Hi everyone,
Really enjoy this thread – thanks for all the data Larry, and to Scott for
starting the discussion. Just this morning saw a BEWR off of Bogus Basin
Rd along Sweet Connie trail north of where the Sweet Connie and Peggy’s
trail intersect. I have seen a BEWR in the spot all season – today it was
really singing. Like Larry mentioned, the variability in vocalizations is
really remarkable. This bird tricks me routinely. I stop in my tracks –
“whoa what is that!!??” and then realize I have been stumped by a BEWR
again.

Today, I saw a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher feeding a baby in a nest on this
trail. Another bird I seem to be running into in new areas of the Boise
foothills.

Danette Henderson
Boise, ID

On Wed, Jun 19, 2019 at 5:09 PM LARRY ARNOLD larnold47@cableone.net [ible] < ible-noreply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

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> Scott, et al.,
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> I have BEWR stories too…… har har
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> SHORT STORY –
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> Like you have noted, BEWR seem to be exploding in numbers around here,
> like exponentially, but this is just my limited perspective from biking the
> Boise greenbelt almost daily. I consulted The Oracle for more data,
> i.e., eBird observations (range and map spots in Treasure Valley, Canyon
> and Ada Counties), which I can summarize as follows:
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> During year 1990 – zero accepted eBird observations
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> During 2000 – zero accepted eBird observations
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> During 2010 – three accepted eBird observations
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> During last year 2018 – 36+ accepted eBird observations
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> This year so far – 47+ accepted eBird observations
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> But – disclaimer – I’m just doing a quick count of map spots, not of total
> numbers of birds entered into eBird, which are probably 2x to 3x the above
> numbers.
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> LONGER STORY –
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> BEWR was a species I saw / heard / daily on the western slope of
> Colorado. In fact I was hardly ever out of “ear-shot” from them, as they
> pretty much saturated my “patch” along the Colorado River (beginning in
> 1998). But, West Nile (or something else?) hit them hard beginning in July
> 2005 according to my eBird entries, e.g., my numbers dropped from 10-15 per
> bike ride down to 0 or 1 or 2 over the same 5-mile distance. And they
> never recovered, at least through 2012 when we moved to Boise…. =(
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> When we arrived in Boise and occasionally saw or heard a BEWR, we were
> asked to submit an “IBRC rare bird report” each and every time…. which
> soon caused “burn-out” as far as doing these reports, ick-ack-ook.
> (quoting Bill the Cat)
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> Like you, Scott, I’ve been noticing BEWR more and more often, especially
> biking in our eBird patch along the Boise River, so what I’ve been doing is
> noting in eBird comments each “new location” where I find them. It’s
> amazing how quickly they’ve become established as residents here, and in so
> many locations. But I’ll note that habitat along the Boise River (in
> Treasure Valley) is remarkably similar to that along the Colorado River (in
> Grand Junction CO), so it’s not surprising to me that they’re here in
> decent numbers. Yes this is a few hundred miles farther north, but it’s
> also 2000 ft lower, hence a similarity in weather and in veg (canopy,
> under-story, ground cover)?
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> My big questions are “what took them so long to get here?” and “why
> weren’t they already here?”
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> Beyond ID and CO I’ve encountered the species in ten western states, and
> what is fascinating is to consider the range maps in field guides we might
> have. In my older Golden and Peterson guides (1980s), BEWR is nowhere
> close to Idaho. In the 1st edition of Sibley (2000), Idaho has a green
> dot, i.e., BEWR was “rare” anywhere in the state. I’ve always thought this
> was strange, considering the many different habitats I’ve encountered them
> across the western U.S. And wow, if you also have the 2nd edition of
> Sibley (2014), compare this range map as well… Crazy! Of course the BNA
> online species account is even more current for their range. It finally
> occurred to me to consult The Oracle for actual local data, i.e., as noted
> above… 😉
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> Another thing I’ll mention is that whatever recordings we might have of
> BEWR, I suggest that these are only examples of what they *might* sound
> like across their range. These little beasties are remarkably variable
> (regionally) in both songs and calls, in fact can be extremely deceiving.
> Different “populations” are also somewhat variable looking in plumage, as
> illustrated in our field guides, but my eyes don’t pick up on these subtle
> differences in the field.
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> Thank you Scott for introducing this topic on IBLE.
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> I’m feeling all yakky today before my bike ride along the greenbelt…
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> Good birding,
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> Larry
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> ——————————
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> *From: *”satuthill@cableone.net [ible]”
> *To: *”IBLE”
> *Sent: *Monday, June 17, 2019 9:00:59 PM
> *Subject: *[IBLE] Bewick’s Wrens
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> I wanted to post this note and see what others have noticed about Bewick’s
> Wrens. In my experience this year they seem to be everywhere. And either
> they weren’t here in prior years, at least in these numbers, or I was just
> oblivious to their presence – which is entirely possible.
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> My Bewick’s Wren story starts with the post Cheryl Huizinga made on May 29
> about having at least 3 singing along Kingfisher Trail in Deer Flat NWR. I
> was not that familiar with their vocalizations, so I studied up before
> heading out to Kingfisher Trail in search of the Indigo Bunting. Sure
> enough I also heard 3 Bewick’s Wren’s and got good photos of one. A new
> bird on my Idaho Life List. Then June 2 Jim Lyons and I birded Currant
> Creek Trail in north Boise. One of the first birds I heard caught my
> attention – another Bewick’s Wren. We got good views of it. (I also went
> back there today and captured great recordings of its song. See my eBird
> list from today.) And, in researching past lists at that hotspot, Bewick’s
> Wrens were reported by Jason Talbot on April 19 this year and Julie Morgan
> and Cheryl had one last year in May 2018. Now that I am comfortable with
> their song I have been on the lookout for them. I have heard likely at
> least 3 different individuals along Crane Creek as it passes through the
> Crane Creek Golf Course, and to top it all off, I have one frequently
> passing through my yard in the Highlands area of Boise.
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> I see from the e-Bird range maps that Bewick’s Wrens have many reports
> from SW Idaho. But to me they seem to be undergoing a population explosion
> this year.
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> Anyone else have any thoughts?
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> Scott
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