I also participated in eBird’s Global Big Day on Saturday. I wanted to improve on the 13 species reported for Custer County during last year’s Big Day, even though I’ve only been in Idaho for a month. I came up with a game plan for Saturday to try to maximize sightings by going to as many of the places I’ve explored in Custer County as possible.

I spent 17 long and cold hours in the field, covering a variety of habitats from Mackay Reservoir to Pennal Gulch, including a short ways up the Mt. Borah trail, Chilly Slough, and Bar-D Reservoir. On Hwy 75, I visited Land of the Yankee Fork State Park and the Bayhorse Recreation Site.

Two species I see regularly eluded me on Saturday: Bald Eagle and Lewis’s Woodpecker. I’d also hoped for a calling Virginia Rail but they were silent until Sunday. However, as the sole participant in the county, I’m pleased with what I did find and the fact that I moved Custer County up to third position in Idaho for this year’s Big Day.

I’m rather surprised to see that I apparently had the most sightings for the day at 106 species, one of which is yet to be approved*. My Big Day species list is below. The 21 checklists I submitted can be viewed at http://ebird.org/ebird/subnational2/US-ID-037?yr=BIGDAY_2017a.

Good birding,

Wendy McCrady

Challis, ID

Custer County Big Day 5/13/17

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Barrow’s Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Wild Turkey

Common Loon

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe

Western Grebe

Clark’s Grebe

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Golden Eagle

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

Sora

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Killdeer

Long-billed Dowitcher

Wilson’s Snipe

Wilson’s Phalarope

Spotted Sandpiper

Willet

Franklin’s Gull

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Short-eared Owl

Common Poorwill

White-throated Swift

Belted Kingfisher

Red-naped Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Prairie Falcon

Western Wood-Pewee

*Hammond’s Flycatcher

Dusky Flycatcher

Say’s Phoebe

Western Kingbird

Gray Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Horned Lark

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Rock Wren

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Mountain Bluebird

Townsend’s Solitaire

American Robin

Sage Thrasher

European Starling

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer’s Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

White-crowned Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Western Tanager

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

House Finch

Cassin’s Finch

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow