This summer I am back in Idaho, working for the Intermountain Bird Observatory! I can’t wait to explore a new region of the state, mainly north of McCall to the Canada border while doing daily point count transects for breeding birds. My friend Ian Gardner and I drove over from Pennsylvania, winding around to a few of our friend’s houses and … Read More
Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew Comparison – Cibola NWR, AZ
Today, after Anna and I Â finished tracking some cuckoos at Cibola NWR, we swung past a flooded field bordering the Cornfield Nature Trail area, and there was a large mixed group of White-faced Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Egrets and Long-billed Curlew foraging there. Upon closer inspection, we also picked out a nice ‘Western’ Willet and, even better, a … Read More
Idaho Highlights
Anna and I have been working here in Idaho since April 4th. It has been a wonderful and bird-packed three and a half months, but now it must come to an end. On July 11th, Anna and I will begin our road trip down to Blythe, California, where we will be working for the remainder of the summer. For this … Read More
Long-billed Curlew Season Update
For two weeks now, we’ve been rope-dragging most every day at our sites to find curlew nests. During this time, we saw very, very few females. We have only a few spots where we consistently see pairs. These places are promising though, and as time goes on, we’ve been seeing pairs go through the process of forming and establishing what … Read More
Loggerhead Shrike, Burrowing Owl, and a Curlew
This morning while Anna and I were out searching for Long-billed Curlew nests, we found a single Loggerhead Shrike hunting around an abandoned cattle loading area/corral in one of our curlew sites (the “Emmett A” site). This is the first shrike we have seen in Idaho and since they are one of my favorite birds, it was quite a treat. … Read More
Trip to Idaho and Start of Long-billed Curlew Work
Three days ago, Alex and I arrived in Boise, Idaho after a fast but lengthy drive across the country. We started out early on saturday morning, and by the days end we were in Nebraska, just short of Lincoln. During our morning drive the next day, at sunrise, hundreds of Sandhill Cranes soon turned into thousands, as the remaining Sandhill … Read More