When one of the Boise bike officers told me you could bike all the way to
the dam despite the high water, he planted a seed. Then the river went down,
and I had to give it a try.

Since I was planning on going to the dam, the birds I identified while lying
in bed gave me a head start, especially the Downy Woodpecker, since I don’t
always see or hear them on my rides. I left the house with 7 birds, picked
up the local nesting Swainson’s and Cooper’s, and headed to the river.

I left Esther Simplot Park with 32 birds, which would make a good ride any
day. I stayed on the north side of the river because the Western Grebe was
back at Quinn’s (apparently he/she doesn’t mind a little e. coli) and headed
to Main St. The tunnel under Main was still flooded (the only flooded
pathway I encountered all day), but I knew the south side was clear all the
way to Ann Morrison Park. The Gray Catbird at AMP was cooperative and I
headed to BSU with 37 birds.

By the time I got to Warm Springs G.C., I remembered that folks have been
seeing a White-winged Dove there, a bird I haven’t seen since our Arizona
trip. I went just past the club house and stopped to look around when I
heard the distinctive call of the WWDO. Fortuitously, this was bird #40.
Already a great day and miles to go.

At Marianne Williams Park, I stopped when I heard a Common Yellowthroat, a
FOY bird for me. Within a few seconds I heard a Virginia Rail, another FOY.
A Bank Swallow made 45 and I wasn’t even to Eckert Rd.

Above Diversion Dam I found another FOY, a Canyon Wren (but Rock Wren eluded
me). Turkey Vultures were cruising above the black rock walls where climbers
were enjoying themselves, but since it was Friday there was a lot of traffic
on Highway 21 and hearing birds was difficult.

At Sandy Point I decided to turn around instead of trying to go up and over
the dam to Foote Park. I was already several miles beyond my longest ride
this year, and I wanted to keep some reserves in my tank, especially with
the temperature rising. By that time I had 55 birds, and I was a happy
camper.

On the way home I picked up 2 more birds, Red-tailed Hawk and Yellow-headed
Blackbird, both of which I’d looked for unsuccessfully on the way out. Then,
when I got home, I realized I had never seen a Black-chinned Hummer on the
ride, but one was waiting for me on its perch in the neighbor’s yard. 😉

The finale for me was a noisy flyover by a Common Nighthawk this evening,
and I had 59 birds. Not bad for an old fart: close to 32 miles of biking and
some walking and no gas burned.

Tom McCabe, Boise