Today was the second day that I found Chipping Sparrows a half block away on Eastman St. (between 18th and 19th), but the first day I was confident there were OC Warblers with them. Today was also the first time I’ve seen a Lewis’s Woodpecker this year. He was on Plantation Island, being harassed by a BB Magpie.

And 2 days ago I saw a Spotted Sandpiper at Quinn’s Pond, but I haven’t been able to relocate him. For the last few years I’ve been able to find them nesting on the gravel bar that usually forms under the Main St. bridge. But with the river the way it is, I don’t think that gravel bar will be dry until July or August.

Some one-day wonders in the last week or so include little rafts of Ruddy Ducks and Buffleheads, both on Quinn’s and Silver Lake. Plus, Silver Lake had my first W. Grebe of the year, but he didn’t hang around. Also, Yellow Warblers arrived on the river a couple of days ago and are constantly singing.

It’s that wonderful time of the year when you know what you ought to see, but you never know what you will see. (But maybe that’s the fun of birding any time.)

Tom McCabe, Boise