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Nest box wedged under A/C outside my office at UI. Violet-green Swallow young looking out of nest box waiting for its next meal.
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Bird observations and notes on natural history from the eastern Palouse region of north-central Idaho and eastern Washington.
The VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS nesting outside my office window here at the UI are fledging. At least one of 2 young is making forays outside the
nest box (which is wedged under a window air conditioner unit). This
is one pair of a small colony of VG Swallows that nests every year on
the east side of my building. The window ledges, nooks and crannies,
and 3-4 story height make a very passable immitation of the cliff/rock
outcrop habitats that this species often uses in more natural setting.
Based on past years experience, these birds will leave very quickly
once all the young in the group are fledgled. This is often by early
July so I would not be surprised if they are gone by the time I return
from a short 4th of July vacation. From here I presume they move on to
some summer congregating area to feed and fatten up before they
actually migrate later in the summer.
Also at our MAPS station on 6/24 east of Moscow, we banded our first
fledgling Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. We also had a family of
5 Black-capped Chickadees fly into one of our nets which as other
banders may relate is somewhat of a nightmare (chickadees can be
difficult to get out of the nets).
I found (i.e. heard) a GRASSHOPPER SPARROW on Hubbard Gulch Rd. this
morning on stop 30 of my 4th (and final!) BBS route of the year.
Hubbard Gulch Rd. runs north from River Rd. along the Clearwater R.,
best accessed by the Lenore bridge to the east. The bird was singing
from a small weedy field dominated by teasle. The location is < 1 mile
up Hubbard Gulch Rd. across from the mailbox painted with "Jesus Loves
You".It may be possible to see with some patience.
This species seems to like a bit of vertical sructure in its grassy
patches in the form of scattered weeds or small shrubs. This type of
habitat is hard to come by in Latah and Nez Perce Cos. I've had them
twice on my Joel BBS and know of one other location east of Moscow
(which I checked on my way home to no avail).
Other birds of interest in Hubbard Gulch included YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
and many of the other species typically found in this shrubby habitat.
Back on 6/12 I reported a Least Flycactcher from the bottom of Coyote
Grade in Nez Perce Co. For a variety of reasons I felt a bit
uncomfortable with this call and an experience this morning clinched
it for me. Along my BBS I had a Western Flycatcher giving the down
slurred portion of its call incessantly, but I knew it was a WEFL as
after some time it included other parts of its song as well.
I am now almost certain this is what I heard on 6/12 at the bottom of
Coyote Grade. The location, shade trees around a farm house, is much
better for WEFL in our area. I've found them in these settings
somewhat regularly in June. Also this bird did not quite give the dry
che-bek call of the LEFL although it was suggestive. (Hammond's
Flycatcher also sometimes gives the first part of its song, a 2-parted
call somewhat suggestive of Least FC).
It is important to retract this as this would have indicated further
range expansion of this species which so far seems to be not expanding
in northern ID south of Lake Coeur d'Alene (and now I believe this is
still the case!).
This is why I believe this happened:
1 - It was 4:40 AM (!)
2 - I only listened for about 20 seconds from the car
3 - wishful thinking, the L-C Valley seems a likely location for this
expanding species
Anyway, better to be safe, I think we'll know if/when they expand into our area.
We made a quick trip over to Buckley, WA on 6/21 and back on 6/22. We
returned crossing the Cascades at Chinook Pass near Mt. Rainier and then
from Yakima to Othello via Vernita Bridge over the Columbia R. along the
Hanford Reach. We had limited time but made a few quick stops along the way
noting birds of interest. There was steady rain west of the Cascades and an
impressive wind storm w/ attendant dark clouds across the Columbia Basin.
The tail winds were such that I think I got record gas mileage!
Buckley, WA - enjoyed watching the local (pugetensis) sub-species of
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW nesting near my sister-in-law's house and feeding in
the yard. They have an interesting song, recognizable as a WHITE-CROWNED but
quite different from the "gambelii" sub-species that migrate through and
winter here the interior. Also present were SPOTTED TOWHEES including
juveniles and nesting CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES. I would have done some
more birding around here except for the steady rain all morning.
Upon leaving, we drove east on 410 across Chinook Pass and north of Mt.
Rainier which was completely invisible in the clouds. Not far east of
Chinook Pass we entered the rain shadow and it was dry most of the way home.
We stopped at Cliffdell along the Naches R. for some lunch at Whistlin Jack
Lodge and did a bit of birding around the lodge finding the following:
Calliope Hummingbird
Vaux's Swift
Barn Swallow
Hammond's Flycatcher
Pacific-slope ("Western") Flycatcher - sounding very much like the WEFL in
our area
Western Wood-Pewee
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Pine Siskin
Further along the Naches R. in the dryer canyon country I had 2 LEWIS'S
WOODPECKERS fly across the road.
Heading east from Yakima over Rt. 24 we drove through all the Hops Farms and
orchards to Vernita Bridge at the Columbia River's Hanford Reach (and west
entrance of the Hanford DOE Site). We stopped at the rest area here and did
a bit of birding enjoying the gusty winds and ominous sky backdropped by dry
sagebrush hills. Birds here were:
Killdeer
Cliff Swallow - huge swarm over the river, probably nesting around the
bridge
Bank Swallow
Common Nighthwak
Western Kingbird - at least several pairs nesting in the trees here, very
noisy and obvious
American Crow
American Robin
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
The rest of the way home was uneventful with few birds seen (mostly
Red-tailed Hawks etc.) although we felt like we were being chased by the
unsettled weather all the way back to Moscow.
I had a LEAST FLYCATCHER Sunday morning, singing incessantly at the bottom of Coyote Grade Rd. This was between stops 1 and 2 of my "Joel" BBS route so I didn't really have much time to check it out. It was in shade trees around the farm house right at the bottom of the grade near where is intersects U.S. 12 (east of Lewiston along theClearwater River). Be aware that there are dogs around the farm house that will create a commotion if you go looking for this bird. Other species of interest along the bottom few miles of Coyote Grade:
** note: this is a species which appears to be expanding rapidly in the inland northwest
In addition to banding I've seen/heard a few birds of interest the past couple days as follows:
6/1 -Bloom Meadows (Clearwater Co., ID)
Vassar Meadows (northeast of Deary, ID)
6/2 -Moose Ck Reservoir