Sunday, August 30, 2009

Fwd: eBird Report - Moscow - UI Arboretum and Botanical Gardens , 8/30/09





I had a great couple of hours at the UI Arboretum this morning (complete eBird list below). Lots of birds moving through with activity increasing as the morning progressed (presumably arriving migrants, some of which may continue moving for some time after dawn under good flight conditions). With so much going on I'm sure I missed more than a few birds and a good number of empidonax flycatchers went unidentified (although Hammond's seemed to be the dominant species). Also a good number of pewees and at least 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers were present. The highlight was probably a Gray Catbird which although a fairly common breeder nearby seems to be quite uncommon in migration. I think this is my first record for Moscow proper.

I checked the Spokane radar loop last evening using http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/ and it appeared to be showing a good flight early in the evening. I've been interested in Colby Neuman's nocturnal migration monitoring and he's given me some help on reading the radar loops for migrating birds. Cool stuff.

thanks, Charles.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Location: Moscow - UI Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Observation date: 8/30/09
Notes: Great morning at Arboretum a day and half after a cold front. Started out slowly but birds arriving migrants moved in as it warmed up. Lots of squabbling and chasing was observed. A large flock of Cedar Waxwings was spread out and actively feeding. A good # of empids went unidentified although Hammond's seemed the dominant species. Warbling Vireos probably underestimated, some in small flocks. Warblers were a bit tricky to pick out of all the other birds presents. The Gray Catbird was probably the best bird - probably my first for Moscow and hard to find as a migrant (which this one presumably was).
Number of species: 35

Mallard 5
California Quail 10
Swainson's Hawk 3
Mourning Dove 10
Northern Flicker 4
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 6
Hammond's Flycatcher 8
Dusky Flycatcher 2
Cassin's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 12
Common Raven 3
Barn Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 60
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Townsend's Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 8
Chipping Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
Lazuli Bunting 2
House Finch 5
Pine Siskin 8
American Goldfinch 5
Evening Grosbeak 2

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


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

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Moscow migrants, Am. Redstart etc., 8/16/09

I had a nice group of migrants coming through Moscow this morning highlighted by a female American Redstart (complete eBird list follows). Most were seen on a walk through the small Heron's Hideout Park in southeast Moscow. This is a nice little linear park along Paradise Creek that includes some nice willow stands, weedy/seedy fields, and cattails, a great combination for fall migrants. The urban location also accounts for the large number of urban species (quail, starlings, house sparrows, etc.) The weedy areas were loaded w/ Pine Siskins working the seed heads this morning.

Also in my yard this morning were MacGillivray's, Townsend's, and a couple Wilson's Warblers, and Warbling Vireo.

Charles.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <do-not-reply@ebird.org>
Date: Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 9:45 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Moscow - Heron's Hideout/Brink Park , 8/16/09
To: chaetura@gmail.com

Location:     Moscow - Heron's Hideout/Brink Park
Observation date:     8/16/09
Notes:     Morning walk through just Heron's HIdeout was very rewarding w/ a nice diversity of migrants, residents, and local breeders. Highlight was a female American Redstart flitting in the Willows at the north end of the park (behind houses).
Number of species:     32

Mallard     2
California Quail     20
Killdeer     2
Mourning Dove     1
Black-chinned Hummingbird     1
Calliope Hummingbird     1
Rufous Hummingbird     1
Downy Woodpecker     3
Northern Flicker     3
Western Wood-Pewee     5
Western Kingbird     1
American Crow     8
Barn Swallow     5
Black-capped Chickadee     3
Red-breasted Nuthatch     1
Bewick's Wren     1
American Robin     5
European Starling     40
Cedar Waxwing     2
Nashville Warbler     1
Yellow Warbler     3
American Redstart     1
Common Yellowthroat     1
Wilson's Warbler     2
Chipping Sparrow     10
Song Sparrow     5
Lazuli Bunting     5
Red-winged Blackbird     50
House Finch     20
Pine Siskin     40
American Goldfinch     5
House Sparrow     30

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



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