.
>
> Here are pictures (from Austin’s camera screen 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
> We already submitted an eBird list as we wanted to get the word out soon but are just now finishing our morning of surveys & have time to provide details.
>
> As a reminder, since the western distinct population segment of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was listed as threatened a couple years ago, a US Fish & Wildlife Service permit is required for any use of playback for this species (which we possess for these surveys). Thus, people are welcome to look for the cuckoo but not use playback. The pigeon was seen from the road at ~43.2023 -114.3413.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jay
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>

No sign of either bird this morning, but I didn’t hang out as long as yesterday, so if you’re more patient (less sleepy) than I am your luck may differ. Good luck to whoever
heads this way today!

Stoddard Davenport
Boise

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

——– Original message ——–
From: “Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com [ible]”
Date: 6/17/17 4:49 AM (GMT-07:00)
To: Jay Carlisle , IBLE To Post
Subject: RE: [IBLE] BT Pigeon & YB Cuckoo S of Magic Reservoir

You guys are awesome, thanks for getting out there and documenting so many cool birds every year!

I spent the last 2.5 hours of daylight listening for YBCU along the road wherever there were decent pullouts. There was a light drizzle when I arrived that let up soon thereafter, and came back for a little while an hour later. Most of the time it was a little breezy and overcast, but not raining. BNA says the kowlp call is the one heard most often, but it’s rarely given more than once in ten minutes, so if I hadn’t seen your report earlier in the day I wouldn’t have had the patience to wait for one to call within ear shot.

Two times out of 2.5 hours I thought I heard a ka-ka-ka-kowlp call, and one of those was really convincing. It was somewhat distant relative to where I was parked but the trees it sounded like it was calling from were close to the road, so I drove closer to where I thought I’d heard it. I didn’t have a visual yet but when I got out of the car I saw a bird of approximately the right size and shape flush out of the back side of a cottonwood, and fly across the river, disappearing into the understory somewhere around here: 43.2056,-114.346.

In flight I mostly saw the back but did see flashes of white on the underside. The back showed fairly uniform brown except for the rufous in the wings. The wings seemed slender and came to a point. Tail was long and slender but ended bluntly. Not the most satisfying encounter, so will be trying again at first light. Hopefully the higher calling frequency in the morning will make this a tiny but easier.

I also thought I might have heard the Band-tailed Pigeon’s guttural/grunting call, but according to BNA that call is mostly given in response to close proximity to other pigeons (feeding closely together, perched close on a branch, unwanted mating attempts, etc.) which seemed like an unlikely scenario away from normal range/habitat. I’ll just assume I heard some kind of weird nestling/begging sound and not a pigeon, and will try again in the morning.

Next, because I was traveling alone on this trip (usually have Ellen and the kids with me) and wasn’t sleepy yet I headed over to Silver Creek Preserve and found both Long-eared and Short-eared Owls out and about.

Still not sleepy, (and trying to make the most of not having to factor kids into the logistics,) I headed up to the woods behind Lake Alturus where I’d heard of a Barred Owl that was reported to have been calling one night sometime in the past few summers. With limited internet access while on the road I wasn’t able to re-find that report to confirm the details. I parked at the end of the dirt road that goes past Lake Alturus where it terminates in a parking area / trailhead. I spent an hour listening and didn’t hear a Barred but did hear a couple of Northern Saw-whets and a Great Gray.

I’m looking forward to seeing if there are going to be any early risers out here in the morning looking for the cuckoo or pigeon. I’ll be here probably until 7 or 8.

Good birding!
Stoddard Davenport
Boise

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

——– Original message ——–
From: “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]”
Date: 6/16/17 4:14 PM (GMT-07:00)
To: IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] BT Pigeon & YB Cuckoo S of Magic Reservoir

I neglected to mention that the area we surveyed is a parcel of BLM land but there is private mixed in. Thus, unless you have a property layer on your GPS (like the “Hunt & Fish” chips), likely best to view/listen from the road – and both the pigeon and cuckoo were observable from the road (though the cuckoo was much more secretive and we only knew it was there from the call). There is a good amount of traffic, especially by 7am, but there are places to safely pull over.

Jay

On Friday, June 16, 2017 12:05 PM, “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]” wrote:

[Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below]
This morning we (Intermountain Bird Observatory, with Austin of Idaho Fish & Game joining us) performed our first standardized Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys of the summer. Happily, we had a cuckoo respond on our 5th survey point!! Then, as a bonus, Austin found & photographed a Band-tailed Pigeon in a cottonwood along W Magic Rd.

Here are pictures (from Austin’s camera screen 🙂

We already submitted an eBird list as we wanted to get the word out soon but are just now finishing our morning of surveys & have time to provide details.

As a reminder, since the western distinct population segment of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was listed as threatened a couple years ago, a US Fish & Wildlife Service permit is required for any use of playback for this species (which we possess for these surveys). Thus, people are welcome to look for the cuckoo but not use playback. The pigeon was seen from the road at ~43.2023 -114.3413.

Thanks,

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

You guys are awesome, thanks for getting out there and documenting so many cool birds every year!

I spent the last 2.5 hours of daylight listening for YBCU along the road wherever there were decent pullouts. There was a light drizzle when I arrived that let up soon thereafter, and came back for a little while an hour later. Most of the time it was a little breezy and overcast, but not raining. BNA says the kowlp call is the one heard most often, but it’s rarely given more than once in ten minutes, so if I hadn’t seen your report earlier in the day I wouldn’t have had the patience to wait for one to call within ear shot.

Two times out of 2.5 hours I thought I heard a ka-ka-ka-kowlp call, and one of those was really convincing. It was somewhat distant relative to where I was parked but the trees it sounded like it was calling from were close to the road, so I drove closer to where I thought I’d heard it. I didn’t have a visual yet but when I got out of the car I saw a bird of approximately the right size and shape flush out of the back side of a cottonwood, and fly across the river, disappearing into the understory somewhere around here: 43.2056,-114.346.

In flight I mostly saw the back but did see flashes of white on the underside. The back showed fairly uniform brown except for the rufous in the wings. The wings seemed slender and came to a point. Tail was long and slender but ended bluntly. Not the most satisfying encounter, so will be trying again at first light. Hopefully the higher calling frequency in the morning will make this a tiny but easier.

I also thought I might have heard the Band-tailed Pigeon’s guttural/grunting call, but according to BNA that call is mostly given in response to close proximity to other pigeons (feeding closely together, perched close on a branch, unwanted mating attempts, etc.) which seemed like an unlikely scenario away from normal range/habitat. I’ll just assume I heard some kind of weird nestling/begging sound and not a pigeon, and will try again in the morning.

Next, because I was traveling alone on this trip (usually have Ellen and the kids with me) and wasn’t sleepy yet I headed over to Silver Creek Preserve and found both Long-eared and Short-eared Owls out and about.

Still not sleepy, (and trying to make the most of not having to factor kids into the logistics,) I headed up to the woods behind Lake Alturus where I’d heard of a Barred Owl that was reported to have been calling one night sometime in the past few summers. With limited internet access while on the road I wasn’t able to re-find that report to confirm the details. I parked at the end of the dirt road that goes past Lake Alturus where it terminates in a parking area / trailhead. I spent an hour listening and didn’t hear a Barred but did hear a couple of Northern Saw-whets and a Great Gray.

I’m looking forward to seeing if there are going to be any early risers out here in the morning looking for the cuckoo or pigeon. I’ll be here probably until 7 or 8.

Good birding!
Stoddard Davenport
Boise

Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone

——– Original message ——–
From: “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]”
Date: 6/16/17 4:14 PM (GMT-07:00)
To: IBLE To Post
Subject: Re: [IBLE] BT Pigeon & YB Cuckoo S of Magic Reservoir

I neglected to mention that the area we surveyed is a parcel of BLM land but there is private mixed in. Thus, unless you have a property layer on your GPS (like the “Hunt & Fish” chips), likely best to view/listen from the road – and both the pigeon and cuckoo were observable from the road (though the cuckoo was much more secretive and we only knew it was there from the call). There is a good amount of traffic, especially by 7am, but there are places to safely pull over.

Jay

On Friday, June 16, 2017 12:05 PM, “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]” wrote:

[Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below]
This morning we (Intermountain Bird Observatory, with Austin of Idaho Fish & Game joining us) performed our first standardized Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys of the summer. Happily, we had a cuckoo respond on our 5th survey point!! Then, as a bonus, Austin found & photographed a Band-tailed Pigeon in a cottonwood along W Magic Rd.

Here are pictures (from Austin’s camera screen 🙂

We already submitted an eBird list as we wanted to get the word out soon but are just now finishing our morning of surveys & have time to provide details.

As a reminder, since the western distinct population segment of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was listed as threatened a couple years ago, a US Fish & Wildlife Service permit is required for any use of playback for this species (which we possess for these surveys). Thus, people are welcome to look for the cuckoo but not use playback. The pigeon was seen from the road at ~43.2023 -114.3413.

Thanks,

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

I neglected to mention that the area we surveyed is a parcel of BLM land but there is private mixed in.  Thus, unless you have a property layer on your GPS (like the “Hunt & Fish” chips), likely best to view/listen from the road – and both the pigeon and cuckoo were observable from the road (though the cuckoo was much more secretive and we only knew it was there from the call).  There is a good amount of traffic, especially by 7am, but there are places to safely pull over.

Jay

On Friday, June 16, 2017 12:05 PM, “Jay Carlisle carlislejay@yahoo.com [ible]” <ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

[Attachment(s) from Jay Carlisle included below] This morning we (Intermountain Bird Observatory, with Austin of Idaho Fish & Game joining us) performed our first standardized Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys of the summer. Happily, we had a cuckoo respond on our 5th survey point!! Then, as a bonus, Austin found & photographed a Band-tailed Pigeon in a cottonwood along W Magic Rd.

Here are pictures (from Austin’s camera screen 🙂

We already submitted an eBird list as we wanted to get the word out soon but are just now finishing our morning of surveys & have time to provide details.

As a reminder, since the western distinct population segment of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was listed as threatened a couple years ago, a US Fish & Wildlife Service permit is required for any use of playback for this species (which we possess for these surveys).  Thus, people are welcome to look for the cuckoo but not use playback.  The pigeon was seen from the road at ~43.2023 -114.3413.

Thanks,

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

This morning we (Intermountain Bird Observatory, with Austin of Idaho Fish & Game joining us) performed our first standardized Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveys of the summer. Happily, we had a cuckoo respond on our 5th survey point!! Then, as a bonus, Austin found & photographed a Band-tailed Pigeon in a cottonwood along W Magic Rd.

Here are pictures (from Austin’s camera screen 🙂

We already submitted an eBird list as we wanted to get the word out soon but are just now finishing our morning of surveys & have time to provide details.

As a reminder, since the western distinct population segment of Yellow-billed Cuckoo was listed as threatened a couple years ago, a US Fish & Wildlife Service permit is required for any use of playback for this species (which we possess for these surveys). Thus, people are welcome to look for the cuckoo but not use playback. The pigeon was seen from the road at ~43.2023 -114.3413.

Thanks,

Jay

Sent from my iPhone

I think what Bill meant to say is that he’d appreciate it if locations
were included with reports. So just a friendly reminder, not everyone
knows who you are or where you live so please try to remember to include
a location in your posts. City, County, etc. Thanks in advance.

Cliff

On 06/15/2017 01:44 PM, Bill Moore hootowlbill@gmail.com [ible] wrote:
>
> Where?
>
>
> Without a location a post means nothing to me and isn’t something I
> can use if I wanted to.
>
>
> Bill Moore
> Inkom
>> On Jun 15, 2017, at 12:16 PM, Janet Philips bendvet@cableone.net
>> [ible] > > wrote:
>>
>> Last night’s plan to eat downtown had an exciting diversion. We had
>> just parked the car and saw a bird hopping down the middle of 9th
>> Street just south of Main St. Cars screeched to a halt and horns
>> blared. A minute later, I saw an immature Peregrine Falcon hopping
>> toward me along the curb. I herded him into the corner of a
>> storefront and threw my jacket over him. He did not struggle at all
>> when I bundled him up and carried him away. We called a few numbers
>> and I texted Heidi Ware who gave me a name at Idaho Fish and Game.
>> The fellow who manages the nest box called us in about an hour and we
>> made arrangements for him to pick the young guy up the next morning.
>> He was the man who banded the fledglings and said they end up
>> rescuing a few every spring. We talked about the trouble getting
>> enough lift in-between the buildings especially when they prematurely
>> exit from the nest. He was no worse for his ordeal and was back in
>> the nest soon. Cool!!
>>
>
>

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

Where?

Without a location a post means nothing to me and isn’t something I can use if I wanted to.

Bill Moore
Inkom
> On Jun 15, 2017, at 12:16 PM, Janet Philips bendvet@cableone.net [ible] wrote:
>
> Last night’s plan to eat downtown had an exciting diversion. We had just parked the car and saw a bird hopping down the middle of 9th Street just south of Main St. Cars screeched to a halt and horns blared. A minute later, I saw an immature Peregrine Falcon hopping toward me along the curb. I herded him into the corner of a storefront and threw my jacket over him. He did not struggle at all when I bundled him up and carried him away. We called a few numbers and I texted Heidi Ware who gave me a name at Idaho Fish and Game. The fellow who manages the nest box called us in about an hour and we made arrangements for him to pick the young guy up the next morning. He was the man who banded the fledglings and said they end up rescuing a few every spring. We talked about the trouble getting enough lift in-between the buildings especially when they prematurely exit from the nest. He was no worse for his ordeal and was back in the nest soon. Cool!!
>
>

Last night’s plan to eat downtown had an exciting diversion. We had just parked the car and saw a bird hopping down the middle of 9th Street just south of Main St. Cars screeched to a halt and horns blared. A minute later, I saw an immature Peregrine Falcon hopping toward me along the curb. I herded him into the corner of a storefront and threw my jacket over him. He did not struggle at all when I bundled him up and carried him away. We called a few numbers and I texted Heidi Ware who gave me a name at Idaho Fish and Game. The fellow who manages the nest box called us in about an hour and we made arrangements for him to pick the young guy up the next morning. He was the man who banded the fledglings and said they end up rescuing a few every spring. We talked about the trouble getting enough lift in-between the buildings especially when they prematurely exit from the nest. He was no worse for his ordeal and was back in the nest soon. Cool!!

Every day when I start out on my bike ride, I head for the neighborhood
Swainson’s Hawk nest a few blocks away. Sometimes this can be a predictor of
the day’s birding quality. Today it was a big time predictor (or is that
“bigly?”).

Anyway, I didn’t see anybody on the nest but then I heard a Swainson’s above
me. When I looked up, I was confused because there was a Red-tailed Hawk
circling. Then I realized there was a Swainson’s trying to herd the Red-tail
away from the nest. Then it got better when both Swainson’s started herding.
A double treat.

My usual next stop is the neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk nest a few blocks
further on. When I got there, I couldn’t see any activity. Then I saw a
buteo flying nearby (the Red-tail?), and a Cooper’s appeared from the trees
above my head and went after the buteo like a rocket. What a great start to
my bike ride.

At Esther Simplot Park I found an Osprey circling, along with almost all of
the usual suspects. And as I crossed the foot bridge to the south side, an
A. Kestrel did a little dog fight with a RWBB. Twenty-nine birds and I was
only a few miles into my ride. This was great because Kestrels are not all
that common along the river these days.

Along the way to Ann Morrison, I picked up a Great Blue Heron and BB Magpie.
And as I came into the park, the resident Gray Catbird decided to show off
for me. This was followed by a Western Wood Pewee that kept calling to me,
plus a few more swallows and then a surprise Warbling Vireo. Final treat
from the park was a female Common Merganser, a bird I haven’t seen in weeks.

Final tally was 44 birds in a little over 10 miles of biking. Luck and
timing strike again!

Tom McCabe, Boise

I haven’t been back but I’ve seen a handful of reports in my inbox courtesy of eBird’s rare bird alert:

6/5: Dale and Dee Toweill

6/4: Lew Ulrey

5/31: RL Rowland

5/30: Cheryl Huizinga

5/29: Ian/William Hearn

5/29: Jason Talbot

5/29: Heidi Ware

5/28: Jon Curd

Hope this helps.

Stoddard Davenport

Boise

________________________________
From: ible@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Jonathan jrb4jc@hotmail.com [ible]
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 7:35 PM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Re: White-winged Dove is back at the Warm Springs Golf Course [Boise]

HI – has anyone seen the White-winged Dove since Stoddard’s post last Wednesday? Thx…Jonathan

________________________________
From: ible@yahoogroups.com on behalf of Stoddard Davenport s_g_davenport@hotmail.com [ible]
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2017 9:34 AM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] White-winged Dove is back at the Warm Springs Golf Course [Boise]

Hi IBLErs,

I got an early morning tip from Missy Arnold that a White-winged Dove was present at the Warm Springs Golf Course. Presumably this is the same individual that’s used the area on and off for a couple of years now. I made it over there a little after 8 and could hear it calling from deep within one of the large pine trees between the clubhouse and the greenbelt, but couldn’t get a visual. It kept going silent as I approached, and must have flown out the backside (towards the clubhouse) as I approached from the greenbelt, because I heard it calling again in some trees on the far side of the clubhouse as well. I ran out of time to try to get a visual on it before I had to get back to work, but others may have better luck.

Thanks for the heads up Missy!

Good birding!

Stoddard Davenport

Boise