Steven,
Thank you for joining us in Idaho and on IBLE! I see you’ve surpassed my life list on eBird in Bannock County, very awesome and congrats! =)
I’ve been meaning to post a reply to your recent note about RBNU (Red-breasted Nuthatch). A couple days ago we witnessed an “outbreak” of RBNU here in west Boise, and just in our hood I found 15-20, most in family units I presume, because many of their vocals were other-worldly, way beyond their usual calls out in the jungle (woods, er, conifers). We’ve never seen so many of these beasties this close to home!
We still have 3-4 hummers, 1 Calliope, the rest Black-chins. And right now its drizzly wet here, so our feeders are in high demand, which supports one of my oldest hobbies: watching them argue, cuss, discuss, and chase around both the feeders and our salvias (still at peak bloom). Hoping for Anna’s any day now, since mid-Sept has been their arrival date during the last two years. Although, this flies against a long-held maxim that “the two best days of the year are when the first hummer arrives and when the last one leaves!” 😉 Actual author of this phrase is an old-timer I met in Sonoita AZ who fed LOTS of hummers.
Anyway, thanks for posting and a belated welcome to Idaho! Missy and I enjoy birding your area, especially along Rapid Creek and Mink Creek.
Larry Arnold
Boise
From: ible@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ible@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of ‘Kahl, Steve’ Steve_Kahl@fws.gov [ible]
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2017 7:15 AM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [IBLE] Hawk movement in Pocatello area Sat
In a half-hr from my deck in Chubbuck Saturday afternoon, I saw 2 sharp-shinned hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 1 red-tailed hawk, 1 northern harrier, 1 turkey vulture and 9 Swainson’s hawks – all moving directly north to south. Each lifted on thermals and the west winds deflecting off the east bench, then glided south. Interesting to me because I felt no north component to the wind. The only migrant on the ground was a red-naped sapsucker.
Haven’t seen in a hummingbird in the backyard in almost a week.
Steven F. Kahl
Deputy Project Leader
Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex
4425 Burley Dr., Ste. A
Chubbuck, ID 83202
P (208) 237-6615 ext 112
F (208) 237-8213
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Cicero