Special thanks to all of the SOB's out there!

This weekend's episode of Birding Adventures featured a vignette with host James Currie enjoying drinks in Panama with a older couple from the United States. The husband was the birder and the wife was the S.O.B - Spouse of Birder. I thought that was pretty funny.

My advice to SOB's out there - you can't beat 'em, if you love them you might as well join them.

I recall birding in southeastern Arizona and running into several cute elderly couples on the birding trail. Almost all the stories are the same...one spouse is into birding and slowly sucks the other spouse into it, sometimes kicking and screaming, but for the sake of love they eventually give in.

Tip to birders who have reluctant spouses: get your spouse a decent set of optics so they can see and enjoy the birds like you do. This makes all the difference in the world!

September Bird Walk Report

Five adults and three young aspiring naturalists joined us this morning for the Avimor Bird Walk up Spring Valley Creek Trail. The Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Harrier were nice surprises. The abundance of Spotted Towhees was shocking.

Here is what we saw:

Location: Avimor--Spring Valley Creek Trail
Observation date: 9/12/09
Number of species: 23

California Quail 36
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Killdeer 2
Mourning Dove 3
Northern Flicker 3
Say's Phoebe 2
Black-billed Magpie 6
Barn Swallow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 9
Rock Wren 1
House Wren 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1 (heard only)
Western Tanager 4
Spotted Towhee 9
Song Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 16
Western Meadowlark 6
Brewer's Blackbird 3
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 7

This report was generated automatically by eBird

My Spooky Bird Contest Submission

(A true story about my strangest day of birding at the Granite Reef Recreation area along the Salt River near Mesa, AZ at the foot of the aptly named Superstition Mountains)


As if being woken by a nightmare
I vaulted from my bed
Before a Saturday sunrise
With birding lust in my soul
I was compelled, if not hypnotized to go
Leaving my beautiful bride and brood in bed at home
Foreboding of a strange and mysterious birding day.


Steamy night mist still clung about
As I strolled the river bank
Then a sliver of sun peeked over the mountain
Transforming the clouds so dark
Into eerie pumpkin and plum
The mist rushed into the rushes
And disappeared with the masked-faced Sora.


Hunchbacked Night Herons
Stared down ominously from above.
Cloaked with blackened hoods
Piercing sangria eyes
Demon gargoyles guarding, silently watching.
A warning perhaps
Dare I venture on?


A rustling sound in the bushes ahead
Perhaps a warbler or towhee I’d see
I crept and approached with sneaky stealth
Only to find two lovers
Bodies intertwined in passion
Their expectation and mine of solitude
Broken and violated.
I fled the other way.


A looming large dark figure
Roosting in a mesquite grove
Summoned me to come forth
I crawled on hand and knee
And knelt at the base of the tree
Awed to be so close
To see its naked head
And gnarled beak
The stench was nauseating
Yet it was first to vomit
A hairy black mass
Covered in yellow-green slime
Passing inches from my face
The revolting pile landed at my feet
This vulture king had come here to die


Turning from this place of death
Only to face mine near
I had stepped into a ring
Of wild and ferocious javelina
Nestled and hidden in the undergrowth
The boar snarled and bore his tusks
It stamped and shook its head
Then charged!
Superhumanly high sprung I
And shimmied up a puny tree
That should not have borne my weight
To wait and wait and wait
Overcome with fear I stayed
The peccary finally waddled off
I slipped silently down the tree
I fled the other way.


This dark and damp and dangerous day
How much longer could it last?
How much longer would I last?
Was I beckoned forth to die?


A happy omen I begged of the Divine.


The buzzing beating of hummingbird wings
Just feet away from where I stood
Myself half concealed in the flora
My gaze and feet transfixed
It flashed a brilliant pink throat
A war cry sounded from its tiny frame
Then darted toward my face
Was this to be my end?
This little David
And I the giant to be slain?
Yet I overcame the urge to cower
It softly perched so pleasantly
On the brim of my hat
It searched my soul
For eternal seconds
Then zipped merrily on its way.


The sun now gleamed and warmed the earth
Vermillion Flycatchers danced in the tree tops
Theirs was a redness that brought joy, not fear
A Canyon Wren sang its cascading song
The hellish curse was broken
I lived to share the tale.

Winter Bird Residents Returning to Idaho

While a pair of juvenile Western Tanagers were still bulking up to head out of town, three White-crowned Sparrows made thier appearance this morning along Spring Valley Creek Trail. There is a great variety of winter food supply along the creeks and draws in the foothills. We can be expecting Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Dark-eyed Juncos in the near future.

Staging for Migration

Over the last couple of weeks I have been observing certain species of birds that are congregating into flocks, fattening up on seeds and insects, preparing for winter migration.

This morning we had 50+ Western Meadowlarks in the wildflower field on the north side of Avimor Drive. I have never seen so many together. I can only assume that they gather for migration. Based on location maps, it appears that Western Meadowlarks don't go too far as they can be found along the west coast and the southwestern states year round.

I also watched a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds in the tall cottonwood trees along Spring Valley Creek. Their plummage looked pristine, especially compared to the rough looking bunch I saw a couple weeks ago. Red-wings do winter in Idaho, but they appear to flock together and to be found in only certain locations.

The Brewer's Blackbirds still seem to have a couple of flocks around Avimor.

Spooky Bird Contest

The Celebrate Urban Birds folks with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is having a Spooky Bird Contest called "A Murder of Crows and other Spooky Bird Tales". C.U.B. regularly has these fun and interesting online events. Last quarter was the "Funky Nests in Funky Places" contest in which Avimor resident Janis LaFluer participated. Click on the links for more details.

I will be submitting an entry; not a photo but a story. I just need to figure out if I want to compose it in prose or poetry. Perhaps some poetry Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven" style for the spooky Halloween effect.

From my window...

Out of my office window at Avimor, I've been watching four Brewer's Blackbird resting in the cool shade of some low shrubs and chasing grasshoppers around in the grass and on the sidewalk. I have not seen them in their usualy spot along the side of Highway 55 near Shadow Valley Golf Course for a couple of weeks, so I figured they had migrated. Seeing them this afternoon made me curious, so I went to one of my favorite websites, All About Birds, to learn more. They are listed as seed eating birds, but do consume a lot of insects. Looking at an eBird report, Brewer's Blackbirds are see in Idaho all year, but observations decrease dramatically by mid-October until they return in greater numbers in March. This is also only my second sighting of Brewer's at Avimor this year.

The large female Swainson's Hawk has been riding some afternoon thermals. A Black-chinned Hummingbird visited the purple flowers just below my window. Barn Swallow's have been cruising the vacant lots across from me and perching on the yellow parking area rope all day.

Idaho Birding - Shadow Valley Golf Course

This year I am serving as the Membership Chairman for the Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho. We had our annual membership golf tournament at Shadow Valley Golf Course, just down the hill from Avimor. My role today was to hang out at the 3rd tee box, meet & greet BCA members, and sell raffle tickets for BSU football games. In between groups teeing off, guess what I was doing? Yep...birding! I have always loved golf courses for birding because of the beautiful habitat that appeals to many varieties of feathered friends. I wish I could bird golf courses more frequently without getting bonked on the head by a stray ball, but alas, birding golf courses always has to be a secondary activity.

The 3rd tee box at Shadow Valley overlooks a riparian ravine full of tall cottonwoods, sumac, willows, and all kinds of shrubs and grasses. Standing above the ravine is a great vantage point for observing bird activity. Black-chinned hummingbirds were zipping by me all morning. American Goldfinch were very active and vocal. A couple of red-shafted Northern Flickers squawked from high up in the trees while several American Crows and Mourning Doves lazily flapped overhead as the gorgeous summer morning heated up.

I decided to test out my "pishing" skills and I was instantly rewarded with the cutest little Nashville Warbler that approached to within three feet of me and checked me out. Its colors were brilliant and sharp. Yellow belly, gray head, white eye-ring, and a very green back. A couple of Song Sparrows responded as well. Down among a pile of branches a House Wren skipped along. Ah...Paradise!

Free Avimor Bird Guide

Those of you that have been to our Avimor Bird Walks may be familiar with the Avimor Bird Guide booklet that I put together. It has now been updated. I had to add two whole new pages of birds that have been seen at Avimor this year that were not in the original guide book.

Free copies of the Avimor Bird Guide are available to the public. You can pick up a full color copy of it at the Avimor Sales Office or I can send you a version of it by e-mail. Just click on the "Ask the Avimor Bird Guy" button in the right column to request your copy.

Happy Birding!

Birding Adventures TV Show

I was notified a recently by e-mail from the TV host of a new TV series about Birding, called Birding Adventures on the Fox Sports Network (FSN). In my area it is broadcast Saturday mornings. I set up my DVR to record the half hour show and I've watch a couple of episodes now. James Currie asked me to let other birders know about the new show, but I figured I'd review it before I endorsed it.

Overall, I like Birding Adventures. James Currie the host, originally from South Africa, with his his accent, is somewhat Crocodile Hunter-esque in his presentation; very energetic and often in intense whispers. The show does side-track into other cool things that they happen to be seeing along the birding trail, which is fine by me, because that is my reality too. My only complaint about the show is that it is not in hi-definition so the cinematography doesn't show well on my hi-def screen. Perhaps with a few more viewers and a larger budget they can take it to that next level.

Fun Idaho Summer Birding at Avimor

It was great birding this morning at Avimor along Spring Valley Creek! I had another Avimor official record first: a pair of MacGillivray's Warblers.


Another bird of great interest to me was group of Warbling Vireos. I doesn't matter how many times I see them, but I am amazed every time I see the Spotted Towhee, Great Horned Owl, and Downy Woodpecker. I was also surprised to have the four juvenile Western Tanagers and several juvenile Lazuli Buntings. The Black-headed Grosbeaks weren't afraid of me at all this morning as they fed on plants within a few feet of me.

Here is the full eBird report of what I saw this morning:

California Quail 17
Swainson's Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Mourning Dove 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Black-chinned Hummingbird 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Western Wood-Pewee 3
Warbling Vireo 3
Barn Swallow 6
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 7
Cedar Waxwing 5
Yellow Warbler 3
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Western Tanager 4
Spotted Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 7
Black-headed Grosbeak 2
Lazuli Bunting 6
Western Meadowlark 1
Bullock's Oriole 2
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 13

Ask the Avimor Bird Guy...hummingbird juice

From Tim in Kuna, ID: "What kind of nectar do you put in your feeder?"

I like to make my own. Here's my simple time-tested and Mother Nature approved recipe:

4 cups of water

1 cup of sugar

mix in a small pot on the stove

heat and stir constantly until the cloudy water clears up

let it cool and pour into a freshly cleaned hummingbird feeder

Experts warn against using any other types of sugar other than granular sugar from sugar cane or sugar beets. Don't use corn syrup or any other sweeteners. Food coloring is simply not necessary and some people think it may have harmful effects. A clean feeder is very important to prevent the spread of diseases.

I'm also testing out a fully recyclable feeder from The Humm sent to me from the Celebrate Urban Birds folks as a gift for hosting our event back in May. You can use an average plastic water battle. The bottle cap feeder and perch can be recycled after each use so you never have to clean anything and you can insure a clean feeder every time. Hummingbirds seem to like it just fine!

Hummingbirds are hummin'

The fall migration for hummingbirds through the foothills north of Boise, Idaho is in full swing. At my home in Avimor, we've been getting around a dozen Black-chinned Hummingbirds at a time at our two feeders. This morning we had two Rufous Hummingbirds join in the party. "Rufous" is a color by the way, which can be seen on the flanks and in the splayed tail feathers of female and juvenile Rufous Hummingbirds (see above photo). We are no longer seeing adult male hummingbirds of either species.

The Swainson Hawks are still hanging out in the cottonwoods near the Avimor entrance. They are very vocal recently. I'm not sure why.

This morning I also observed Cedar Waxwings, Black-capped Chickadees, a Spotted Sandpiper at the Town Lake. The summer regulars are still hanging around like Western Meadowlark, American Goldfinch, Yellow Warbler, Mourning Doves, Western Wood-Pewee and California Quail. A couple of Gray Catbirds are still around and can be heard meowing in the thick brush along the creek. Say's Phoebes seem to be enjoying a gluttonous lifestyle feasting on the massive invasion of grasshoppers and mormon crickets. The Lazuli Bunting's, Bullock's Orioles, and Black-headed Grosbeaks are getting much fewer and farther between. All the varieties of blackbirds have evacuated in the last couple of weeks.

Any guesses when our winter residents like Dark-eyed Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows will show up? eBird data suggests that late September will be the most likely time to see our winter guests arrive.

Advertising Opportunities

This blog was created with the original purpose of sharing my joy of birding with those in my specific community. In the last few months my birding blog interests have expanded to include regular interviews with Idaho Birders, reviews of products and books, and reports of my birding adventures outside of my community. My enthusiasm for birding and blogging along with readership continue to grow.

I am happy to receive financial support to sustain my hobby and passion while at the same time promoting products or services that I can personally endorse.

Any company wishing to promote feeders or seed products, let’s talk! I am very interested in providing a weekly blog segment on Idaho Backyard Birding featuring your products. Donation of your products would be deemed as payment.

If you are interested in advertising on this site, please contact me to make specific arrangements. To send me an e-mail, please click on the "Ask the Avimor Bird Guy" icon in the sidebar.

Here is a sample what I can offer:

1. A one-time post dedicated to your product or service. $25.00
2. A 250x250 logo-link in the side bar:
   o $5.00/month for a 12 month agreement
   o $7.50/month for a 6 month agreement
   o $10.00/month for a 3 month agreement
   o $15.00/month for a 1 month agreement
3. Logos and graphics should be sent to me by e-mail.
4. Payment is required before it will be placed on the site
5. PayPal is the preferred method for payment, but other arrangements can be made.
6. I may be agreeable to in-store credit rather than payment.

If you would like me to review and promote your book, I would be happy to do so in exchange for a free copy sent to:

Robert Mortensen
18218 N. Highfield Way
Boise, ID 83714

Avimor History Tour...and a few birds

Yesterday I had the distrinct privilege to take an Avimor history tour with Red & Polly Ward (both 87 years old) and Tom Blessinger. Shon and Cliff from Avimor accompanied us, with Cliff providing much of the expert driving. These folks know a lot about the history of the land and the people that lived and worked it. We went four-wheeling over thousands of acres stopping at homestead and school sites marked only by a few locust trees and maybe some old pieces of rock foundation. We heard non-stop stories about the people and places all day long. It was absolutely fascinating and awe inspiring. I hope the booklet I put together on it will do it some amount of justice while preserving a wonderful piece of Idaho history before those that remember pass on.

Along the way, of course I kept track of the bird species I was seeing. I saw 25 species. Not bad for birding not being my primary focus. The birds of the day had to be the large covey of adult and juvenile Gray Partridge (known locally as "Huns", which is short for "Hungarian Partridge". These were seen at what I've been calling the Chinese Well Riparian area just on the west side of Hwy 55 across from the Avimor construction trailer. I have only seen Gray Partridge at Avimor one other time on Broken Horn Road, so this sighting was pretty cool. It is especially exciting to see such a successful and large brood, giving me hope that the Gray Partridges continue to multiply even as a highly hunted upland gamebird.

New Bird for Avimor: Solitary Sandpiper

This image is not mine, nor is it of the exact bird I was seeing tonight, but was borrowed from a Google Image Search

In an effort to step up my birding game and for the fun of a personal challenge, I am going field guide-less in the field. I'm forcing myself to look harder at the bird, to take good notes about every possible feature and even to try drawing it. After I get home, then I allow myself to look it up. Please bare with me as I struggle along.

I've come across my first ID challenge. Tonight I figured I'd check the small mud flat at the rain water retention pond at Avimor to see if any migrating shorebirds had stopped by. There were a few Killdeer and one odd ball. I was looking down on it from up above in waning light. Here are my field notes in all their glory:

sandpiper type
slightly smaller than the adult killdeer near it
bold white eye-ring and spectacles
long yellow-green legs
bill- thick and 1/3 longer than its own head
plain wht belly - the white tapers up throat
head bobs - kind of a whole body twitch, not tail bob like spotted
wing tips extend to tail end
wades and bobs for food, picks stuff off water plants
wings are patterned and darker than throat/head color
brown-gray head and neck
wings are darker brown - almost reddish
white from belly slightly extends up front of shoulder
in flight, lots of white on tail with black middle, top of wings seem all dark
color

After getting home and consulting a field guide and the web, I am leaning toward a Solitary Sandpiper over Spotted Sandpiper for the following reasons:

1. bill size as compared to head
2. white outer tail feathers with dark central tail feathers
3. yellow-green legs
4. bold eye-ring white supraloral area
5. and the least scientific reason: A Google Image search of Solitary Sandpipers has many photos that match the "general impression" of what I was seeing tonight, especially the contrast between the head/neck color and the wing color.


The hard part comes in that I don't recall white spotting on the upper parts. It could have been the lighting conditions or the age of the bird.

Thoughts?

Any tips or suggestions for improving my field note taking will be shamelessly welcomed.

August Bird Walk Report: Banding Hummingbirds

Pictured is my son Kyle holding a Black-chinned Hummingbird right after Fred had banded it and taken metrics.

Special thanks to Michael Wiegand for hosting the Avimor Bird Walk and the public in general for the annual hummingbird banding at his home in Pearl, Idaho. Thanks to Fred Bassett for the hummingbird education.

40 to 50 people braved the morning drizzle to attend the event. I'll get the total banding count from Michael later, but we caught mostly Black-chinned Hummingbirds and a couple Rufous Hummingbirds.

Children as well as adults were amazed to feel their little heartbeat in our hands. One little Black-chinned was caught a total of 4 times this morning. I guess it liked being caught.

Other birds seen at the Wiegand residence included:

Bullock's Orioles
House Sparrows
Eastern Kingbird
House Finch
Ring-necked Pheasant
Mourning Doves
California Quail
Lark Sparrow

While driving on Pearl Road I also saw:

Western Tanager
Horned Larks
Western Meadowlarks
Swainson's Hawk
American Robin

Banding Idaho Hummingbirds this Saturday!

I want to extend a personal invitation to one and all to join us for Hummingbird Banding in lieu of the traditional Avimor Bird Walk this month. The banding will take place this Saturday, August 8th, in Pearl, Idaho at Michael Wiegand's home from 7:30am until 10:30am. Children are invited and will be thrilled at the chance to hold a little hummingbird in their little hands. You can click on the hyperlinks in the "Upcoming Events" section to get a map to Pearl.

Idaho Birds at Avimor Town Lake

I hadn't planned on taking a bird walk into work this morning, but as I approached the office I could hear and see all kinds of bird activity in the trees surrounding the Avimor Town Lakes. I had to check them out. I was surprised by the variety of birds in this small area amongst still immature trees and shrubs:

Western Kingbird - three immatures actively catching bugs and fighting with each other

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting

Lark Sparrows

Bullock's Orioles

Cedar Waxwing

Black-chinned Hummingbird

House Finch

Bank & Barn Swallows

Mourning Dove

American Robin

Ring-necked Pheasant and California Quail calling from the slope across the street

(picture is of the Avimor Town Lake during the Foothills Heritage Festival in April 2008)

Another Avimor First

While not the most amazing bird ever seen at Avimor, nor an extremely special observation, my sighting this morning of a Rock Pigeon on top of one of our model homes is still an Avimor first (on the official record anyway).

I find Rock Pigeons all the time in many urban areas as well as rocky cliff areas. The cliffs above Swan Falls along the Snake River is full of them. In the Meridian and Nampa areas, I often see them in agricultural fields. Until recently, they were called Rock Doves in many bird guides.

Is this lone Pigeon the first of many more to come as we have created this small pocket of homes in the foothills?

Whenever I see one of these birds I can't help but start singing to myself the Seasame Street classic from my kid's video featuring Bert "Doin' the Pigeon" song and dance.