Hike near Galena, ID
Sunday 7 August 2016
77 °F
Today my family and I took advantage of this beautiful (but typical for Idaho) day, and we did a moderate hike in the heart of the Boulder Mountains. It was beautiful, and nice to finally get out in nature after two weeks of music camp.
The best bird of the day came first, as I spotted a pair of gorgeous RED CROSSBILS foraging in the parking lot! I have only seen this species twice before today, and this is by far the best view I have ever gotten of this species:
Here is the male with a good view of his namesake crossed bill:
Juvenile TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, a nice find:
Cute little ground squirrels like this guy were scuttling all over the place:
Male CASSIN'S FINCH, a common montane forest species in Idaho:
BREWER'S SPARROW:
DUSKY FLCYATCHER:
The hike came to an end with a nice look at this beautiful male WESTERN TANAGER:
Bird-of-the-day to the Red Crossbills and runners-up to the Townsend's Solitaire and Western Tanager. The full list is attached below.
Stay tuned, because tomorrow I will be birding with my good friend Poo Wright-Pulliam!
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 923 Species (no recent life birds)
23 species today:
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Northern Flicker 2
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Dusky Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Gray Jay 2
Clark's Nutcracker 2
Common Raven 1
Violet-green Swallow 3
Mountain Chickadee 2
Townsend's Solitaire 1 Juvenile
American Robin 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Brewer's Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Western Tanager 3
Lazuli Bunting 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Juvenile
Cassin's Finch 10
Red Crossbill 2 Photos
Pine Siskin 10
Posted by skwclar 13:25 Archived in USA Tagged prairie_dog red_crossbill townsends_solitaire cassins_finch brewers_sparrow dusky_flycatcher western_tanager
Cute ground squirrel! I have lots of thirteen-lined ground squirrels here in SW Wisconsin. We also have long-tailed weasels all year, so you could see one in winter "ermine" white phase if you come to rural Wisconsin, anywhere in the state. You'll be wanting to be able to identify tracks and scat. Happy weaseling! Liz
by Liz Cifani