While I have had an occasional Pine Siskin at my feeders, today I had a
gathering. They were accompanied by a six-pack of BC Chickadees and audible
Red-breasted Nuthatches. So a nice start to my birding day.

When I got to Stewart Ave., I found an A. Robin, a bird that has only
occasionally been visible around here. And when I looked for the 2 A. Coots
that showed up at Quinn’s Pond the other day, I found 14 instead!

But the real treat was at the footbridge from Ann Morrison to the north side
of the river, just east of Americana. There I found my first of season
Merlin, hanging around in the bare branches of a tree on the north side of
the river. Always a treat to see a Merlin.

At the duck pond in AM Park, the Gadwalls and A. Wigeons are either coming
out of eclipse or they just arrived.

By the time I left AM Park, I had 31 birds and it was raining lightly. But I
decided to head for Remington St. anyway, just in case something really
special had arrived in the night. I don’t know what I expected to find, but
I certainly didn’t expect the immature Black-crowned Night Heron who was
sitting on the new gravel bar just upstream and across the river from the
missing footbridge. He was quite well camouflaged as a river rock, but his
wing feathers gave him away. (If you have the iBird app, he looks like the
4th photo of the BCNH-“Juvenile 1.”) I have seen immatures along the river
before, usually at this time of year, but this was my first one this year
and the first ever at this location.

Final tally was 33 birds in 15+ miles, but the quality of the sightings was
truly delightful. (Since riding my bike to Black’s Creek would probably take
me 3 days, I have been quite envious of the sightings-and photos-from that
location. Today alleviated my envy somewhat.)

Tom McCabe, Boise