Just catching up on a few things:
On Tuesday, 1/27 I did a winter bird survey on private property along the Snake R. south of Lewiston which I will report on later (hopefully!). Afterwards I did a bit of birding around Mann Lake, Nez Perce Co., ID. It was frozen and fairly quiet but I found 3 Rough-legged Hawks, a "singing" immature Northern Shrike, and many hundreds of Horned Larks (both white and yellow faced forms). I searched the Horned Larks but could not find any buntings of longspurs however the weather was deteriorating making viewing difficult. The biggest group was near the intersection of Lapwai (also called Soldiers Canyon Rd.) and Wagner Rd. (It occurred to me that it would be worth searching Lewiston for winter finches but I didn't have time, I was thinking the area around LCSC would be worth a look.)
On returning home to Moscow I heard the familiar cheedle calls of Pine Grosbeaks. I also flushed a Mourning Dove from my yard which I consider to be a sign a spring as they are very early nesters and we often get one and then later 2 (a pair I presume) later in January.
On the morning of 1/28 while heading out the door I heard a singke White-winged Crossbill fly by - they have been reported over the past few days from my neighborhood but this is first for my yard (so a new yard bird!).
thanks, Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Moscow Pine Grosbeak update, 1/26/09
I had ~45 Pine Grosbeaks on my walk into work this morning (on a sub-zero degree but beautifully clear morning!). There was a group of ~25 grosbeaks (including at least 1 nice adult male) at the intersection of 7th & Adams, many of which were feeding on a deciduous tree w/ bunches of dry, hanging seeds. I had PIGR on a similar tree in a different part of town several weeks ago. Still haven't figured out what kind of tree this is - I'll try to get a photo next time - it's probably an ornamental of some kind. I also had a group of ~20 Pine Grosbeaks in the tops of spruces just outside my building on the central part of the UI Campus.
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Saturday, January 24, 2009
more Moscow WW Crossbills, 1/24/09
Hi All -
I had a nice walk around my neighborhood this morning with loads of birds. A flock of mostly White-winged Crossbills flew over and landed briefly just south of 6th & Lincoln Sts. There were at least 30 probably more, most White-winged by calls but at least 1 Red Crossbill by call and brief views. These birds were on the move. I estimated 700 A. Robins in a many roving flocks near Blaine & 7th Streets. Also a pair of Bewick's Wrens on Lynn St.
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
I had a nice walk around my neighborhood this morning with loads of birds. A flock of mostly White-winged Crossbills flew over and landed briefly just south of 6th & Lincoln Sts. There were at least 30 probably more, most White-winged by calls but at least 1 Red Crossbill by call and brief views. These birds were on the move. I estimated 700 A. Robins in a many roving flocks near Blaine & 7th Streets. Also a pair of Bewick's Wrens on Lynn St.
Charles.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <do-not-reply@ebird.org>
Date: Sat, Jan 24, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Subject: eBird Report - Moscow - Southeast (south of 1st Street) , 1/24/09
To: chaetura@gmail.com
Location: Moscow - Southeast (south of 1st Street)
Observation date: 1/24/09
Notes: Walking loop south and east across Blaine and then back on 7th. and Lynn. Robins & waxwings were mostly east of Blaine. Pine Grosbeaks were in several locations. Crossbill flock flew over and landed briefly just south of 6th & Lincoln - at least 30 mostly White-winged by call and brief views but with at least a few Red Crossbills mixed in.
Number of species: 18
California Quail 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Northern Flicker 2
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Bewick's Wren 2
American Robin 500
European Starling 10
Bohemian Waxwing 100
Cedar Waxwing 10
Dark-eyed Junco 8
Pine Grosbeak 17
House Finch 20
Red Crossbill 1
White-winged Crossbill 30
Pine Siskin 2
House Sparrow X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
From: <do-not-reply@ebird.org>
Date: Sat, Jan 24, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Subject: eBird Report - Moscow - Southeast (south of 1st Street) , 1/24/09
To: chaetura@gmail.com
Location: Moscow - Southeast (south of 1st Street)
Observation date: 1/24/09
Notes: Walking loop south and east across Blaine and then back on 7th. and Lynn. Robins & waxwings were mostly east of Blaine. Pine Grosbeaks were in several locations. Crossbill flock flew over and landed briefly just south of 6th & Lincoln - at least 30 mostly White-winged by call and brief views but with at least a few Red Crossbills mixed in.
Number of species: 18
California Quail 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Northern Flicker 2
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Bewick's Wren 2
American Robin 500
European Starling 10
Bohemian Waxwing 100
Cedar Waxwing 10
Dark-eyed Junco 8
Pine Grosbeak 17
House Finch 20
Red Crossbill 1
White-winged Crossbill 30
Pine Siskin 2
House Sparrow X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Moscow update - Pine Grosbeaks, White-winged Crossbill, American Robins, 1/24/09
Hi All -
Plenty of Pine Grosbeaks around town still - hardly worth commenting on anymore! Anytime I walk at least a few blocks I run into some. Yesterday I had them at several locations on the east side of Moscow and on the UI Campus near the admin. bldg. At the 7th & Hayes location mentioned by Nancy Miller I had a flyover White-winged Crossbill on the 23rd - this is only several blocks from my house but I haven't detected any for my yard list yet. There are also *lots* of American Robins around Moscow right now - certainly many hundreds if not more. On Thursday I had ~250 robins feeding on frozen crab apples near the UI Music School, yesterday I had several hundred fly over my house and several hundred more at 7th & Hayes. Still no major invasion of Bohemian Waxwings yet although there have been some flocks of several hundred around (major invasions bring several thousand into the area).
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Plenty of Pine Grosbeaks around town still - hardly worth commenting on anymore! Anytime I walk at least a few blocks I run into some. Yesterday I had them at several locations on the east side of Moscow and on the UI Campus near the admin. bldg. At the 7th & Hayes location mentioned by Nancy Miller I had a flyover White-winged Crossbill on the 23rd - this is only several blocks from my house but I haven't detected any for my yard list yet. There are also *lots* of American Robins around Moscow right now - certainly many hundreds if not more. On Thursday I had ~250 robins feeding on frozen crab apples near the UI Music School, yesterday I had several hundred fly over my house and several hundred more at 7th & Hayes. Still no major invasion of Bohemian Waxwings yet although there have been some flocks of several hundred around (major invasions bring several thousand into the area).
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Monday, January 19, 2009
Fwd: Moscow White-winged Crossbill & Pine Grobseaks, 1/19/09
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Subject: Moscow White-winged Crossbill & Pine Grobseaks, 1/19/09
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
Cc: IBLE <ible@yahoogroups.com>, David Trochlell <dtrochlell@verizon.net>
Hi All -
Along the lines of other reports, I found a female White-winged Crossbill on the east side Moscow this afternoon. It was at the top of a spruce tree near the intersection of Homestead & Moore Street in the Ft Russell district of Moscow (east side of town north of East City Park). After I got a good look at its wing bars It flew off to the west. I initially heard the harsh jip notes and suspected WW Crossbill and was ecstatic to get a good look at the bird before it flew. I had another 4 crossbills fly by that could have also been White-wings.
I also had a flock of ~10 Pine Grosbeaks feeding on a Crab Apple on the west side of East City Park and heard several others elsewhere. (Pine Grosbeaks have now been around Moscow since at least Friday, Jan. 9.) In this same area on the edge of E. City Park I had ~300 Bohemian Waxings on Friday (1/16). Also yesterday I had a Bewick's Wren singing near the house.
I don't think I ever would have imagined seeing Pine Grobeaks and a White-winged Crossbill on the same day within a few blocks of my house!
thanks,
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Subject: Moscow White-winged Crossbill & Pine Grobseaks, 1/19/09
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
Cc: IBLE <ible@yahoogroups.com>, David Trochlell <dtrochlell@verizon.net>
Hi All -
Along the lines of other reports, I found a female White-winged Crossbill on the east side Moscow this afternoon. It was at the top of a spruce tree near the intersection of Homestead & Moore Street in the Ft Russell district of Moscow (east side of town north of East City Park). After I got a good look at its wing bars It flew off to the west. I initially heard the harsh jip notes and suspected WW Crossbill and was ecstatic to get a good look at the bird before it flew. I had another 4 crossbills fly by that could have also been White-wings.
I also had a flock of ~10 Pine Grosbeaks feeding on a Crab Apple on the west side of East City Park and heard several others elsewhere. (Pine Grosbeaks have now been around Moscow since at least Friday, Jan. 9.) In this same area on the edge of E. City Park I had ~300 Bohemian Waxings on Friday (1/16). Also yesterday I had a Bewick's Wren singing near the house.
I don't think I ever would have imagined seeing Pine Grobeaks and a White-winged Crossbill on the same day within a few blocks of my house!
thanks,
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Palouse, WA Pine Grosbeaks, 1/11/09
Hi again -
More Pine Grosbeaks today this time a flock of ~15 in the town of Palouse in eastern Whitman Co. I kind of had a feeling that Palouse would be a good place to look for them being fairly close to Latah Co. Idaho and therefore fairly close to forest. Although Pine Grosbeaks are showing up widely in suburban areas they are still mostly in or close to forested areas. It will be interesting to see if they do show up further west into the Columbia basin. I found this flock just by driving through town w/ windows down listening for birds. They were on the north side of Palouse near the intersection of Beach & Mohr Streets.
Also in the area were a couple Rough-legged Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, and a bunch of robins among others. At the Palouse Cemetery on the south side of town I found a Bewick's Wren among others. On the way home along the Palouse R. on N. River Rd. I found an adult Bald Eagle just into Latah Co.flying down the river and then later standing in a flooded field. There was a lot of standing water in fields along the Palouse R. but no ducks.
thanks, Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
More Pine Grosbeaks today this time a flock of ~15 in the town of Palouse in eastern Whitman Co. I kind of had a feeling that Palouse would be a good place to look for them being fairly close to Latah Co. Idaho and therefore fairly close to forest. Although Pine Grosbeaks are showing up widely in suburban areas they are still mostly in or close to forested areas. It will be interesting to see if they do show up further west into the Columbia basin. I found this flock just by driving through town w/ windows down listening for birds. They were on the north side of Palouse near the intersection of Beach & Mohr Streets.
Also in the area were a couple Rough-legged Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, and a bunch of robins among others. At the Palouse Cemetery on the south side of town I found a Bewick's Wren among others. On the way home along the Palouse R. on N. River Rd. I found an adult Bald Eagle just into Latah Co.flying down the river and then later standing in a flooded field. There was a lot of standing water in fields along the Palouse R. but no ducks.
thanks, Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Friday, January 09, 2009
Moscow Pine Grosbeaks, 1/9/09
Hi All -
I just now had a flock of ~20 Pine Grosbeaks in the treetops just across the street from my east Moscow home. It appears that there is a wide spread irruption under way in northern Idaho and birders should be on the lookout throughout the inland northwest. I suspect they might show up in some of the lowland e. WA counties. It's helpful to be familiar w/ their lilting flight and contact calls - I found some especially good examples on Cornell's Birds of NA Online web site (subscription required). I'm actually pretty sure I heard some while skiing just north of Moscow last Saturday and perhaps one other time but couldn't be certain (one reason I went and found some calls to listen to!). This is my second record in town although they are more or less annual in winter in small numbers in the forested areas east of Moscow. With the large number of birds appearing over such a broad area I suspect these birds may be coming from outside of our region. I believe western Montana is also experiencing an influx of Pine Grosbeaks.
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
I just now had a flock of ~20 Pine Grosbeaks in the treetops just across the street from my east Moscow home. It appears that there is a wide spread irruption under way in northern Idaho and birders should be on the lookout throughout the inland northwest. I suspect they might show up in some of the lowland e. WA counties. It's helpful to be familiar w/ their lilting flight and contact calls - I found some especially good examples on Cornell's Birds of NA Online web site (subscription required). I'm actually pretty sure I heard some while skiing just north of Moscow last Saturday and perhaps one other time but couldn't be certain (one reason I went and found some calls to listen to!). This is my second record in town although they are more or less annual in winter in small numbers in the forested areas east of Moscow. With the large number of birds appearing over such a broad area I suspect these birds may be coming from outside of our region. I believe western Montana is also experiencing an influx of Pine Grosbeaks.
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Fwd: "double-breasted" cormorant article (AP article)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Subject: "double-breasted" cormorant article (AP article)
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
Hi All -
This AP article was run in our local paper yesterday. I almost laughed out loud when I saw the reference to "double-breasted" cormorant. Unfortunately the rest of the article is no laughing matter. Seems to me if the US Army Corps exercises their permit to take 60 Cormorants between Lower Granite Dam and Lewiston that will effectively reduce the local population considerably (assuming this can be called a local population). Apparently stomach contents from some (how many??) cormorants analyzed last winter indicated they were eating primarily American Schad (a non-native fish species in the Columbia R. system) but they want to try again later in the winter. There are some other eyebrow raising points made in this article.
http://www.komonews.com/outdoors/featured/37058399.html
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Subject: "double-breasted" cormorant article (AP article)
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
Hi All -
This AP article was run in our local paper yesterday. I almost laughed out loud when I saw the reference to "double-breasted" cormorant. Unfortunately the rest of the article is no laughing matter. Seems to me if the US Army Corps exercises their permit to take 60 Cormorants between Lower Granite Dam and Lewiston that will effectively reduce the local population considerably (assuming this can be called a local population). Apparently stomach contents from some (how many??) cormorants analyzed last winter indicated they were eating primarily American Schad (a non-native fish species in the Columbia R. system) but they want to try again later in the winter. There are some other eyebrow raising points made in this article.
http://www.komonews.com/outdoors/featured/37058399.html
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
Friday, January 02, 2009
Fwd: southbound geese
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Subject: southbound geese
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
While I was outside shoveling snow (off my roof!) this afternoon I had about 400 or so Canada Geese in ~5 flocks fly over heading south in a period of about 10 minutes.There were 2 large flocks of about 150 geese and several smaller flocks. These could have been local wintering geese but I was also wondering if they were heading south from points farther north to find some clear ground (perhaps from Lake Coeur d'Alene).
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Subject: southbound geese
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>
While I was outside shoveling snow (off my roof!) this afternoon I had about 400 or so Canada Geese in ~5 flocks fly over heading south in a period of about 10 minutes.There were 2 large flocks of about 150 geese and several smaller flocks. These could have been local wintering geese but I was also wondering if they were heading south from points farther north to find some clear ground (perhaps from Lake Coeur d'Alene).
Charles.
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
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