Triumph Rosy-Finches & redpolls, 12/29/11

We're over in Hailey for the week and stopped by Triumph Thursday AM (~ 5 miles up the East Fork Rd. between Hailey and Ketchum). There was a nice mixed flock of Gray-crowned and Black Rosy-Finches at the feeders and trees just before Victor Dr. Typical for Rosy-Finches they were pretty skittish but I got some good looks at these gaudy birds (best look ever at Black Rosy-Finches). There were also a few Common Redpolls and others here as well. Would have spent more time in the area but we were on our way up Galena Lodge to play in the snow.

At Galena on the ski trails I had a nice mixed flock of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, and Golden-crowned Kinglets and later a calling Clark's Nutracker. What a great area and the best snow locally w/ the high snow levels (although there is snow in Hailey this morning). We're heading back to Boise today and hope to stop at the TNC Silver Creek Preserve on the way.

Happy New Year!

Charles.

 

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Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
46°43′54″ N, 116°59′50″ W
email: chaetura@gmail.com

Moscow-Pullman CBC, west Moscow Mountain, 12/17/11

Hi All - 

Tom Besser and I (and Lee Anne Eareckson for a while in the AM) covered the west side of Moscow Mountain for the Moscow-Pullman CBC today. What a great day! Tom and I hiked almost 8 miles round trip up to Paradise Pt. making a more or less straight shot from pond 9 to Paradise Pt. and returning via the road (shown as Foothill Rd. on maps but really a logging road down to Tolo Trail). There are lots of birds on Moscow Mountain in winter! Highlights were 3 Pine Grosbeaks, a Pileated Woodpecker, a N. Pygmy Owl, and lots of chickadees, nuthatches, creepers, and Pine Siskins. It will be interesting to compare some of these totals w/ previous year counts. The conditions were ideal this year with good weather and little snow and lots of birds.

thanks,

Charles.

Ruffed Grouse  1

Red-tailed Hawk  2

Great Horned Owl 1
Northern Pygmy-Owl  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Common Raven 4
Black-capped Chickadee  7

Mountain Chickadee  27
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  67     - multiple large flocks some w/ as many as 15 birds
Red-breasted Nuthatch  39     - 3 or 4 w/ every feeding flock encountered

White-breasted Nuthatch  10   - with 6 different feeding flocks along route (usually in pairs)
Pygmy Nuthatch  5

Brown Creeper  9

Pacific Wren  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  19

Townsend's Solitaire  1
American Robin  3
Bohemian Waxwing  10
Cedar Waxwing  30
Dark-eyed Junco  20

House Finch  1
Pine Grosbeak  3

Red Crossbill  12
Pine Siskin  270 - large flock (~200 or more birds) in clearcut northwest side of Paradise Pt., more in smaller flocks elsewhere)

26 species

start: 6:00 AM

stop 2:30 PM

hours owling - 1

miles owling - 1

(no owls in the AM!)

hours on foot: 7.5

miles on foot: 7.5

3 observers in 1 party

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
46°43′54″ N, 116°59′50″ W
email: chaetura@gmail.com

Moscow yard birds - Blue Jay, Townsend's Solitaire, etc.

All -

I've had a Blue Jay (presumably the same one) in my greater neighborhood for about a month now but not often seen/heard. However, in the past week or so I've seen it 3 times around my house and today it has been present all day (in fact I'm watching it out my window now as I type). 

I also had a Townsend's Solitaire in the yard for a while this morning (also seen through the window I'm looking out now) which was nice. There is often one a couple blocks away in a small patch of junipers but not regularly in the yard. These were part of a nice collection of ~100 or so birds (see below) mostly right around my house present this morning (activity has declined noticeably in the past hour). I had a probable Common Redpoll fly over but couldn't get on it (I had a small flock of redpolls a block away Thanksgiving day).

thanks, Charles.

Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  1
Blue Jay  1
Common Raven  1
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Mountain Chickadee  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
Townsend's Solitaire  1
American Robin  10
European Starling  5
Cedar Waxwing  8
Dark-eyed Junco  25
House Finch  20
House Sparrow  20

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

--
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
46°43′54″ N, 116°59′50″ W
email: chaetura@gmail.com