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