South Idaho RBA
April 18, 2000
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 20:12:03 -0600
Reply-To: Diana Gettinger <gettinger@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Sender: "National Birding Hotline Cooperative (West)"
<BIRDWEST@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
From: Diana Gettinger <gettinger@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Subject: [BIRDWEST] South Idaho Bird Alert
To: BIRDWEST@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
This is the southeast Idaho bird report brought to you by the Idaho
Museum of Natural History. This alert was updated on Monday April
17th. Birds noted for this week are as follows:
Common Loons, Eared and Horned Grebes, American Bittern, Barrow's and
Common Goldeneyes, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, Sandhill Cranes,
American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Bonaparte's Gulls, Franklin's
Gulls, Short-eared Owls, Burrowing Owls, Sage Thrashers, Sage Sparrows,
Great-tailed Grackle, and Lesser Goldfinch.
In the early evening or morning there are many Short-eared
Owls courting over the entrance to the marshes of Market Lake WMA. To
get there drive about 15 miles north of Idaho Falls on I-15, get off at
the Roberts exit. Turn right to the stop sign, then left out of town,
and keep right at the "Y" on the north side of Roberts. The marsh is
about three miles out this paved road. This is at about B/C -2 on page
40 of the Idaho DeLorme atlas. Last week a Great-tailed Grackle and two
Horned Grebes were seen near the entrance, and an American Bittern was
heard calling. There are many ducks on the open water of the Wildlife
Management Area, including a Hooded Merganser, and Sandhill Cranes can
be heard calling all around the area.
About 10 miles further up I-15 there is a pair of Burrowing
Owl on the east side of I-15 near an underpass about two miles north of
Sage Junction. You can also get to this area from the frontage road to
Hamer that runs parallel east of the freeway. Sage Sparrows and Sage
Thrashers can also be seen and heard singing along this frontage road.
Greg Rice found a really good spot for Short-eared Owls quite close to
Idaho Falls. From Herb's EZ stop west of IF on the Arco Highway go
about 2.6 miles further west and turn north on a gravel road. It's kind
of junky in here (illegal dumping, target practice debris, etc) but as
you get further back in it gets better. Anyway, quite near the highway
and then further in there were quite a few SEOW flying around and
displaying.
There were about 30 American Avocets and two Black-necked Stilts feeding
along the edge of Swan Lake, and many Franklin's Gulls were calling
while flying overhead. This is on US 91 about 12 miles south of Downey,
and at about B/C-2/3 on page 22 of the Idaho atlas. At the Oxford
Slough, about 2 miles further south, there were several groups of
Sandhill Cranes, and we expect Wilson's Phalaropes shortly. At Twin
Lakes there are at least 13 Common Loons and several flocks of Eared
Grebes on Sunday. We expect the number of loons to grow up to about 100
during the remainder of the month. You can get to this reservoir by
turning west off of US 91 at Banida and following the Sportsmans access
signs out about 3 miles to the lakes.
At the Fish and Game fish hatchery on the north side of the Snake River
across from American Falls the Golden-crowned and White-throated
Sparrows visiting the bird feeders near station 10 on the nature trail
may have moved on, but the single Lesser Goldfinch is in a large flock
of American Goldfinches is still present. To get there drive across the
dam, take an immediate left, then left again and follow the signs down
to the hatchery. The nature trail is on the east side of the hatchery.
On the Snake River below the dam there are flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls,
as well as many Red-breasted Mergansers and both species of goldeneyes..
For further information or to report a bird sighting you can call Chuck
Trost at 282-3337, or you can call him at home at 233-4538.