Fwd: Moscow birds, 4/30/09

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 30, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Subject: Moscow birds, 4/30/09
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>


Hi All -

Not much going on migrant-wise in Moscow as it's been most of April. The UI Arboreta were fairly quiet today as they've been most days that I visited the past few weeks - just a few kinglets of both species, WC Sparrows, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler or 2. I did have a couple singing Nashville Warblers on the way in to work this morning and have had a few Cassin's Vireos, RC Kinglets, and YR Warblers around my house fairly regularly in the past couple of weeks.

This morning I had a flock of some 25 Red Crossbills in my yard which was pretty exciting. They were initially picking at buds on Maple and Apple trees and then later coming in to the feeders. Also w/ the crossbills at the feeders was at least 1 Cassin's Finches, a siskin, and a number of goldfinches, not to mention the ever-present House Finches - a very finchy morning at our place. Red Crossbills are pretty regular fly overs here but they don't often stop in the yard and have only visited the feeders a few times while we've lived in Moscow. I was able to stufy the crossbills pretty carefully and there were no juveniles w/ female types out numbering males. The adult (or near adult) males varied in intesnsity of red and some had yellow in a few places. My early morning yard surveys are paying off!

Good bird'n,

Charles.

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Moscow yard birds and eBird import tool

Hi All -

I had a Lincoln's Sparrow in my backyard lilac hedge this morning and it was still skulking around just a few minutes ago when I stepped out the back door. I put some bird seed down a few days ago so perhaps that is keeping it around. It's not the first for my yard but it's been quite a while so was nice to see (and I never get tired of seeing Lincoln's Sparrows).

Not coincidentally I started doing 5-15 minute morning bird surveys (species list below) a few weeks ago - it's a nice way to start the day. I'm recording all birds seen or heard from right around the yard and recording them in an excel spread sheet. Then every couple weeks I will import them into eBird using the import tool. It's much easier and quicker than submitting a checklist to eBird. I'm also doing this for some of the water spots around Moscow that I check somewhat regularly keeping those data in a separate excel file. (This is also a good way to import sightings from Avisys or other listing programs.) Complete instructions and record formats are on the eBird web site here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/using-the-ebird-data-import-tool

good bird'n,
Charles.


birds species seen/heard on morning bird surveys near my east Moscow yard since 4/20/09

Canada Goose

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Ring-necked Pheasant

California Quail

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Common Raven

American Crow

Varied Thrush

American Robin

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Cassin's Vireo

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

European Starling

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Lincoln's Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

House Finch

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Pine Grosbeak

Red Crossbill

Brown-headed Cowbird

House Sparrow

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Fwd: Moscow birds, 4/20/09

 
First off I had a single Pine Grosbeak calling and then flying over my house this morning around 0700 on the east side of Moscow.

Later in the morning I took a hike across campus through the old arboretum, the new arboretum/botanical gardens, down to the Sand Rd. wetlands at the south end of the arb and then back to my office. It was about 65 F by 10:30 and on warm days like this birding can be kind of slow on campus.

Out of about 25 species total I only had a handful of migrants - Ruby-crowned Kinglet (6), Golden-crowned Kinglet (2) and a couple White-crowned Sparrows (and another small flock of WCSP on the way into work this AM). I also had a local FOY Barn Swallow along Sand Rd. that is perhaps a few days earlier than normal up here at 2500'. Also of interest a Say's Phoebe on Sand Rd., a snipe calling in the wetlands, a coot eating the rapidly growing aquatic veg. in the upper arboretum pond, and a single light morph Swainson's Hawk cruising around the general area. I was hoping for a hummingbird but there are no trees or shrubs blooming in the arboretum yet.

I've seen very few reports of the usual mid-April neo-trpoical migrants so far - Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, Nashville Warbler, Cassin's Vireo, etc. Are they just passing through quickly w/ the fair weather??

thanks,
Charles.

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Fwd: eBird Report - Moscow - East City Area (centered on E. City Park) , 4/12/09

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <do-not-reply@ebird.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 8:18 AM
Subject: eBird Report - Moscow - East City Area (centered on E. City Park) , 4/12/09
To: chaetura@gmail.com




Location:     Moscow - East City Area (centered on E. City Park)
Observation date:     4/12/09
Notes:     AM walk w/ Sarah de la Rue around the Ft. Russel and over to Seventh in search of finches etc. Pine Grosbeak was at E. City Park, GH Owl at Moore & Homestead, a few migrants detected.
Number of species:     21

Ring-necked Pheasant     3
California Quail     6
Eurasian Collared-Dove     3
Mourning Dove     3
Great Horned Owl     1
Northern Flicker     6
American Crow     10
Black-capped Chickadee     5
Red-breasted Nuthatch     2
Golden-crowned Kinglet     1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     2
American Robin     30
European Starling     20
Yellow-rumped Warbler     1
Song Sparrow     1
Dark-eyed Junco     5
Pine Grosbeak     1
House Finch     30
Red Crossbill     5
Pine Siskin     20
House Sparrow     X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Fwd: crossbill vocalizations

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Subject: crossbill vocalizations
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>


Hi All -

I tracked down a Red Crossbill near my house  this morning which I initially thought might be a White-winged giving a series of notes (essentially a song I'd say) including some chet-chet notes . In retrospect it was a typical Red Crossbill "song" but the interspersed call notes were more subdued than the typical sharp, high jip notes of Red Crossbills. It was a first year male so perhaps this had something to do with it but I suppose one should be careful with anything that sounds like a jip-jip (or chip-chip, chet-chet, etc.), subdued or otherwise. I'm sure in the past I've always erred on the side of assuming any crossbill like call was most likely a Red Crossbill but have become a bit complacent this early spring with the White-winged Crossbill invasion.

In any case I'm feeling less confident about some of the birds I've been hearing since March that I'd thought were White-winged (although I don't doubt there were (are?) some still around since the January-February time frame). The White-winged Crossbill flocks give a distinctive harsh chatter (described as static by some and similar to redpoll flock chatter). It's the individual fly-over birds that seem to be more problematic and I haven't quite nailed down the "cheit-cheit-cheit " call described below.

Here is how BNA descirbes White-winged Crossbill calls:
"One, a distinctive call often given in flight, described as "a very dry, rapid chut-chut-chut-chut " (Russell 1976), similar to the chatter of redpolls. Another flight call "a nasal, querulous cheit-cheit-cheit " (Russell 1976). Distinctive alarm calls made when disturbed; one described as a rough and burry " tchet, tchet, tchet " (Austin 1968). Also, a call given by solitary birds to attract other crossbills (Fig. 3 bottom). Juveniles give a distinct single note begging call (chit; Groth 1992)."

I'd be interested to hear impressions of others who had a chance to study the White-winged Crossbill vocalizations this winter or from other experience.

thanks, Charles.


--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Moscow area sightings, 4/10-11/09

Great to see all the posts of spring arrivals around the region. Yesterday I had a few hours in the PM to drive around a bit north of Moscow.

Black-necked Stilts - still present at the lower Foothill Rd pond as Terry mentioned - I counted 6 around 3 PM.

Wilson's Snipe - 1 calling at the Sora spot

Northern Harrier - a nice male ("gray ghost") near Potlatch just south of the bridge over the Potlatch River (also interestingly I watched a Red-tailed Hawk fly under this bridge to join its mate on the other side) any male at this date might be suspected of breeding nearby

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - first of spring for me singing along Pine Crest Rd.

also of interest around my east Moscow house today & yesterday -

Eurasian Collared-Dove - heard one nearby this morning, no doubt its origin is the group that has been hanging near Ray & Bettie Hoff's, a new yard bird (gets me close to 100 species heard or seen from or in the yard), briefly made me think I was in Florida!

possible (probable??) Bohemian Waxwing flyby, typical low trilling call, plenty of starlings in the area although I'm not sure this call could be readily mimiced

Varried Thrush - an individual has been singing on and off near our house for a couple of weeks now, nice to have one even though we haven't seen it yet

Pine Siskins - seem to be a lot around town now and they are very noisy!

White-winged Crossbills - I've continued to hear small flocks and individual birds flying over almost daily that I presumed were these but figured I better check some out and managed to track down a male and female near the house atop tall spruces, they appear to be still in the lowlands and breeding should be watched for (not unusual after irruption years), have been giving a variety of calls incl. harsh flight calls

thanks, Charles.


--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Fwd: eBird Report - Moscow - U. of Idaho Main Campus , 4/7/09

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <do-not-reply@ebird.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 9, 2009 at 4:40 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Moscow - U. of Idaho Main Campus , 4/7/09
To: chaetura@gmail.com




Location:     Moscow - U. of Idaho Main Campus
Observation date:     4/7/09
Notes:     First walk of spring through the Arboretum on a warm (almost too warm) early April day. Ran into Terry and chatted for 15 minutes or so.
Number of species:     13

Canada Goose     1
Ring-necked Pheasant     1
California Quail     6
Northern Flicker     1
American Crow     3
Black-capped Chickadee     1
Mountain Chickadee     1
Red-breasted Nuthatch     1
American Robin     1
Spotted Towhee     1
Dark-eyed Junco     20
House Finch     X
Pine Siskin     15

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Fwd: eBird Google gadget

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Subject: eBird Google gadget
To: inland birders <inland-nw-birders@uidaho.edu>


Hi All -

With the increasing use of eBird folks might want to check out the eBird google gadget. This is a "feed" from eBird that shows review species that have been submitted to eBird in recent days, the review status of the sighting, the observer, and a link to a google map w/ the exact location of the sighting. The google map also can generate directions to the location fairly easily. The only caveat is that the location might be misleading if it is for a travelling count or the observer does not specify an exact location (for example uses only the county in which case the observation will show up in the geographical center of the county - something the Cornell eBird folks have been trying to discourage).

There are other ways to explore eBird data and generate distribution maps and bar charts showing seasonal abundance that are available to anyone who has a (free) eBird user account. The Google gadget is available regardless.

More information here - http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/Google_Gadget.html. You do need a (free) google account to create an iGoogle home page where you can install the gadget.

thanks,
Charles.

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

Idaho Mountain Quail

This was in response to an RFI posted on the Idaho birders email list.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charles Swift <chaetura@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: [IBLE] Mountain Quail RFI
To: ible@yahoogroups.com


Jay & all -

You might check w/ Rita Dixon at the IDFG conservation data center (or whatever it's called now) for recent sightings. Although there have not been any recent reports from birders from the Rapid River area (probably mostly because nobody looks very much) that population had been fairly stable and likely persists. Actually a bit upstream on either side of the Little Salmon R. near Pollock and the Pinehurst Resort is probably the better place to check. The Birder's Guide to Idaho (pp. 110-111) mentions a number of roads worth checking in this area - FR 624 and Denny Creek Rd. in particular (FR 624 also has White-headed Woodpeckers). A house on the west side of the Little Salmon R. near Pinehurst used to have a flock of M. Quail that wintered in their yard which is where I saw them in April about 7 or 8 years ago. (It's an adobe style house visible from US95 - might be worth asking permission to look around there.)

Otherwise Mountain Quail has probably been more or less extirpated from other parts of their former range in Idaho except the following. There are occasional reports from the area near the confluence of the Salmon & Snake Rivers (which is pretty difficult to access) and some recent reintroduction efforts near here at Craig Mountain (which have been more or less unsuccessful due to high initial predation rates). There may also be some recent reports from deeper in Hells Canyon (Rita would know) but of course access is a problem there as well. There are also occasional reports from eastern Latah Co. Tantalizing but unconfirmed and California Quail occasionally show up in odd places away from human habitation. So all in all I'd say Rigins/Pollock area is about the only place that one would actually have a chance of looking for and seeing (or hearing) Mountain Quail.

BTW there is some debate as to whether Mountain Quail are actually native to Idaho or were introduced at some time in the past. I think most authorities consider it likely that they are native to parts of Idaho but there is enough doubt about WA (Blue Mountains) populations that the USFWS has cited this as one reason for not listing the interior populations (it's also not clear if the interior populations represent a distinct subspecies).

Here is a link to the USFWS decision - http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/03-1283.html

Here's a link to a fact sheet from USFWS Oregon office - http://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/Species/Data/MountainQuail/default.asp


Charles.

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com

On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 8:50 PM, carlislejay <carlislejay@yahoo.com> wrote:

I'll admit up front that this e-mail is partly (mostly?) motivated purely by selfish reasoning (i.e., my birding pleasure) ... but I also continue to be concerned for the status of this species in the region (still common in coast ranges but apparently still nose-diving inland - including Idaho).

I'm wondering of anyone has searched for (successfully or not) Mountain Quail in the last year or two and if anyone has any suggestions for where a crazy birder might try to hear one singing at this time of year. Aside from reintroduction efforts in a couple places in the state, the last sightings I'd heard about (2 yrs ago) were in the Rapid River drainage ...

Thanks in advance and please feel free to reply to me only (so as not to clutter IBLE).

Cheers,

Jay

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--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com