Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from Inland NW Birders > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Monday, February 8 at 09:44 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Great Horned Owl

8 Feb Pullman, WA Rusty Blackbird, 2/8/10 [Charles Swift ] 8 Feb Priest River Merlin. Robins arrive [Paul Sieracki ] 8 Feb Lake CdA Trumpeter Swans ["Doug Ward" ] 8 Feb LaClede (Idaho) Boat Launch (Pend Oreille River) sightings [Paul Sieracki ] 8 Feb Merlins in southeastern Washington ["washingtonbirder.Knittle" ] 8 Feb Benewah and Kootenai Counyt Big Year additons ["Shirley Sturts" ] 8 Feb Benewah and Kootenai Counyt Big Year additons ["Shirley Sturts" ] 7 Feb WOS Owls by Day Field trip ["Mike and MerryLynn" ] 7 Feb WOS Owls by Day Field trip ["Mike and MerryLynn" ] 7 Feb Re: Robins and Regional Differences ["Isacoff, Jonathan" ] 7 Feb RE: Robins.. [Paul Sieracki ] 7 Feb RE: Robins.. [Paul Sieracki ] 7 Feb Re: ADMIN NOTE: locations [Charles Swift ] 7 Feb ADMIN NOTE: locations [Charles Swift ] 7 Feb speaking of robins.....(Moscow area birds, 2/6/10) [Charles Swift ] 7 Feb Robins.. [Paul Sieracki ] 7 Feb Red Winged Blackbirds [June Cleveland ] 7 Feb Deep Creek Today [Kim Thorburn ] 7 Feb Peregrines at SCC campus [todd mclaughlin ] 6 Feb Spokane county today ["Tim O'Brien" ] 6 Feb Spokane Yard Bohemian Waxwing (photos) ["Isacoff, Jonathan" ] 5 Feb Turnbull NWR this afternoon (Spokane Co.) ["Tim O'Brien" ] 5 Feb West Plains on Thursday [Fran Haywood ] 5 Feb Lincoln Co birds [] 3 Feb Fwd: [obol] Counting birds follow-up [Charles Swift ] 3 Feb Fwd: [obol] Counting birds follow-up [Charles Swift ] 3 Feb Fwd: [obol] counting birds & other notes [Charles Swift ] 3 Feb Fwd: [obol] counting birds & other notes [Charles Swift ] 2 Feb Spokane Year List Updated ["Isacoff, Jonathan" ] 1 Feb Fwd: eBird Report - Country Club Rd. , 2/1/10 (Rusty Blackbird) [Charles Swift ] 01 Feb Re: discouraging mockingbirds [Jim Greaves ] 31 Jan How to discourage mockingbird from feeder [Maire Marran ] 31 Jan Rusty Blackbird is there even in 2 inches of snow this a.m. ["Terry Gray" ] 31 Jan Columbia County Today [citybylight ] 31 Jan Basin ["Ninebark" ] 31 Jan Whitman and Asotin counties yesterday 1-30-10 ["Tim O'Brien" ] 31 Jan Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS [Charles Swift ] 31 Jan Pend Oreille WMA [Paul Sieracki ] 31 Jan Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS [Charles Swift ] 31 Jan Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS [Charles Swift ] 31 Jan Kootenai County Big Year additions ["Shirley Sturts" ] 31 Jan Bald Eagles [todd mclaughlin ] 31 Jan Kootenai County Big Year additions ["Shirley Sturts" ] 30 Jan Western Walla Walla county ["Mike and MerryLynn" ] 30 Jan Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS ["Isacoff, Jonathan" ] 30 Jan Whitman County Birds ["Terry Gray" ] 30 Jan Rusty Blackbird remains south of Pullman [1 Attachment] ["Terry Gray" ] 30 Jan Rusty Blackbird remains south of Pullman ["Terry Gray" ] 30 Jan Gyr [] 30 Jan Reducing aircraft-wildlife strikes at airports ["Kennedy, Matthew J" ] 29 Jan good day in Pend Oreille County ["Terry Little" ] 29 Jan Pullman RUSTY BLACKBIRD--YES ["Roger D. Woodruff" ] 27 Jan Whitman County Rusty Blackbird [1 Attachment] ["Terry Gray" ] 27 Jan Whitman County Rusty Blackbird ["Terry Gray" ] 27 Jan Another rewarding Okanogan and Waterville Plateau Trip [khanh tran ] 26 Jan Snowy Owl search [Fran Haywood ] 25 Jan Southeastern Washington birding-Common Redpoll ["washingtonbirder.Knittle" ] 25 Jan Turnbull Trumpeters return ["Greg Falco" ] 25 Jan Cackling Geese-Lake CdA, ID ["Doug Ward" ] 25 Jan Re: Coeur d'Alene area lists, 1/17-18/2010 [Charles Swift ] 25 Jan Coeur d'Alene area lists, 1/17-18/2010 [Charles Swift ] 25 Jan Idaho birding sites [Brendan Graham ] 25 Jan Idaho birding sites [Brendan Graham ] 24 Jan Whitman County ["Roger D. Woodruff" ] 24 Jan Garfield County ["Roger D. Woodruff" ] 24 Jan WOS Wenatchee Conference Information Now on the Web ["Scott Downes" ] 24 Jan Pend Oreille County Today (1/24) ["Isacoff, Jonathan" ] 24 Jan Whitman and Stevens Counties ["Terry Little" ] 24 Jan Rusty Blackbird in Whitman County [Richard Johnson ] 24 Jan Rusty Blackbird ["Mike and MerryLynn" ] 24 Jan Snowy Owl Lincoln Co. (Ron Dexter) ["RON & PAT DEXTER" ] 23 Jan Mill Canyon and Mondovi [Fran Haywood ] 23 Jan One more addition - Cackling Geese near Aero road pond ["Tim O'Brien" ] 23 Jan An afternoon with owls - Snowy, Great Horned, Short-eared (Lincoln/Spokane Co.) ["Tim O'Brien" ] 23 Jan Lincoln Snowy correction ["Greg Falco" ] 23 Jan Lincoln Co Snowy ["Greg Falco" ] Subject: Pullman, WA Rusty Blackbird, 2/8/10 From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 19:44:17 -0800 Hi All - The Rusty Blackbird was on station this afternoon across from the WSU Swine Facility along Country Club Rd. just sw of Pullman. It flushed from the roadside ditch as I drove slowly by and perched on the cattails around the small pond just beyond. It was fairly approachable, repeatedly gave a variety of calls, and pumped its tail. Interestingly this species attains its breeding (aka alternate) plumage not by a pre-alternate molt but by wearing of feather edges (which may be a common theme among blackbirds). In the case of female Rusty Blackbirds, which this bird appears to be, this means it becomes duller overall. This bird is still fairly bright and contrasty so it will be interesting to see it change if it sticks around long enough. thanks, Charles. -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Priest River Merlin. Robins arrive From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 16:12:41 -0800 Apparently the first migrant robins have showed up with 3 in a crabapple tree (that holds its fruit through the winter) this afternoon. Also a female Merlin, and 9 red-crossbills at a local feeder. Paul Sieracki Priest River, Bonner County, ID 208.448.2790 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Lake CdA Trumpeter Swans From: "Doug Ward" <ward AT revettminerals.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 15:25:16 -0800 The pair of TRUMPETER SWANS Jon Isacoff reported last weekend on Wolf Lodge Bay of Lake Coeur d'Alene (Kootenai Co., ID) were still there yesterday (Sunday, 7 Feb.'10). Wolf Lodge Bay is on the east end of the lake right off of I-90. Take the Harrison / ID 97 exit (#22 I think) and head south; there are a couple of pullouts to view the bay. Not much else there of note though I didn't take much time as kickoff was in about 30 minutes when I stopped in. Doug Ward VP of Corporate Development Revett Minerals Inc. 11115 E Montgomery; Suite G Spokane Valley, WA 99206 USA Office: 1 (509) 921-2294 Mobile: 1 (208) 755-1612 Email: ward AT revettminerals.com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: LaClede (Idaho) Boat Launch (Pend Oreille River) sightings From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 13:36:09 -0800 There are lots of waterfowl on the Pend Oreille River now. Of interest was a small canada goose with a high pitched call (as it flew by) and seemingly smaller bill than the adjacent birds that I am assuming to be a cackling or other small subspecies. There were also 2 canvasback males that were among the redheads. E-bird flagged the ring-necked duck count of 102. One could have easily counted several hundred in a few hours on the Pend Oreille today based on what I observed as I drove along the river. Location: LaClede Ferry Boat Launch (Bonner County, ID) Observation date: 2/8/10 Number of species: 13 Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 113 One smaller darker goose with noticeably higher pitched call could be an cackling or aleution. Gadwall - Anas strepera 1 American Wigeon - Anas americana 45 Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 2 Canvasback - Aythya valisineria 2 Redhead - Aythya americana 160 Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris 102 Greater Scaup - Aythya marila 2 Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola 2 Common Merganser - Mergus merganser 1 Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus 1 Adult. Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 1 American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 3 Paul Sieracki Priest River, Bonner County, ID 208.448.2790 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469227/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Merlins in southeastern Washington From: "washingtonbirder.Knittle" <washingtonbirder AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:34:58 -0800 Friday, Feb. 5, on my way east to Columbia County I stopped by the rock cliffs along a small graveled road leading west from where the Hwy 97 bridge heads south across the Columbia River into Oregon. This small gravel road goes west along the Columbia River in Klickitat Co. The first rock cliffs all I had were Canyon Wrens. But the second rock cliffs 1000 feet further west I had calling/feeding Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches. Cathy Flick found them earlier in the week here. At Whitcomb Island NWR there was a large flock of Snow Geese feeding in the Alfalfa fields. I did not stop to scope them out. In Columbia County at Lyons Ferry Pond there were Bufflehead and at the Tucannon River about 1/4 mile from it's mouth were a pair of Hooded Mergansers. In Dayton after meeting Marv Breece we were mainly concentrating on finding Merlins and with our strategy of looking in towns near evening and early mornings and returning to the same roads over and over watching in the tops of trees, power poles, etc. we were able to find 1 in the residental area south of Hwy 12. Other birds noted in Dayton Friday afternoon were 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves south of Guernsey on 5th where Tom Mansfield and I had seen them in Dec. Near the ball fields in the sw corner of town on the steep hillside we found a beautiful light morph Harlan's Hawk, a sub-species of Red-tailed. Sat. with our main target of finding Merlins we spent all day in Asotin Co. Again our strategy paid off with finding 1 in Asotin on the road that follows the Snake River not too far from where it leaves the hwy. in town. Heading south on Hwy 129 we covered much of the side roads that were passable. A small flock of Gray Partridge had their heads sticking up when we spotted them along the hwy. Other birds had were 2 Prairie Falcons, numerous Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Shrike, and while stopped watching Northern Harrier in the wheat stubble we had a Short-eared Owl cal from nearby in the stubble, but the bird never showed itself. This was south of Savage Ponds. We stopped by Fields Spring State Park and had the Rocky Mt. race of Gray Jays, Brown Creeper, Red Crossbills, and Wild Turkeys that weren't too wild. Back down in Asotin we headed up Asotin Creek and had Dipper and a pair of Canyon Wrens close to the road. One last check for Merlin in Clarkston again paid off by finding one near dusk on Hwy 129 north of Swallow's Park. Sunday we worked the town of Pomeroy for Merlins. After some time going up and down the streets we decided to give it a rest and we headed for the 2 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches that Rick and Tina Taylor found 3 weeks earlier on Kirby-Mayview Rd. before you get to Debow Rd. We were surprised to find them still there feeding on the ground below some feeders. They were the Hepburn form. Back to Pomeroy, Garfield Co., we began to search for Merlin and right away found a feeding bird near Donna's Cafe on a utility pole. Couldn't believe we were so lucky with 4 Merlins in 3 counties. A side note of 22 Eurasian Collared-Doves along Hwy 12 in Pomeroy right where Tom and I had seen them tow weeks earlier. We finished the rest of the morning going to Central Ferry and Willow Bar. Many Goldeneyes with the odd Barrow's were seen. A Chukar called along Willow Grove in Whitman County across the Snake River. Our last good bird was a young Goshawk at Willow Bar. A good weekend with birding with a target species in mind and learning more on how to find them. Long live the Merlins. Ken Knittle Vancouver WA 98665 mailto:washingtonbirder AT hotmail.com Washington Birder online http://www.wabirder.com/ Ken Knittle Vancouver WA 98665 mailto:washingtonbirder AT hotmail.com Washington Birder online http://www.wabirder.com/ _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Benewah and Kootenai Counyt Big Year additons From: "Shirley Sturts" <shirley.sturts AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:26:36 -0800 Benewah County - all Doni Moen and Saint Maries 51 Ring-necked Pheasant Jan. 21 52 American Kestrel Jan 21 53 Cassin's Finch Jan 26 54 Chestnut-backed Chickadee Jan. 29 55 Red Crossbill Jan. 31 Kootenai County - Doug Ward 86 Merlin Jan.29 highway 53 near the WA/ID Stateline 87 Red-winged Blackbird Feb. 5 Rathdrum Prairie Shirley Sturts Coeur d'Alene, ID Subject: Benewah and Kootenai Counyt Big Year additons From: "Shirley Sturts" <shirley.sturts AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 12:26:36 -0800 Benewah County - all Doni Moen and Saint Maries 51 Ring-necked Pheasant Jan. 21 52 American Kestrel Jan 21 53 Cassin's Finch Jan 26 54 Chestnut-backed Chickadee Jan. 29 55 Red Crossbill Jan. 31 Kootenai County - Doug Ward 86 Merlin Jan.29 highway 53 near the WA/ID Stateline 87 Red-winged Blackbird Feb. 5 Rathdrum Prairie Shirley Sturts Coeur d'Alene, ID _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: WOS Owls by Day Field trip From: "Mike and MerryLynn" <m.denny AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:04:20 -0800 Hello All, The Feb.6, 2010 WOS Owls by Day Fieldtrip started off at Hood Park at 7:45 AM with 18 of us. Our first owls were a pair of Barn Owls along Dodd Rd. things only got better from there as we birded under gray cloudy overcast skies. By noon it was clearing and the whole afternoon was clear warm and windless. Birds of note seen on this WOS Fieldtrip are as follows: Barn Owl......................6 birds Great Horned Owl........6 birds Long-eared Owls..........4 birds N. Saw-whet Owl.........1 bird Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.......10 birds Am.Tree Sparrow.....................1 bird Golden Eagle.............................1 ad. Bald Eagles................................18 birds Great Blue Heron........................19 in one flock Am.White Pelican........................23 birds Merlin.........................................2 birds Prairie Falcon..............................1 bird Canyon Wren.............................1 bird Northern Shrike...........................1 bird Rough-legged Hawk....................2 birds This was a great trip. It was fun to be out birding with such a group of knowledgeable folks. Enjoyed leading this one very much. Later Mike .................................................................................. Mike and MerryLynn Denny Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley If you have not birded, you have not lived _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters AT u.washington.edu http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters Subject: WOS Owls by Day Field trip From: "Mike and MerryLynn" <m.denny AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 21:04:20 -0800 Hello All, The Feb.6, 2010 WOS Owls by Day Fieldtrip started off at Hood Park at 7:45 AM with 18 of us. Our first owls were a pair of Barn Owls along Dodd Rd. things only got better from there as we birded under gray cloudy overcast skies. By noon it was clearing and the whole afternoon was clear warm and windless. Birds of note seen on this WOS Fieldtrip are as follows: Barn Owl......................6 birds Great Horned Owl........6 birds Long-eared Owls..........4 birds N. Saw-whet Owl.........1 bird Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.......10 birds Am.Tree Sparrow.....................1 bird Golden Eagle.............................1 ad. Bald Eagles................................18 birds Great Blue Heron........................19 in one flock Am.White Pelican........................23 birds Merlin.........................................2 birds Prairie Falcon..............................1 bird Canyon Wren.............................1 bird Northern Shrike...........................1 bird Rough-legged Hawk....................2 birds This was a great trip. It was fun to be out birding with such a group of knowledgeable folks. Enjoyed leading this one very much. Later Mike .................................................................................. Mike and MerryLynn Denny Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley If you have not birded, you have not lived _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: Robins and Regional Differences From: "Isacoff, Jonathan" <isacoff AT gonzaga.edu> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 20:08:49 -0800 Hi Paul and Area birders, Regarding regional differences, Paul's observation is excellent. It's amazing when looking at proximity on a map that Walla Walla can be so radically different from Pullman or Clarkston and Spokane can be so different from Newport/Priest River. Re: Robins and RWBL's, I can give a little info. on the Spokane area: (1) Robins Last Winter -- We had more Robins in Spokane from end of December through migration than any time in the past decade. There were at least 1000 at the Confluence of the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers, 200-300 at the Gonzaga campus, and flocks in the hundreds along areas near open water and/or Mountain Ash trees all around town. We also had record low-elevation Pine Grosbeak and relavely high sightings (relative to recent years) of Bohemians to go with the record of 98 inches of snow at Spokane Airport (GEG). The common thread here: record Mountain Ash berry crops around town, which attracted all the berry-eating birds in huge numbers. (2) Robins this Winter -- Since early December there have been a few scattered small groups around town, usually around 5 at a time in very localized locations. Last week, a major flock of about 500+ moved into Manito Park and smaller flocks in the 20+ range are being seen more and more all around town. I assume this is early migration. (3) Red-winged Blackbirds Last Winter -- Despite the snow, we had several isolated RWBL flocks hanging around farms that provided grain and shelter, including a flock of 97 (we counted) seen by Tim O'Brien and I on New Year's Day off Palouse Highway near a farm. Interestingly, despite the location, cold, and snow, I found 2 RWBL's at a feeder with Chickadees, Finches, and House Sparrows in CUSICK on January 8, 2009. (4) RWBL's this Winter - This Winter there did not seem to be any RWBL's around Spokane or Pend Oreille Counties (granted I didn't check every possible spot), even though the weather has been extensivley mild. I found the first group of the season, about 5-6 males, in a small wetland in the West Plains area (between Fairchild AFB and Reardan) on January 26. As others have noted, yesterday and today larger groups of males have moved into all the usual nesting grounds -- ponds with cattails, esp. at Retirement Areas on the South Hill of Spokane, and natural prairie wetlands in the more rural areas. I observed 3 groups of about 20 today at obvious locations and others have reported similarly. Unlike the Robins, I have no explanation for presense of RWBL's last winter as far North as Cusick and the relative lack this winter. Intuition would indicate that the weather would have caused the opposite. Paul, how does this compare with what you see in Priest River? Good birding, Jon Jonathan B. Isacoff Associate Professor, Political Science Director, Environmental Studies Program Box 52 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA 99258-0052 Tel.: 509-323-5951 Fax: 509-323-5718 isacoff AT gonzaga.edu _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: RE: Robins.. From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:15:30 -0800 For those who do not know... Priest River is in North Idaho, Bonner County, About 45 miles NE of Spokane. I am really interested in the differences in wintering birds between here and Moscow/Spokane area as they are often significant. It is great to get real time information even with species as common as robins (which would be a real treat to have seen here this winter). Paul Sieracki Priest River, Bonner County, ID 208.448.2790 From: psnowrunner AT hotmail.com To: inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:32:12 -0800 Subject: [inland-NW-birders] Robins.. The post about the first red-winged blackbirds reminded me to post that we had a robin here in Priest River this past Friday, the first I have seen here since last fall. What is interesting is that with no snow and mild weather the robins have not moved up here in any numbers. Some years there is a "pulse" in January even though there is much snow and cold...not what would be expected with the mild weather... Paul Sieracki 208.448.2790 Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: RE: Robins.. From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:15:30 -0800 For those who do not know... Priest River is in North Idaho, Bonner County, About 45 miles NE of Spokane. I am really interested in the differences in wintering birds between here and Moscow/Spokane area as they are often significant. It is great to get real time information even with species as common as robins (which would be a real treat to have seen here this winter). Paul Sieracki Priest River, Bonner County, ID 208.448.2790 From: psnowrunner AT hotmail.com To: inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:32:12 -0800 Subject: [inland-NW-birders] Robins.. The post about the first red-winged blackbirds reminded me to post that we had a robin here in Priest River this past Friday, the first I have seen here since last fall. What is interesting is that with no snow and mild weather the robins have not moved up here in any numbers. Some years there is a "pulse" in January even though there is much snow and cold...not what would be expected with the mild weather... Paul Sieracki 208.448.2790 Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. Sign up now. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: ADMIN NOTE: locations From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 17:01:25 -0800 I was asked to remind everyone that the small town west of Spokane is Reardan not Reardon. I'm also tempted to remind everyone to watch their use of the word "myself" (very often me or I works just as well and as not as clumsy) but then I don't want to be seen as the grammar cop so I won't! On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 4:10 PM, Charles Swift wrote: > Hi All - > > Please remember to include your home town somewhere in your email. This is > most easily done in your "signature" that shows up at the end of each email > (for e.g. see mine below). All email clients have the ability to attach a > standard "signature" to all outgoing emails. > > Also please keep in mind when reporting birding locations that inland > birders covers a fairly large (and somewhat remote) geographical area > including all of northern Idaho, in addition to northeastern WA, and > southeastern WA. Including your hometown helps but very often it will help > to note the county and nearest town of the birding location you mention in > your report. > > Thanks for your help and for your contributions. > > Charles. > > -- > Charles Swift > Moscow, ID > chaetura AT gmail.com > -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: ADMIN NOTE: locations From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 16:10:45 -0800 Hi All - Please remember to include your home town somewhere in your email. This is most easily done in your "signature" that shows up at the end of each email (for e.g. see mine below). All email clients have the ability to attach a standard "signature" to all outgoing emails. Also please keep in mind when reporting birding locations that inland birders covers a fairly large (and somewhat remote) geographical area including all of northern Idaho, in addition to northeastern WA, and southeastern WA. Including your hometown helps but very often it will help to note the county and nearest town of the birding location you mention in your report. Thanks for your help and for your contributions. Charles. -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: speaking of robins.....(Moscow area birds, 2/6/10) From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 15:56:58 -0800 There are many hundreds if not thousands of American Robins in and around Moscow at the moment. Yesterday morning on a 1 hr. walk around my Moscow east side neighborhood I detected many hundreds of them. These groups are very hard to estimate as they spread out over multiple square block areas, in back yards, etc. The din is quite impressive (I think I actually heard somebody shoot a pellet gun a couple times to shoo them away from a particular block which did seem to have an affect). There were a few Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings mixed in with the robins as well as DE Juncos, starlings, and House Finches. In general though, the large number of robins can make it hard to find other birds! I did have a solid flock of ~30 Bohemians at one point and then later a flock ~50 flew over my house. There are also some Pine Siskins in town, no large flocks so far but they are noticeable. And Red Crossbills with flocks of up to 50 on campus in the past couple weeks but only 3 on my walk yesterday. Last evening I was able to enjoy (?) the persistent, monotonous, monotone tooting of a Northern Saw-whet Owl at Tom Besser's place on the west side of Moscow Mountain. Apparently this bird has been calling near his house since December - and it calls for hour after hour. We were also treated to 5 different Great Horned Owls including the pair that has returned to nest in our neighborhood. -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Robins.. From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 14:32:12 -0800 The post about the first red-winged blackbirds reminded me to post that we had a robin here in Priest River this past Friday, the first I have seen here since last fall. What is interesting is that with no snow and mild weather the robins have not moved up here in any numbers. Some years there is a "pulse" in January even though there is much snow and cold...not what would be expected with the mild weather... Paul Sieracki 208.448.2790 _________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469229/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Red Winged Blackbirds From: June Cleveland <junebug83544 AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 13:50:54 -0800 Red Winged Blackbirds arrived around 2:30 this afternoon, Feb. 7... There are approximately 5 in our field.. Paul and June Cleveland 6 miles NE of Orofino, Id. 2,600 ft. elev... _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Deep Creek Today From: Kim Thorburn <kthorburn AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:24:04 -0800 Birders, There were more signs of spring at Deep Creek in Riverside State Park today. The bald eagles were working on nest repair. One perched on the branch adjacent the nest and occasionally brought a twig to assist. The other was hard at work in the nest cup, rearranging twigs. This will be at least the fifth year for this nest-fledged 1 the first year, 3 the second, 2 the third, and 2 last year. Take note all of you Lake Spokane eagle watchers. Of course, there's also the older nest up by the park resort and boat launch off of Charles Rd. A winter wren below serenaded as they worked. Just below the south face of Pine Bluff, I flushed a gorgeous rufous-morph ruffed grouse. Then a second grayer bird flushed. I assume they were a spring pair since it's so rare to see anything but a solitary ruffed grouse (although I heard no wing drumming). I've been looking for this bird since I saw its tracks in the snow about a month ago. It scratched a couple of piles of horse manure and meticulously picked out all of the oats. The pines in the area are in an off-year of the cone cycle and red crossbills have become quite rare in the area. Yesterday there was a small flock along the river near the Carlson Rd. trailhead. Other good finds were a large flock of brown creepers among chickadees and nuthatches in the Doug firs on the way up to Pine Bluff. A Townsend's solitaire was lurking along the bluff, as well. Good birding from the grunt grouse tracker, Kim Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH 509-465-3025 phone 509-599-6721 mobile 509-465-4695 fax _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Peregrines at SCC campus From: todd mclaughlin <singlemalt AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 01:48:14 -0800 Hello folks, I was at SCC Saturday for a conference and I am almost certain there may be Peregrines there. I heard them each time I stepped outside for a break. They seemed to be hanging out around building 1 (Main building) and especially around building 201 (Maintenance and Custodial offices). The best spot I heard them was between buildings 1 and 16. Is this a known spot for these birds? They are making a lot of noise there. I do not plan to be back in that area for awhile, anyone close enough to go have a listen and possibly confirm? Thanks Todd McLaughlin (509) 979-7420 singlemalt AT hotmail.com mclaughlintodd AT gmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469230/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Spokane county today From: "Tim O'Brien" <kertim7179 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 17:03:01 -0800 (PST) Hi folks, I spent a good portion of today exploring places around the home county. I picked up quite a few year birds for the county since I haven't been poking around here too much yet this year. Here are some highlights: Riverside State Park - Deep Creek overlook: Northern Pygmy-owl (one tooting from somewhere on the hillside) Canyon Wren (singing) Spokane River - Duck Corner: Lesser Scaup (just one) Riverside State Park - Confluence: RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (one bird near the end of the trail out to the point) Mead (by the Middle School): Merlin (flew over me while driving so I stopped and found it) Peone Wetland: Hooded Merganser (1 male) Spokane Central Premix pond: Canvasback (1 dull male) I checked the sheet water ponds out in Paradise Prairie, but only a few Canada Geese around. Definitely, less water around than last year. Good birding, Tim O'Brien Cheney, WA mailto: kertim7179 AT yahoo dot com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Spokane Yard Bohemian Waxwing (photos) From: "Isacoff, Jonathan" <isacoff AT gonzaga.edu> Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:17:43 -0800 Nothing liking seeing a year bird in your own yard! In the midst of a very large Cedar Waxwing flock (~50), was one, solitary BOHEMIAN WAXWING. I managed some OK photos of it. Also in the mix was a Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatches, House Finches, a lone Robin, and then, for added excitement, a female SHARP-SHINNED HAWK came to break up the berry party! Good birding, Jon www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Turnbull NWR this afternoon (Spokane Co.) From: "Tim O'Brien" <kertim7179 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:14:13 -0800 (PST) I took a stroll around the Pine Lake trail at Turnbull NWR this afternoon in the rain. Very few waterfowl on the now mostly ice-free lakes. Here is the eBird report: Location: Turnbull NWR Observation date: 2/5/10 Notes: Two Moose seen on the southern edge of Pine Lake. Number of species: 18 Canada Goose 20 Mallard 16 Great Blue Heron 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 1 Black-billed Magpie 5 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Mountain Chickadee 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Pygmy Nuthatch 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 European Starling 10 Song Sparrow 4 Red-winged Blackbird 12 Red Crossbill 10 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Tim O'Brien Cheney, WA mailto: kertim7179 AT yahoo dot com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: West Plains on Thursday From: Fran Haywood <birders13 AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:45:32 -0800 I also was out at W Plains yesterday. I had cancelled a trip with Joyce and Jan because of a nasty cold that I didn't want to pass along, but Brad said he was already exposed and it was such a beautiful day that we should just go for a drive. I agreed, since I had spent 2 days inside already. Sorry Joyce, but you really don't want this bug. We saw just what Ron did, but stayed near Davenport until after dark looking for owls. What we found were 2 Great Horned Owls; 1 flew up on top of the power pole with the "witch" and the 2nd was around the corner along Janett Road where it connects with Detour RD. Fran Haywood Spokane_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Lincoln Co birds From: <ronpatdexter AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:15:03 -0800 Yesterday 2-4-10, I toured the Reardon, Davenport area excluding the towns. Hunting around the intersection of Tramm Rd and Euclid Rd was a juvenile Northern Shrike. On the Old Sunset Hwy behind the weigh station, I found a porcupine high in a bushy tree and the usual magpies. A few Red-winged Blackbirds were mixed in with a hundred starlings a half mile south of Hwy 2 on 231. I found a few scattered Retail and Rough-legged Hawks plus about 5 Northern Harriers. On Gravelle Rd just south of Detour Rd was an American Kestrel. Everywhere I went a lone Horned Lark would flush up from the roads. On old Kuchs Rd about a mile east of Rocklyn Rd, there were about 500 Northern Pintails on the pond with a scattering of other ducks mixed in. I decided to park near the intersection of Ladd Rd and Sprague Rd back in Spokane Co about 4:30 til it was too dark to see. I was hoping to see Short-eared Owls rise up from the CRP grasses and begin hunting, but no luck. However, there were 4 Northern Harriers there before dark putting on acrobatic displays which is always interesting to watch. Ron Dexter Spokane, Wa. Email: (Ronpatdexter AT msn.com) _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Fwd: [obol] Counting birds follow-up From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:55:35 -0800 Part II (from one of the eBird project leaders). ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brian Sullivan Date: Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 9:31 AM Subject: [obol] Counting birds follow-up To: obol OR Birders Joel is absolutely correct, the thing to avoid in counting birds is false precision. Counts like '258 Tundra Swans' likely result from some combination of estimation (maybe counting by 10s), and then exact counts (8 singles). It is not appropriate to combine these counts together because this creates false precision. Any analyst knows this, and I would argue that any count greater than 10 is likely to be taken with a grain of salt during analysis, simply viewed as an estimate and not as an exact count. As a general rule of thumb, I count birds using the smallest grouping possible (e.g., maybe by 10s for a flock of ducks on the water), and then make my estimate to the nearest ten. Likewise, if I'm counting a streaming 'kettle' of Broad-winged Hawks by the 100s, then the estimate will be rounded to the nearest hundred. I've found this to work well in most cases. What we're really trying to get at is 'relative abundance'. Was a species present in small numbers (e.g., Peregrine Falcon), was it common (e.g., House Finch), or was it ubiquitous (e.g., Starling)? By providing your best estimates of numbers on each checklist we can get a good sense of these relationships. Thanks Brian -- =========== Brian L. Sullivan Pacific Grove, CA eBird/AKN Project Leader www.ebird.org www.avianknowledge.net Photographic Editor, Birds of North America Online http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 Photographic Editor, North American Birds American Birding Association www.americanbirding.org bls42 AT cornell.edu 609-694-3280 ------------------------------- _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Fwd: [obol] Counting birds follow-up From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:55:35 -0800 Part II (from one of the eBird project leaders). ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brian Sullivan Date: Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 9:31 AM Subject: [obol] Counting birds follow-up To: obol OR Birders Joel is absolutely correct, the thing to avoid in counting birds is false precision. Counts like '258 Tundra Swans' likely result from some combination of estimation (maybe counting by 10s), and then exact counts (8 singles). It is not appropriate to combine these counts together because this creates false precision. Any analyst knows this, and I would argue that any count greater than 10 is likely to be taken with a grain of salt during analysis, simply viewed as an estimate and not as an exact count. As a general rule of thumb, I count birds using the smallest grouping possible (e.g., maybe by 10s for a flock of ducks on the water), and then make my estimate to the nearest ten. Likewise, if I'm counting a streaming 'kettle' of Broad-winged Hawks by the 100s, then the estimate will be rounded to the nearest hundred. I've found this to work well in most cases. What we're really trying to get at is 'relative abundance'. Was a species present in small numbers (e.g., Peregrine Falcon), was it common (e.g., House Finch), or was it ubiquitous (e.g., Starling)? By providing your best estimates of numbers on each checklist we can get a good sense of these relationships. Thanks Brian -- =========== Brian L. Sullivan Pacific Grove, CA eBird/AKN Project Leader www.ebird.org www.avianknowledge.net Photographic Editor, Birds of North America Online http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 Photographic Editor, North American Birds American Birding Association www.americanbirding.org bls42 AT cornell.edu 609-694-3280 ------------------------------- _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com Subject: Fwd: [obol] counting birds & other notes From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:53:37 -0800 Part 1 of 2 forwarded emails on counting birds that may be of interest. Applicable to eBird, CBC, various other bird surveys, and of course your own journals. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joel Geier Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 8:51 PM Subject: [obol] counting birds & other notes To: Oregon Birders OnLine Cc: Susan Hatlevig Susan Hatlevig wrote: > So, okay, how the heck do you know you've seen 266 of something? Hi Susie, A quick answer to your question is that anyone who puts down "266" as a count is fooling themselves. Sometimes people come up with numbers like that when they estimate 200 birds in one flock, then 50 in another, then actually count 16 birds. You'll see that on a lot of CBCs where compilers have to add up tallies from different sectors, and can't figure out what else to do. This is how we get absurd "counts" like 25,003 European Starlings. But it's humanly impossible to count 266 birds in a flock, and know that you haven't miscounted by 2 or 3 or 10. I don't care who you are, you can't do it, unless you're working from a still photo and go over it five times with a marking pen. And even then I wouldn't trust it unless it's an overhead photo. I've counted swan flocks multiple times and found out that a couple are always hiding behind other swans, and you're never really sure if you could see all of them in a given view. The good news is, unless you're censusing Whooping Cranes on their winter range, it doesn't matter if you're off by 10 on a count of about 270 birds. Personally, in casual counts I prefer to round off to things that make a difference on a logarithmic scale: Did I see 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500 or 1000? If I can estimate closer than that, I do so, but I don't worry that much about it. Finer graduations between those levels don't make a gnat's hind end worth of difference for any scientifically credible use of the types of datasets that make up the bulk of eBird or BirdNotes. So, if you're motivated to produce usable data, try to make a decent estimate (it helps to practice at this, and photos of flocks can be a good way to calibrate your estimates). But don't worry too much about getting exact counts. Better to move on and enjoy the next bunch of birds. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Fwd: [obol] counting birds & other notes From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:53:37 -0800 Part 1 of 2 forwarded emails on counting birds that may be of interest. Applicable to eBird, CBC, various other bird surveys, and of course your own journals. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Joel Geier Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 8:51 PM Subject: [obol] counting birds & other notes To: Oregon Birders OnLine Cc: Susan Hatlevig Susan Hatlevig wrote: > So, okay, how the heck do you know you've seen 266 of something? Hi Susie, A quick answer to your question is that anyone who puts down "266" as a count is fooling themselves. Sometimes people come up with numbers like that when they estimate 200 birds in one flock, then 50 in another, then actually count 16 birds. You'll see that on a lot of CBCs where compilers have to add up tallies from different sectors, and can't figure out what else to do. This is how we get absurd "counts" like 25,003 European Starlings. But it's humanly impossible to count 266 birds in a flock, and know that you haven't miscounted by 2 or 3 or 10. I don't care who you are, you can't do it, unless you're working from a still photo and go over it five times with a marking pen. And even then I wouldn't trust it unless it's an overhead photo. I've counted swan flocks multiple times and found out that a couple are always hiding behind other swans, and you're never really sure if you could see all of them in a given view. The good news is, unless you're censusing Whooping Cranes on their winter range, it doesn't matter if you're off by 10 on a count of about 270 birds. Personally, in casual counts I prefer to round off to things that make a difference on a logarithmic scale: Did I see 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500 or 1000? If I can estimate closer than that, I do so, but I don't worry that much about it. Finer graduations between those levels don't make a gnat's hind end worth of difference for any scientifically credible use of the types of datasets that make up the bulk of eBird or BirdNotes. So, if you're motivated to produce usable data, try to make a decent estimate (it helps to practice at this, and photos of flocks can be a good way to calibrate your estimates). But don't worry too much about getting exact counts. Better to move on and enjoy the next bunch of birds. Happy birding, Joel -- Joel Geier Camp Adair area north of Corvallis _______________________________________________ obol mailing list obol AT oregonbirdwatch.org http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com Subject: Spokane Year List Updated From: "Isacoff, Jonathan" <isacoff AT gonzaga.edu> Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 20:55:36 -0800 86 Species as of February 2. February brings early Killdeer, Violet-green Swallow, and perhaps some surprises; a Snowy Owl would be nice! Full list at: http://www.spokaneaudubon.org/Default.aspx?pageId=308336 Good birding, Jon _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Country Club Rd. , 2/1/10 (Rusty Blackbird) From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 19:40:25 -0800 Hi All - The Rusty Blackbird is still present but I only saw it briefly in about 1.5 hrs. birding in the area this afternoon (my complete list is below). The only time I saw it (perched on a cattail) I was a some distance down the road and by the time I got to the pond it had disappeared (back into the cattails I presume). I kind of suspect it's just hunkered down in the cattails around the pond but it could also be going over to the swine manure ponds across the street. It could be getting a bit skittish or perhaps is generally more active in the morning. The swine center and beef/dairy center down the road all look interesting for birding but it appears that WSU is less welcoming of guests than others (for e.g. U. of Idaho) although it might be possible to get permission. I was sorely tempted to check out the swine manure ponds but the threatening No Trespassing sign deterred me! The directions already provided are pretty good but the exact location has also been marked in eBird by several birders and is showing up in the ebird reports and the ebird google gadget. Charles. =========================== Location: Country Club Rd. Observation date: 2/1/10 Number of species: 13 Canada Goose 25 Mallard 20 Great Blue Heron 1 hunting in field near intersection w/ US 195 Red-tailed Hawk 4 American Kestrel 2 Mourning Dove 1 Northern Flicker 3 Black-billed Magpie 5 American Robin 7 European Starling 2 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 3 Rusty Blackbird 1 Found by Dick Johnson at the location marked on 1/24. This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: discouraging mockingbirds From: Jim Greaves <lbviman AT blackfoot.net> Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:11:29 -0700 Try a new location AWAY from potential nesting shrubs, or the other side of house? - Jim Greaves, MT At 01:02 PM 2/1/2010, inland-nw-birders-request AT uidaho.edu wrote: >Send Inland-nw-birders mailing list submissions to > inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu > >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > inland-nw-birders-request AT uidaho.edu > >You can reach the person managing the list at > inland-nw-birders-owner AT uidaho.edu > >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >than "Re: Contents of Inland-nw-birders digest..." > >Today's Topics: > > 1. How to discourage mockingbird from feeder (Maire Marran) > >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >From: Maire Marran >Precedence: list >MIME-Version: 1.0 >To: inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu >Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:36:20 -0800 >Message-ID: <4B667664.5090606 AT marran.us> >Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 >Subject: [inland-NW-birders] How to discourage mockingbird from feeder >Message: 1 > >Hi, > >A family friend in Sparks, NV is discouraged b/c a mockingbird has >taken up residence in her backyard for the past 2 months and >aggressively drives away ALL other birds from her feeder. She tried >taking away the feeder for weeks on end, and tried scaring it away >repeatedly, but it always comes back. Any suggestions? > >~Maire Marran >_______________________________________________ >Inland-nw-birders mailing list >Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu >https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: How to discourage mockingbird from feeder From: Maire Marran <mairebear AT marran.us> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:36:20 -0800 _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Rusty Blackbird is there even in 2 inches of snow this a.m. From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:44:24 -0800 Hi Everyone, For the past two day at about 9 in the morning the Rusty Blackbird is still present at the WSU Swine Center location. It was 32 degrees and snowing lightly this morning with approximately 2 inches on the ground. The bird poped up as soon as Christine and I drove up. It allowed me to take photos. My first where I actually got shots of teh back of this bird, attached. Good Birding! Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Columbia County Today From: citybylight <citybylight AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:19:53 -0700 Hello Everyone- I was out and about birding this morning to afternoon in Columbia County. I am still quickly finding that the county is quite a difficult area for birders, as mentioned by others. Nevertheless, any day birding is fun and, undoubtedly, birding is a lot more enjoyable than homework. Some of the noteworthy finds was the Canyon Wren, poking around the rocks adjacent to the docks of Lyons Ferry Marina. The wren was quick to let the other birds there was a Red-Tailed Hawk in the vicinity. Rock Wrens were also “chilling out” around Little Goose Dam Rd, and other wrens sighted was the Marsh Wren at the Tucannon Wildlife Management Area. One Northern Shrike was sitting on a fence post above the Tucannon Wildlife Management Area, later another was also seen sitting at the pond behind Little Goose Dam. When I sighted the Northern Shrike at the Tucannon Wildlife management area, I had a good chance to try out my first scope, the Denali model by Eagle Optics. Not too shabby for being a VERY cheap scope... As my trip progressed, I spotted a Downy Woodpecker somewhat concealed in the brush near Texas Rapids on Little Goose Dam Rd. When I arrived at Little Goose Dam, a Bald Eagle was scoping out the river for lunch. Buffleheads and Common Goldeneyes were the only waterfowl on the Snake... Lastly, I birded the Cemetery in Dayton, however, the area did not produce any noteworthy birds. A total of 32 species were seen today. Peace, Kevin Black, BSW College Place/Hometown: Longview,WA _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390706/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Basin From: "Ninebark" <ninebark AT povn.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:13:07 -0800 We took a mid-winter escape to the southlands last week and reveled in the skies full of hawks between Spokane and Walla Walla. Besides the bushels of Red-tails and quite a few Rough-legged, we found one Prairie falcon on the Benge-Winona Rd. in Adams county on Wed. A person could break his neck trying to check out every single hawk that flies over. Then on Friday we stopped in the WDFW area about a mile north of Mesa in Franklin county, in Esquatzel Coulee. There we Spotted a towhee amongst the big flocks of robins and starlings. They were feeding on a rose species that we did not recognize. Does anyone know the name of a rose that bears little translucent fruit less than a 1/8 of an inch in diameter? Not at all like the common "hips" species. On the walk out, in a drainage canal we found a Marsh wren singing its heart out in what looked like very marginal cattails. The clump it was hiding in was about 5 feet across. John Stuart Newport, WA_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Whitman and Asotin counties yesterday 1-30-10 From: "Tim O'Brien" <kertim7179 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:02:07 -0800 (PST) Hi folks, Yesterday, I made my way south down 195 to Pullman and then on down Wawawai Canyon into Asotin county. I visited Country Club Road in the early morning and searched for the Rusty Blackbird, but had no success. There were only a couple Song Sparrows in the ditch past the WSU Swine Center. I did find some Starlings further down the road, but nothing in blackbird-fashion. I took my time going down Wawawai Canyon and stopped at several pull-outs. About mid-way down, I found a large group of White-crowned Sparrows. Also, here was a very cooperative Downy Woodpecker that allowed me to snap a few photos. Dark-eyed Juncoes, Rock Pigeons, Magpies, and a couple Red-tailed Hawks rounded out the birds in the canyon. At the bottom of the canyon in the park, there were a few Robins and a couple Bewick's Wrens. A pair of Pied-billed Grebes were in the small pond. Driving beside the river, I was constantly on the lookout for birds on the water. I only noticed a couple Double-crested Comorants, a lone female Common Merganser, and a Herring Gull (on the Garfield County side). I made the stop at Nisqually John Canyon and found a singing Canyon Wren. I tracked the vocal bird and found it just below the railroad bridge. Also, here was a group of American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins. Further down the river, opposite of Chief Timothy Park, there were a pair of adult Bald Eagles sitting in a heron rookery. Also, a lone Common Loon was on the Whitman side of the river. I checked a few spots in Clarkston including Chestnut Beach and Swallows Park. The American x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid is still present at Swallows. Further south, at Asotin there were six Barrow's Goldeneye in the river. I drove up Asotin Creek Road with intentions of making the walk up LickFork Road. However, when I arrived at the gate it was too late to make the long walk so I slowly drove back down. I checked the creek in several places for a Dipper, but never found one. I found more singing Canyon Wrens on the high cliffs along the road. I then walked into Chief Timothy Park and found a large group of 33 Dark-eyed Juncoes working the ground under some trees. Also, there were Golden-crowned Kinglets and a lone Spotted Towhee in the park. Two Horned Grebes patrolled the waters around the bridge. A stop at the Evans Road wetland netted 3 Virginia Rails that responded to tape. Also, a Marsh Wren was chattering in the tall grass here. I backtracked to Country Club Road on the way home and yet again missed the Rusty Blackbird. Back in Spokane county, I found one pair of Northern Pintail along Jennings Road near Philleo Lake. Philleo Lake had some open water, but it was getting dark so I didn't stick around. Good birding, Tim O'Brien Cheney, WA mailto: kertim7179 AT yahoo dot com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:10:20 -0800 One caveat to my statement below is that adult Thayer's Gulls should be readily identifiable with a reasonably good/close view and ideally other species nearby for comparison. Size and structure differences should be apparent on more distant birds (again in comparison to other known species). On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 1:03 PM, Charles Swift wrote: > These *could* be the gulls I found 2 weeks ago but I have no problem > believing there are multiples of each species around the north end of Lake > Coeur d'Alene (indeed, I'm fairly sure that the 2 Thayer's and 2 Mews I > found that weekend were different birds). I think a couple Mew Gulls had > been found in the same gull flock earlier in the year (which is not unusual > in that area). Also I do believe the 2 Thayer's Gulls I reported were that > species so at least from my perspective they were not "possible" Thayer's > Gulls ;) I do realize they can be tricky but with good looks I think they > are actually quite distinct from Herring Gulls (this is one of those > situations where you might apply the adage - "if you're not sure they > probably aren't" - although of course it helps to know what to look for). It > also helps to have other gulls nearby for comparison - some comparison > photos would probably be very instructive in this regard. > > thanks, > Charles. > > > On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Isacoff, Jonathan wrote: > >> >> At Wolf Lodge Bay (Coeur D'alene Lake) today, the MEW GULL found by >> Charles Swift persists as does the possible Thayer's. In addition 2 >> TRUMPETER SWANS were present among the usual geese, ducks, and grebes. >> Photos posted below. >> >> Good birding, Jon Isacoff >> www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Inland-nw-birders mailing list >> Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu >> https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders >> > > > > -- > Charles Swift > Moscow, ID > chaetura AT gmail.com > -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Pend Oreille WMA From: Paul Sieracki <psnowrunner AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:50:24 -0800 The Pend Oreille WMA (Bonner County) below Albeni Falls Dam yielded few birds but the bald eagle nest there is active and is located very close to the parking lot. On the adjacent Pend Oreille River there were buffleheads, common goldeneyes and common mergansers. Of interest was a white-breasted nuthatch along with red-breasted nuthatches, black-capped, mountain and chestnut-backed chickadees in the Newport (WA) Cemetery where there is a group of large ponderosa pines that escaped logging. Paul Sieracki 208.448.2790 _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390707/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:25:20 -0800 Also I do appreciate Jon's acknowledgement of my report even as Wolf Lodge Bay is a well known birding spot (more-so for eagles and loons) than gulls. As I mentioned earlier I do think the area in general has been overlooked as a good spot to look for gulls (except perhaps by local birders) so I hope that my report may encourage others to check it out. And Doug's recent report from Cougar Bay only adds to that. After all it's only what 30 minutes from Spokane on I-90?? With recent improvements to US 95 it's now a much easier trip from Moscow-Pullman. For the time being at least I'll only be able to squeeze in some birding there on birthday weekends etc. - at least until I have another birder in the household! Charles. On Sun, Jan 31, 2010 at 1:03 PM, Charles Swift wrote: > These *could* be the gulls I found 2 weeks ago but I have no problem > believing there are multiples of each species around the north end of Lake > Coeur d'Alene (indeed, I'm fairly sure that the 2 Thayer's and 2 Mews I > found that weekend were different birds). I think a couple Mew Gulls had > been found in the same gull flock earlier in the year (which is not unusual > in that area). Also I do believe the 2 Thayer's Gulls I reported were that > species so at least from my perspective they were not "possible" Thayer's > Gulls ;) I do realize they can be tricky but with good looks I think they > are actually quite distinct from Herring Gulls (this is one of those > situations where you might apply the adage - "if you're not sure they > probably aren't" - although of course it helps to know what to look for). It > also helps to have other gulls nearby for comparison - some comparison > photos would probably be very instructive in this regard. > > thanks, > Charles. > > > On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Isacoff, Jonathan wrote: > >> >> At Wolf Lodge Bay (Coeur D'alene Lake) today, the MEW GULL found by >> Charles Swift persists as does the possible Thayer's. In addition 2 >> TRUMPETER SWANS were present among the usual geese, ducks, and grebes. >> Photos posted below. >> >> Good birding, Jon Isacoff >> www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Inland-nw-birders mailing list >> Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu >> https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders >> > > > > -- > Charles Swift > Moscow, ID > chaetura AT gmail.com > -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:03:53 -0800 These *could* be the gulls I found 2 weeks ago but I have no problem believing there are multiples of each species around the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene (indeed, I'm fairly sure that the 2 Thayer's and 2 Mews I found that weekend were different birds). I think a couple Mew Gulls had been found in the same gull flock earlier in the year (which is not unusual in that area). Also I do believe the 2 Thayer's Gulls I reported were that species so at least from my perspective they were not "possible" Thayer's Gulls ;) I do realize they can be tricky but with good looks I think they are actually quite distinct from Herring Gulls (this is one of those situations where you might apply the adage - "if you're not sure they probably aren't" - although of course it helps to know what to look for). It also helps to have other gulls nearby for comparison - some comparison photos would probably be very instructive in this regard. thanks, Charles. On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 5:38 PM, Isacoff, Jonathan wrote: > > At Wolf Lodge Bay (Coeur D'alene Lake) today, the MEW GULL found by Charles > Swift persists as does the possible Thayer's. In addition 2 TRUMPETER SWANS > were present among the usual geese, ducks, and grebes. Photos posted below. > > Good birding, Jon Isacoff > www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff > > _______________________________________________ > Inland-nw-birders mailing list > Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu > https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders > -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Kootenai County Big Year additions From: "Shirley Sturts" <shirley.sturts AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:25:37 -0800 80 Thayer's Gull Jan 17 NIC Beach - Charles Swift 81 Brown Creeper Jan 24 Fernan Lake - Shirley Sturts 82 Cackling Goose Jan 24 Cougar Bay, CDA Lake - Doug Ward 83 Canvasback Jan 24 Cougar Bay, CDA Lake - Doug Ward 84 Horned Lark - Jan 28 Hayden Lake (airport area) Cindy Langlitz 85 Trumpeter Swan - Jan. 30 Wolf Lodge Bay, CDA Lake Jonathan Isacoff Shirley Sturts Coeur d'Alene, ID _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Bald Eagles From: todd mclaughlin <singlemalt AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:20:56 -0800 Hello All, Friday the 29th I took the family down the road to Long Lake Dam in Lincoln Co. We watched about 30 immature and adult Bald eagles fishing and perched in the trees. There is a great parking are, picnic area, and small playground, all provided by Avista. Head up 231 N from Reardan, stay to the right before you head over the bridge into Stevens Co. I also heard calls from a member of the Falcon family, did not see the bird. Todd McLaughlin (509) 979-7420 singlemalt AT hotmail.com mclaughlintodd AT gmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/196390707/direct/01/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Kootenai County Big Year additions From: "Shirley Sturts" <shirley.sturts AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:25:37 -0800 80 Thayer's Gull Jan 17 NIC Beach - Charles Swift 81 Brown Creeper Jan 24 Fernan Lake - Shirley Sturts 82 Cackling Goose Jan 24 Cougar Bay, CDA Lake - Doug Ward 83 Canvasback Jan 24 Cougar Bay, CDA Lake - Doug Ward 84 Horned Lark - Jan 28 Hayden Lake (airport area) Cindy Langlitz 85 Trumpeter Swan - Jan. 30 Wolf Lodge Bay, CDA Lake Jonathan Isacoff Shirley Sturts Coeur d'Alene, ID Subject: Western Walla Walla county From: "Mike and MerryLynn" <m.denny AT charter.net> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:06:08 -0800 Hello all, Found a few year birds today - Ferruginous Hawk - 1 bird on Byrnes Road - there were lots of raptors from Stateline road to Touchet and on Byrnes. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL - 1 adult finally in Walla Walla county! on the poop piles along with many common gulls. Glaucous Gull - one flying upriver from the delta. Dunlin - 37 on the delta Red-breasted Merganser - 3 males and 1 female at Two Rivers HMU. Common Loons - 4 off Port Kelley. Mew Gull - one on the delta - Mike chummed but only 5 Herring, 2 Glaucous-winged and this one Mew in among the many Ring-bills and Californias. Yellow-headed Blackbirds - a dozen in with hundreds of Redwings and starlings on Dodd road. Yellow-rumped Warblers - 8+ at Hood Park. Bald Eagles - 28 on roost Eurasian Collared-Dove - 36 in Touchet Tundra Swans - 14 at McNary NWR HQ American White Pelicans - 14 over Casey pond. Prairie Falcons - 4 for the day. Great Horned Owl - 3 on Byrnes Rd. Barn Owl - 1 on Dodd rd. Marsh Wren - 1 at Hood Park Spotted Towhee - 1 at Hood Park, 1 at McNary NWR HQ - they have a great bird-feeding station there! Tomorrow is the last day of waterfowl season - YEA!!! MerryLynn .................................................................................. Mike and MerryLynn Denny Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley If you have not birded, you have not lived _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Wolf Lodge (ID) Trumpeter Swans, Mew, and (possible) Thayer's PHOTOS From: "Isacoff, Jonathan" <isacoff AT gonzaga.edu> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:38:47 -0800 At Wolf Lodge Bay (Coeur D'alene Lake) today, the MEW GULL found by Charles Swift persists as does the possible Thayer's. In addition 2 TRUMPETER SWANS were present among the usual geese, ducks, and grebes. Photos posted below. Good birding, Jon Isacoff www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Whitman County Birds From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:04:18 -0800 Hi everyone, Below is a list of bird species observed in Whitman County this morning. Location Whitman, US-WA Observation type: Traveling Count Observation date: 1/30/10 Distance covered: 45.0 mile(s) Start time: 8:15 AM Duration: 4 hour(s) 55 minute(s) Number of people in party: 2 6 Canada Goose 2 Mallard 6 Bufflehead 8 Common Merganser 2 Ring-necked Pheasant 4 California Quail 2 Pied-billed Grebe 10 Western Grebe 1 Clark's Grebe 2 Northern Harrier 4 Red-tailed Hawk 4 Rock Pigeon 16 Mourning Dove 6 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 4 Black-billed Magpie 2 Common Raven 3 American Robin 4 European Starling 25 Cedar Waxwing 6 Song Sparrow 35 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 3 Red-winged Blackbird 1 Rusty Blackbird 4 House Finch 6 American Goldfinch 6 House Sparrow Total species reported: 26 Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/ _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Rusty Blackbird remains south of Pullman [1 Attachment] From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:57:10 -0800 Hi Everyone, This morning Diana Jones and I stopped to see the Rusty Blackbird. It was up and singing when we arrived. Also a male Red-winged Blackbird was also present and singing. I will be putting photos of this bird on my flickr site later this evening along with closer video of this bird singing. Good Birding Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/ Subject: Rusty Blackbird remains south of Pullman From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:57:10 -0800 Hi Everyone, This morning Diana Jones and I stopped to see the Rusty Blackbird. It was up and singing when we arrived. Also a male Red-winged Blackbird was also present and singing. I will be putting photos of this bird on my flickr site later this evening along with closer video of this bird singing. Good Birding Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Gyr From: jdeliduka AT tumwater.net Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:46:22 -0800 (PST) I'm 99% sure I saw a gray phase Gyr falcon on various telephone poles several times Friday jan 29 just SW of Quincy on road S NW between roads eight NW and nine NW. While there check out all the geese & mallards at the retention pond at the jxn of S & 9th. Did a walk through of the upper ancient lakes but it was pretty dead there despite open water on Evergreen reservoir. John Deliduka _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Reducing aircraft-wildlife strikes at airports From: "Kennedy, Matthew J" <kenne748 AT my.erau.edu> Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:22:17 +0000 Dear fellow birding enthusiasts, As a lifelong birder and professional aviator for over 16 years, I am conducting a nation-wide study on the level of community support for the mitigation measures used at airports to reduce the wildlife strike hazard to commercial aircraft. Getting input from different regions of the country is necessary to gauge whether there are regional differences due to varying bird populations or possible high profile incidents involving wildlife strikes on aircraft. Responses are submitted electronically to a database that does not identify users, so your answers will be completely confidential. Findings will be released only as analyzed data or summaries in which no individual’s answers can be identified. Please take a few moments to share your opinions and experiences. I appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to contribute toward this important research about community views on wildlife mitigation measures at airports. The survey can be accessed at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XTVS225 If you would like a summary of my findings, please send me your e-mail address at kennedym2009 AT yahoo.com. Once the study is complete, I will e-mail the summary to you. Best Regards, Matt Kennedy Graduate student in Aeronautical Science Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Omaha, NE_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: good day in Pend Oreille County From: "Terry Little" <terry AT crossoverchurch.info> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:51:13 -0500 Hello, I began the day in the predawn hours along the Little Spokane River in southen Pend Oreille County. First bird of the day was a very cooperative Barred Owl and about 15 minutes later, a N Saw Whet Owl. Just after daylight, along Scotia Rd and Little Spokane River Rd (at the "pond that never freezes"), I found two Barrow's Goldeneyes, 3 Wilson's Snipe, a Winter Wren, and a singing BEWICK'S WREN, a bird that is beginning to make its way into P O county. My next stop was along the cliff faces across from Davis Lake where I enjoyed nice views of a very vocal CANYON WREN. The route around Calispell Lake yieided Tundra Swans, N Pygmy Owl, 3 Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, 3 Chickadees, and a singing N Shrike. My favorite location of the day was Calicoma/Tacoma Creek Rd, As has been noted, winter finch activity has been slow this winter, but there were some along this route. Along Calicoma Rd, about 1/4 mi north of its intersection with W Calispell Creek Rd, there is a small creek that goes under the road that is lined with birch trees. There was a large flock of American Goldfinches feeding in the birches with about 20 Pine Siskins and at least 6 COMMON REDPOLLS. The flock flew off when a magpie flew in, thinking it to be a sharpie, I suppose. The lady in the gray house (Karen Sweeney) says the redpolls are there "all the time" though I am not sure how relable her id is. I've seen them here several times in the past. Ocasionally, there is a dipper in the creek. Further along Calicoma Rd - just short of mm 2, I came across a mixed flock of birds that included 30 Red Crossbills, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, 1 Hairy woodpecker, and 2 BLACK BACKED WOODPECKERS. Along Locke Cutoff Rd adjacent to Tacoma Creek Rd there was a Rough Legged Hawk. Back in Usk and Cusick, the waterfront hosted the expected waterfowl and there was a Townsend's Solitaire in town. There are normally large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings in these two communities.They are conspicuously absent this winter. Further up the river at Riverbend, there was a nice mixed flock of ducks, including both scaup, redheads, canvasback, Am Wigeon, and Gadwall. A day in Pend Oreille County is always a good day. Blessings Terry Little Mead, Wa _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Pullman RUSTY BLACKBIRD--YES From: "Roger D. Woodruff" <rdwoodruff AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:27:46 -0800 The boldly marked RUSTY BLACKBIRD was easily found at the site described by Terry Gray 1.4 miles west on Country Club Road just past the WSU Swine Center about 1 PM today. When I pulled to the side of the road it flushed from the cattails in the ditch and flew to the pond Terry described just to the north. There it sat in the open and allowed lengthy viewing--in fact I finally moved on while it still remained on top of the cattails continuing to sing softly! Thanks to Richard Johnson for reporting this great bird! I did "dip" on the hoped for Dipper in Pullman. The Snake River below Lower Granite Dam was mostly empty. At Almota there was one large raft of ducks which included a few Barrows Goldeneye and one male Hooded Merganser conveniently located on the Garfield County side of the river. Roger Woodruff Spokane_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Whitman County Rusty Blackbird [1 Attachment] From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:05:33 -0800 Hi Everyone, I want to thank Richard Johnson for his sighting of the Rusty Blackbird in Whitman County on January 24th. I did not have time to go look for it and was out of town for two days and also a thank you to Bill Davis who emailed me this morning reporting that the bird was still at the same location SW of Pullman along Country Club Road 1.5 miles west of highway 195 on the north side of the the road just past the WSU Swine Center. I checked out this location after lunch today and at first did not see the bird but did finally hear its song and it was on cat tails at the edge of a small pond about 25 feet from the road. I have photos on my flickr site and a short video and also attaching one photo of the bird as well. This bird has a very white throat and believe it is a female molting into breeding plumage, but since I have only seen this species once before I could be wrong on the sex of this bird! Good Birding! Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/ Subject: Whitman County Rusty Blackbird From: "Terry Gray" <clgtlg AT moscow.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:05:33 -0800 Hi Everyone, I want to thank Richard Johnson for his sighting of the Rusty Blackbird in Whitman County on January 24th. I did not have time to go look for it and was out of town for two days and also a thank you to Bill Davis who emailed me this morning reporting that the bird was still at the same location SW of Pullman along Country Club Road 1.5 miles west of highway 195 on the north side of the the road just past the WSU Swine Center. I checked out this location after lunch today and at first did not see the bird but did finally hear its song and it was on cat tails at the edge of a small pond about 25 feet from the road. I have photos on my flickr site and a short video and also attaching one photo of the bird as well. This bird has a very white throat and believe it is a female molting into breeding plumage, but since I have only seen this species once before I could be wrong on the sex of this bird! Good Birding! Terry Gray 890 Stefany Ln Moscow ID 83843 (208)882-1585 http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryandchristine/_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Another rewarding Okanogan and Waterville Plateau Trip From: khanh tran <khanhbatran AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:07:59 +0000 Hi all, This past weekend, I guided a fine group of Seattle birders to the Okanogan and Waterville Plateau. It was slow birding but the great company, scenery, and quality looks of targeted/lifer birds made it fun! We did great with 6 species of 'hooters and cluckers'. Seeing 6 NORTHERN PYGMY OWLS up close and in less than 5 hours was cool. Running into Scott, Lori and Stan of Yakima at the Sno-Park and ending the evening with a magnificent GREAT GRAY OWL was awesome. My client, Bruce gets the 'Eagle Eyes' award for first spotting the elusive bird in the dark within 5 minutes of arriving at the site. We were more impress of how nonchalant his reaction was for this lifer bird. "Oh, that's a Great Gray Owl". Collective kharma and teamwork rules! Other HIGHLIGHTS included: A extremely, cooperative male WHITE HEADED WOODPECKER eating snow in the Highlands, a NORTHERN PYGMY OWL catching a rodent about 15 feet from us, and two SAGE GROUSE flying over our car. Also, seeing a large, pure flock of SNOW BUNTINGS swirling in the skies is always mesmerizing. Largest flock was about 150 birds. Lastly, a personal high count of 38 GRAY PATRIDGES in two days was fun. A few scant photos: http://www.pbase.com/spruce_grouse/okanogan_winter_&page=all ***********List of species*********** 1 PRAIRIE FALCON (near Toppenish NWR) 3 Golden Eagle (Waterville Plateau and Highlands) 15 Rough-legged Hawks (various morphs) 1 NORTHERN GOSHAWK (Hwy 10 near Cle Elum en route home) 1 GREAT GRAY OWL (Okanogan Highlands- Sno-Park) 2 Great Horned Owl (Okanogan Highlands) 8 NORTHERN PYGMY OWL--(Okanogan Highlands) 1 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL (Bridgeport State Park) 2 SHORT EARED OWL 4 LONG EARED OWL 2 SAGE GROUSE (near Leahy Junction) 38 GRAY PATRIDGE (Okanogan Highlands and town of Waterville) 1 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE (Foster Creek) 8 Ruffed Grouse (Okanogan Highlands) 2 Wild Turkey (Okanogan Highlands) 1 American Dipper (Beaver Lake-Okanogan Highlands) 175 BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Bridgeport State Park) 1 WHITE HEADED WOODPECKER (Okanogan Highland) 10 Northern Shrike (Okanogan Highlands, Waterville Plateau) 20 GRAY-CROWNED ROSYFINCHES--both FORMS (Okanogan Highlands) 200 COMMON REDPOLLS (two flocks on Okanogan Highlands) 2 PINE GROSBEAKS(Okanogan Highlands) 250 SNOW BUNTINGS (3 flocks Okanogan Highlands) Good birding, Khanh Tran www.ktbirding.com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Snowy Owl search From: Fran Haywood <birders13 AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:37:13 -0800 Today was the first free day we had after the recent Snowy Owl sightings, so Brad & I took our daughter looking. We didn't find the bird, just Jim Acton, who said he thinks it is still in the area, somewhere. We did find lots of Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, Horned Larks, and a N Shrike. Along Detour Rd just E of Hwy #231 we had 5 different N Harriers hunting. All were lifers for our daughter, but we dipped on Owls, and Snow Buntings this morning. We spotted a flock of over 50+ C Quail along Rocklyn RD. As a bonus, we spotted a male Kestrel along Hwy #2 on the way home. Most of the flooded fields held large flocks of C Geese, Mallard and Pintail. Chris Janett reported that the Owl was seen Monday. Fran Haywood Spokane WA_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Southeastern Washington birding-Common Redpoll From: "washingtonbirder.Knittle" <washingtonbirder AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:15:13 -0800 Tom Mansfield and I birded Columbia, Garfield, Asotin and Whitman Counties beginning Friday morning at Lyons Ferry Pond which was thawed out and had 3 Gadwalls feeding in it. A quick stop at the mouth of the Tucannon River revealed 1 Horned Grebe. Rosy-Finches were at their usual spot along the cliffs leading to Little Goose Dam. The Snake River was devoid of gulls, which must mean no fish at the present time. We found the Tucannon River Valley pretty dead and only Brown Creepers on Patrick Grade, which is impassable due to pure ice. On Saturday we searched wheat fields for Short-eared Owls east of Dayton without success in part due to rain, fog, and snow. Central Ferry was alive with ducks most of which was Common Goldeneye with the odd Barrow’s mixed in. It was odd to see 1 Pintail mixed in with the large flock of Mallards and goldeneyes, a few American Wigeons, and coots. Many of these were seen on the Whitman Co. side of the Snake River looking south into Garfield County from the grain terminal there. Willow Bar had 100’s of White-crowned Sparrows feeding on the Experimental Fields run by WSU. After a long drive to Lower Granite Dam and continuing to the very end where the Wawawai Grade Rd. heads up the hill and becomes a private road we found a very tame Common Redpoll. I believe this is only the 2’nd Garfield Co. record. In Pomeroy we had 30+ Eurasian Collared-Doves in town. Most were in trees along Hwy 12 on the north side of the hwy. Nisqually John Canyon in Whitman Co. was quiet where 3 weeks before there were Lesser Goldfinch mixed in with American Goldfinch and Pine Siskins. We finished the day by going south of Asotin to Fields Spring State Park in snowing conditions and found a Northern Shrike at Anatone Cemetery singing. Seemed out of place in the wind and snow falling and in the middle of the winter with no sign of spring in sight. Just south of Savage Ponds we had 1 Prairie Falcon and 2 Short-eared Owls and 1 dark Rough-legged Hawk. In Clarkston along the hwy going to Asotin were 7 Eurasian Collared-Doves. Sunday morning before daybreak we heard a Western Screech-Owl calling near the Asotin Creek mouth. At dawn we had many calling Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches at the cliffs west of Clarkston along the hwy. At Chief Timothy WMA we had a flock of about 50 Cedar Waxwings fly overhead. No Bohemians anywhere, even though we kept our ears open for even the faintest high electric notes. Most of the Mt. Ash trees that had lots of fruit a month ago was now stripped and we only saw Starlings and Robins at those trees with fruit still to eat. A quick trip up to Pullman produced Dipper where Diane and Tom Weber told me where to look. We heard one fly as we arrived at Reaney Park near the public swimming pool area along the creek. We found Kamiak Butte fairly dead with the snow. Monday birding south of Dayton up Wolf Fork Rd. we had a small group of Chestnut-backed Chickadees and an young Golden Eagle fly over and 100’s of Wild Turkeys. Makes one wonder how they can find enough to eat during the winter. Ken Knittle Vancouver WA 98665 mailto:washingtonbirder AT hotmail.com Washington Birder online http://www.wabirder.com/ _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Turnbull Trumpeters return From: "Greg Falco" <lister7 AT hughes.net> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:58:20 -0800 01/25/10 Turnbull NWR staff report that Solo, his mate & 3 cygnets have returned to the refuge today. Greg Falco Sprague _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Cackling Geese-Lake CdA, ID From: "Doug Ward" <ward AT revettminerals.com> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:59:47 -0800 Charles beat me to the punch a bit on bestowing the virtues of Lake Coeur d’Alene (Kootenai Co.,ID) this time of the year, but at least my information is fresher by a week – yesterday (Sun., 24 Jan’10). As Charles pointed out, about anything can be expected, and yesterday I was surprised to find 22 CACKLING GEESE mixed in with a plethora of Canadas (both “Greater” & “Lesser” ssp.). Not only that, I had what will probably be 3 different subspecies of Cacklings – “Ridgway’s” (Branta hutchinsii minima), “Richandson’s” or “Taverner’s” (B.h.huchinsii / B.h. taverneri), and “Aleutian” (B.h. leucopareia)!!! I still need to read up again on distribution and identification of the different subspecies, particularly their variability, but there were clearly three different types of Cackling Geese out there. I will be submitting these separately to the Idaho Birds Record Committee (so don’t be jumping me Shirley / Cliff) and will rely largely on a North American Birds article titled “Distribution and Identification of Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) Subspecies” (Vol.62; 2008) which Charles had forwarded around last year. The birds were feeding / resting on the ice with about 750 Canadas (~500 “Greater” & ~250 “Lesser”) just off of the BLM access on Cougar Bay; which by the way is a good place to view waterfowl and gulls here. This access is on HW 95 about ½ - ¾ of a mile north of Cougar Gulch road. I could hear the Cackling Geese calling amongst the Canadas as I walked out to the beach. The pair of “Ridgway’s” were unmistakable by their tiny size and very dark coloration. The “Richardson’s”/ “Taverner’s” were a bit tougher as their plumage (medium brown with pale chests) was much closer to that of the “Lesser” Canadas present, but their slightly smaller size and distinctive thick necks and short, stubby bills, made them noticeable – don’t try too hard, they actually standout pretty well; if you’re struggling to decide, you’re probably looking at a Canada. The lone “Aleutian”, if I decide to stay with that identification, was with a couple of “Richardson’s”/ “Taverner’s” for direct comparison. It was about the same size, had a slightly rounder head, but was noticeably different as it was dark brown, had a very dark chest with a broad white half collar at the base of the neck. All-in-all, this was a lot of fun and a good way to study comparatively these superficially similar species. As for the rest of the birds there on Sunday (24 Jan.’10), here’s my list: CACKLING GOOSE - 2 “Cackling” - 19 “Richardson’s”/“Taverner’s” - 1 “Aleutian” Canada Goose - 500 “Greater” ssp. - 250 “Lesser” ssp. Mallard - 50 Canvasback - 2m Redhead - 10 Ring-necked Duck - 10 Lesser Scaup - 5 Bufflehead - 20 Common Goldeneye - 30 RED-BREASTED MERGANSER -1m Pied-billed Grebe - 5 Dbl-crested Cormorant - 25 Great Blue Heron - 3 Bald Eagle - 1 1st Year American Coot - 50 Ring-billed Gull - 30 California Gull - 2 Herring Gull - 5 As Charles indicated, a trip around Lake Coeur d’Alene between late fall and early spring can yield some interesting finds. Please let me know (ward AT revettminerals.com) if you’d like some further directions. Good Birding, Doug Doug Ward VP of Corporate Development Revett Minerals Inc. 11115 E Montgomery; Suite G Spokane Valley, WA 99206 USA Office: 1 (509) 921-2294 Mobile: 1 (208) 755-1612 Email: ward AT revettminerals.com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Re: Coeur d'Alene area lists, 1/17-18/2010 From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:28:56 -0800 I forget to mention Fighting Creek landfill and adjacent areas such as the Elk farm (which also had Rusty Blackbird(s) once). -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Coeur d'Alene area lists, 1/17-18/2010 From: Charles Swift <chaetura AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:13:49 -0800 A bit late but here below are my lists from last weekend from the Coeur d'Alene area (not including the North Idaho College beach report from the evening of 1/17). Lake Coeur d'Alene has long been known as the best gull spot in north Idaho but has received relatively little attention recently. I suspect a circuit trip should regularly produce 5 species of gulls in the winter months and perhaps even 6 or 7 in a good year. Possible uncommon gull species include Mew, Thayer's, Glaucous-winged, Glaucous, Lesser Black-backed (for which there is 1 record), and of course interesting hybrids and who knows?? Interesting waterfowl are also possible including all the expected loon species (there are several records of Yellow-billed, mostly in the Harrison area). Access points in addition to those mentioned include Conkling Park, Mica Bay, the Harrison area and various other east side bays w/ varied amounts of water access. thanks, Charles. Location:     Lake Coeur d'Alene -- Cougar Bay Observation date:     1/17/10 Notes:     Quick stop at marina on north side of Spokane R. outlet. A nice variety of waterbirds including a bunch of DC Cormorants and a couple nice, drake Red-breasted Mergansers. Number of species:     15 Canada Goose     50 Mallard     20 Ring-necked Duck     1 Lesser Scaup     4 Bufflehead     30 Barrow's Goldeneye     1 Common Merganser     2 Red-breasted Merganser     2 Pied-billed Grebe     1 Horned Grebe     1 Red-necked Grebe     1 Double-crested Cormorant     50 Great Blue Heron     2 Bald Eagle     1 American Coot     100 Location:     Wolf Lodge Bay Observation date:     1/18/10 Notes:     Covered the east end of Wolf Lodge Bay for ~1 hour on the way to Lookout Pass for skiing. A nice variety of birds including 2 uncommon gull species. Number of species:     18 Canada Goose     100 Ring-necked Duck     13 Lesser Scaup     7 Bufflehead     15 Common Goldeneye     2 Common Merganser     15 Horned Grebe     5 Red-necked Grebe     2 Western Grebe     2 Double-crested Cormorant     2 Bald Eagle     1 Mew Gull     1 Ring-billed Gull     20 California Gull     5 Herring Gull     5 Thayer's Gull     1 Belted Kingfisher     1 Common Raven     1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) -- Charles Swift Moscow, ID chaetura AT gmail.com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Idaho birding sites From: Brendan Graham <b.graham AT uleth.ca> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:01:51 -0600 Hi, I am a graduate student at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta currently working on my MSc project studying birds. This summer we are going to be banding birds in Idaho and I was hoping some people might be able to provide advice about areas to catch birds. We are focusing on catching Black-capped Chickadees, Gray Jays and Hairy Woodpeckers. We are looking to catch these birds in the panhandle area and I am hoping that I won't have to go much further south to find them....as we have a busy summer ahead of us. We will probably be in Idaho by late June to early July. For the woodpeckers we have had good success catching them at bird feeders and I am hoping that I might be able to find some people willing to let us mist-net birds at their feeders. Last summer we visted 15 to 20 feeders and got to meet alot of really nice people and they all got the chance to see the birds up close. We are looking at genetics and so we are taking small blood samples from the birds. Last summer we safely banded over 600 birds and we take a few small drops of blood and use an uninvasive method to take blood from the bird. I am also looking for advice on where to look for Gray Jays because they are really tricky to find and can be very difficult to catch even when you find them. I am hoping that I might be able to find a ski hill or a park where they tend to hang out looking for food as these birds tend to be less shy than some of the birds in the forest and are easier to draw over to the nets. Any help, assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated as right now I am trying to figure out the best places to llok for these birds. Thanks Brendan Lethbridge, AB_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Idaho birding sites From: Brendan Graham <alan2 AT sasktel.net> Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:26:32 -0600 Hi, I am a graduate student at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta currently working on my MSc project studying birds. This summer we are going to be banding birds in Idaho and I was hoping some people might be able to provide advice about areas to catch birds. We are focusing on catching Black-capped Chickadees, Gray Jays and Hairy Woodpeckers. We are looking to catch these birds in the panhandle area and I am hoping that I won't have to go much further south to find them....as we have a busy summer ahead of us. We will probably be in Idaho by late June to early July. For the woodpeckers we have had good success catching them at bird feeders and I am hoping that I might be able to find some people willing to let us mist-net birds at their feeders. Last summer we visted 15 to 20 feeders and got to meet alot of really nice people and they all got the chance to see the birds up close. We are looking at genetics and so we are taking small blood samples from the birds. Last summer we safely banded over 600 birds and we take a few small drops of blood and use an uninvasive method to take blood from the bird. I am also looking for advice on where to look for Gray Jays because they are really tricky to find and can be very difficult to catch even when you find them. I am hoping that I might be able to find a ski hill or a park where they tend to hang out looking for food as these birds tend to be less shy than some of the birds in the forest and are easier to draw over to the nets. Any help, assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated as right now I am trying to figure out the best places to llok for these birds. Thanks Brendan Lethbridge, AB_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Whitman County From: "Roger D. Woodruff" <rdwoodruff AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:34:17 -0800 Yesterday near Tekoa I found at least 200 Bohemian Waxwings from the north end of town and for about 3/4 of a mile along the creek "flycatching" from the trees. 20 Red Crossbills were noted in flight and at least 200 American Robins were foraging at various places around the neighborhoods. Roger Woodruff Spokane_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Garfield County From: "Roger D. Woodruff" <rdwoodruff AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:28:34 -0800 On this almost spring-like mid-winter day with a high temperature of 48 at Central Ferry, I spent some time in Garfield County to shore up my pitiful list! Highlights included an assortment of waterfowl at Central Ferry: Lesser and Greater Scaup (3), Common Goldeneye, Ring-necked Duck, Western, Horned, and Pied-billed Grebe, and Bufflehead. An adult Bald Eagle caught a very large fish and labored up the side of the ridge to feast. At Hastings Bar there was a Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, and large flocks of White-cr. Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Winged Blackbirds among others. 3 Rough-legged Hawks and one Northern Shrike along Kuhl Ridge Road and south of Pomeroy were noted. In the Umatilla National Forest near the Sno Park south of Pomeroy (with about 6 inches of fresh snow) were Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Mountain Chickadee, and Golden-cr. Kinglet. A total of 43 species were seen. Roger Woodruff Spokane_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: WOS Wenatchee Conference Information Now on the Web From: "Scott Downes" <downess AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:43:47 -0800 As those of you who are WOS (Washington Ornithological Society) members know, the latest newsletter has the registration information for the upcoming WOS June Conference. The information is also now on the website: wos.org. Be sure to check it out. The conference is based out of the Red Lion Wenatchee, June 11-14, 2010. Registration will begin on April 1! I wanted to highlight some items of interest, for what I think will be a very interesting and fun conference. There are a total of 38 daytime field trip and 5 night field trips (including three going-home trips) to a diverse area including Lake Chelan, Lake Wenatchee, Waterville Plateau, Colockum Pass, Blewett Pass, Beezley Hills and many places in-between. There is a link for discounted rate rooms through the Red Lion on the wos.org website. These rooms are discounted 10.00 a room from their normal rate. Only the double queen rooms have refrigerator and microwave. It is peak season in the area. A few special things happening at Wenatchee will be the sale of T-shirts drawn by local artist Heather Murphy featuring a white-headed woodpecker in watercolor. She is also leading a field sketching workshop on Saturday afternoon for those that want to improve their field sketching abilities. Some birders don't have photo equipment available, or not all birds can be photographed and thus field sketching becomes a very useful tool to document rare birds. The Wenatchee area is home to a diverse array of owls, including the Spotted Owl. WOS and the USFS believes that calling and spotlighting Spotted Owls at night could cause harm to this species already under various pressures, so the two groups have come to an agreement; the Friday Blewett Pass trip will visit a Spotted Owl territory under the supervision of the USFS biologist and participate in a formal check of the birds during daylight period. Night trips will not target spotted owl. This will avoid further stress to Spotted Owls and will allow some WOS members the chance to get good looks at this rare species! Friday night the Washington Bird Records Committee (WBRC) will do an encore from their Kelso performance, this time focusing on how to find and identify some of the vagrants that routinely show up in Washington. If you've wondered how to target certain places at certain times of the years to look for vagrants or what identification features allow one to pick a stint out of a mudflat full of peeps or a vagrant warbler out of a cottonwood full of regular Wilson's and yellow-rumped; the committee will enlighten you! Saturday evening banquet speech will be given by Ken Bevis who is a wonderful speaker and a long-time habitat biologist with WDFW. He will focus on habitats of North Central Washington; an area that has some of the most diverse habitats in the state as the field trip offerings will allude to. His presentation will be accompanied by photographers by Teri Pieper. There have been some minor changes in leaders since the field trip printing in the newsletter went out; check the website for the latest info. We hope to see many of you there in June. The Board, especially myself and Dan Stephens have worked hard to bring the very best in fieldtrip leadership and locations to the conference and we hope everyone who comes to Wenatchee will fully enjoy themselves. A WOS conference has never occurred in the greater Wenatchee area and the area in early summer is a wonderful place to visit. Scott Downes downess AT charter.net Yakima WA_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Pend Oreille County Today (1/24) From: "Isacoff, Jonathan" <isacoff AT gonzaga.edu> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:55:07 -0800 Today Tim O'Brien and I went to check out what's going on in Southern Pend Oreille County. The day started off nicely with 2 ROUGHED GROUSE about 30 feet up in a Willlow tree doing their best Sharp-tailed imitations. Scotia Valley was slow other than hundreds of TURKEYS in large flocks and seveal BALD EAGLES. One notable exception were 6 WILSON'S SNIPE in a pond just off Scotia Road. At Davis Lake, we pished 2 CANYON WRENS among the cliffs along the road. Also present were 3 species of Chickadee. Calispell Lake was quiet in terms of numbers/diversity but noisy with hundreds of CANADA GEESE enjoying the rare snowless fields for grazing. With one flock of geese we picked up 18 TUNDRA SWANS. Along the North end of the Lake we picked up RED-BREASTED, WHITE-BREASTED, and PYGMY NUTHATCH, BROWN CREEPER (which I missed eating a sandwich in the car), GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, 3 species of Chickadee, FLICKER, and DOWNY and PILEATED WOODPECKERS. In the fields and poles around the lake were several Red-tailed Hawks and Bald Eagles, and one ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, a tough bird to find in Pend Oreille. In the towns of Cusick and Usk we a nice flock of PYGMY NUTHATCHES, Song Sparrows. Juncos. House and Goldfinches, and many Geese, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Commmon Mergansers in the River. Along with the typical waterfowl were 2 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, 1 RING-NECKED DUCK, and several HOODED MERGANSERS. Perhaps most odd was a ROUGHED GROUSE hanging out in a yard on River Road in the more developed part of town. Not bad for a yard bird if you only have a 1/4 acre yard! We finished the day with an AMERICAN DIPPER, which let out with it's full song several times, along North Eloika Creek. Of note was the total absence of all species of Finch (except House and Goldfinch) and either type of Waxwing. Even Cassin's, Red Crossbill, and Pine Siskin were absent. We've note similar lacks at common locations around Spokane and Lincoln Counties (save a few Red Crossbills here and there). I'm guessing either a poor Mountain Ash and Cone crop here or a very good one in Canada or most likely, both, have kept many birds North of the border. Good birding, Jon www.flickr.com/photos/isacoff _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Whitman and Stevens Counties From: "Terry Little" <terry AT crossoverchurch.info> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:16:50 -0500 Hello, Over the past few days, I spent some time birding in Whitman (Friday) and Stevens (Saturday morning) Counties. Notable birds in Whitman County included a Downy Woodpecker at Steptoe Butte and both Western Screech and N Saw Whet Owls in Wawawai County Park. In Stevens County - Waitt's Lake to be more specific, I had N Shrike, N Rough Legged Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, N Goshawk, N Harrier, Gray and Steller's Jays, all three chickadees and nuthatches, Pileated Woodpecker. Also a Canyon Wren near Chewelah. This morning, I found a Merlin and a Winter Wren at Eloika Lake (Spokane County). Blessings Terry Little Mead, Wa _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Rusty Blackbird in Whitman County From: Richard Johnson <johnsonre AT wsu.edu> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:54:10 -0800 Inlanders, This afternoon (Jan 24) at about 2:30 PM today I saw a Rusty Blackbird SW of Pullman city limits, W of US 195, along Country Club Rd (see DeLorme Atlas, p. 57), just past the WSU Swine Center, but on the opposite (i.e., north) side of the road. I viewed it for about ten minutes. It had a rusty crown, lower back (rump?) was bluish in the right angle in bright sunlight this afternoon, a broad light buffy eyebrow line contrasting with the rest of the side of the head, light buffy breast, nearly white chin. It was alone; not mixed in with Brewer's (which weren't seen in the area). It was first seen from the car, and easily seen from the road in short grass and on top of cattail that surround a very small pond hidden from the cattails. Hopefully others will have a chance to see it before it moves on. This is the first time I've seen one in the Pullman area, and it may be a first record for the county. As I was typing this an inland-nw-birder message came in from the Denny's saying they saw one today at the poop piles near Wallula in Walla Walla Co.! Maybe the species is moving northward now, perhaps due to the mild weather. Dick Dr. Richard E. Johnson School of Biological Sciences & Conner Museum Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4236 _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Rusty Blackbird From: "Mike and MerryLynn" <m.denny AT charter.net> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:38:08 -0800 Hello all, We lucked out today at the poop piles north of Wallula - stopped to look and almost the first bird we saw was a Rusty Blackbird - finally - after looking several times this month! #115 for our county year list. In among 300 Brewer's and 50 Redwings. This is not the big flock we have had there - no Yellowheads or Tricoloreds. Chummed for gulls several places but nothing different - even at the Yakima River Delta - no Glaucous or LBBG. Walla Walla River delta had 28 Dunlin and 2 Least Sandpipers - and hunters. Casey pond had 10 swans - all with heads tucked on backs. McNary is completely thawed and lots of waterfowl moving in - can't wait until hunting season is over!! Ice Harbor Dam waterfowl numbers were waaay down - only 3 Common Mergs and 50 Common Goldeneyes. And one Prairie Falcon on the way in. There were 17 Great Blue Herons below Ice Harbor Dam and another 20 at MP300 pond. The Bald Eagle roost across from Tyson had 28 - last year at this time it held 50. Just too many hunters and nice weather. Later, MerryLynn .................................................................................. Mike and MerryLynn Denny Birding the beautiful Walla Walla Valley If you have not birded, you have not lived _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Snowy Owl Lincoln Co. (Ron Dexter) From: "RON & PAT DEXTER" <ronpatdexter AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:12:15 -0800 This morning at 10:30 am I found the immature Snowy Owl reported by JIm Acton. It was on a pole 1/2 way between Zeimer and Omans Rd on Morrison Rd a few miles east of Davenport. After about 15 minutes, it spotted a male Northern Harrier hunting in a field to the SE and flew out to observe closer. It landed on a fence post, then jumped down onto a stack of logs. The Harrier on a nearby fencepost flew up and dove at the owl a few times, apparently upset with the intrusion into it's hunting spot. When I left an hour later, the owl was still there, but down along side of the logs, perhaps to get out of the wind. On the way there, I saw a lone Snow Bunting in the center of the road a hundred yards south of the intersection of Jannett and MOrrison. Ron Dexter Spokane, Wa. Email: (Ronpatdexter AT msn.com)_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Mill Canyon and Mondovi From: Fran Haywood <birders13 AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:14:09 -0800 Joyce Alonso and Jan Reynolds joined me on a trip to West Plains and down Mill Canyon on Friday. We started with a Bald Eagle along hwy 2 just west of Airway Heights. We found our first N Shrike singing on Bisson Rd. We watched a N Harrier attack a Red-tailed Hawk here,also. Other birds noted: Snow Buntings (2) on Old Sunset Hwy just E of Mondovi, in a flock of Horned Lark. Rough Legged Hawk nearby. A Kestrel in Mondovi. Mill Canyon: Black-capped and Mt Chickadee, Pygmy, White-breasted, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Bewick's Wren. BB Magpie, Downy Woodpecker. Bald and Golden Eagle. White-headed Woodpecker calling from the hillside above the cabins, but we didn't see it, or the Clark's Nutcrackers also calling. Duck Species: Mallard, Bufflehead, C Goldeneye, Canvasback, L Scaup, Ring-necked duck, Also, Pied-billed Grebe, Ame Coot, and C Geese. Several Rough-legged Hawks and a couple of Red-tailed rounded out the day, with Horned Larks everywhere. A possible Say's Phoebe on Old Kuks Rd at the intersection with Rocklyn Rd. A beautiful day with good company, but one day early for the Snowy Owl . Fran Haywood, Spokane WA_______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: One more addition - Cackling Geese near Aero road pond From: "Tim O'Brien" <kertim7179 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:12:04 -0800 (PST) Sorry, forgot to mention that I spotted at least six Cackling Geese with Canadas this afternoon south of the Aero Road pond (I-90 exit 272). They were near the golf course. The contrast in size was easily noticed along with the shorter bills. There are quite a few large flocks of Canada Geese around so be on the lookout! Tim O'Brien Cheney, WA mailto: kertim7179 AT yahoo dot com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: An afternoon with owls - Snowy, Great Horned, Short-eared (Lincoln/Spokane Co.) From: "Tim O'Brien" <kertim7179 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:04:53 -0800 (PST) This afternoon, my wife and I headed out to follow up on Jim Acton's Snowy Owl report near Davenport. As we approached the previously reported location, we easily found the Snowy Owl on top of an utility pole. It posed nicely for a couple quick photos. Moving on, we headed for the Spring Creek cemetery to search the trees for small owls. We flushed a Great Horned Owl out of the one the trees there and ended our search with seeing that bird. Lastly, it was getting dark so with the recent report of active Short-eared Owls in the southwest part of Spokane County, I had to try the fields along Coulee Hite Road and MacFarlane Road on the West Plains. We scanned the fields with no luck, but then stepped out of the truck to listen and instantly could hear at least two Short-eared Owls. Luckily, one buzzed over our heads while we were listening. Also, it was interesting to hear Horned Larks singing as it was getting dark. There were also two groups of low-flying birds that could have been either Pheasants or Partridges, but it was too dark to tell. Another Great Horned Owl could be heard hooting in the distance here, too. It was a great afternoon! A photo of the Snowy Owl can been seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/red_knot/ Tim O'Brien Cheney, WA mailto: kertim7179 AT yahoo dot com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Lincoln Snowy correction From: "Greg Falco" <lister7 AT hughes.net> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:30:49 -0800 Evidently I got the road wrong on the previous post. It's at Morrison & Ohlwein Rd. (Oman is fairly close). (1/2 mile east of Chris's house.) Greg Falco Sprague _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders Subject: Lincoln Co Snowy From: "Greg Falco" <lister7 AT hughes.net> Date: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:23:06 -0800 01/23/10 James Acton found a "new" immature SNOWY OWL SE of Davenport at Morrison (Detour) and Omans Rd. This has been a heavily birded area. For a new owl to appear makes me wonder if it came from the north or south. More likely it just moved a few miles. Greg Falco Sprague _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list Inland-nw-birders AT uidaho.edu https://www.lists.uidaho.edu/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders