Congratulations on your big year record, that is really neat!

On Sat, Jan 2, 2021, 8:40 AM Ken Miracle via groups.io <chukar28=icloud.com@groups.io> wrote:

Carter the more I contemplate 321 species in Idaho in one year the more amazing it is !!

What discipline, perserverance, dedication, patience and wheel time buzzing around Idaho in all weather conditions and in the weird pandemic year of 2020.

Absolutely amazing !!

On Jan 1, 2021, at 10:53 PM, Carter Strope <cmstropep@...> wrote:

Greetings IBLE,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

With 2020 finally in the rear view, I wanted to take a moment to look back on my year of birding and give some well overdue thanks to a number of people.

This year, as a result of determination, circumstance, and a great deal of luck I was fortunate enough to amass an Idaho State Year List of 321 species, just surpassing the longstanding Idaho Big Year record of 318. The previous record was, as many or most of you may already know, was set by the late Harry J Krueger in 2004.

Beyond the hardship we all faced as a global society, 2020 challenged me in ways I could not have expected.

While I had the incredible opportunity to see parts of this state, birds, and natural phenomena I had never seen before. Those moments of wonder came alongside many trials, and long days and, some even longer nights. Those hurdles were the experiences that made me a better birder and a better person at the end of it all. The moments that tried me this year were as valuable to me as the moments of rich triumph, and altogether made for an experience I am truly grateful for. 

12 months, 44 counties, and 321 bird species later I am left in awe, once again, of Idaho and all that it has to offer.

More importantly, however, I would like to thank a number of people. There are too many people to acknowledge here and now but I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Heidi Carlisle, Cheryl Huzinga, Lucian Davis, Darren Clark, Carl Lundblad, Cliff Weisse, James Petersen, and the many supportive and wonderful birders of the Wood River Valley including Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Larry Barnes, with whom I began this great adventure, and the late Harry J Krueger for setting a very high bar, that was both incredibly difficult and wildly fun to pursue. All of these people played an integral part in making this year possible, and as such have my eternal gratitude.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in 2021.

Bird on,
Carter Strope 

P.S. For those who are curious, you can find my final list here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-aBB2NtpJ3PrhsqWTGs2cIu1phTC3l6J7GxwlDxv79s/edit?usp=drivesdk

Ken Miracle
chukar28@...
208-570-2780
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" 2COR 3:5

Carter the more I contemplate 321 species in Idaho in one year the more amazing it is !!

What discipline, perserverance, dedication, patience and wheel time buzzing around Idaho in all weather conditions and in the weird pandemic year of 2020.

Absolutely amazing !!

On Jan 1, 2021, at 10:53 PM, Carter Strope <cmstropep@...> wrote:

Greetings IBLE,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

With 2020 finally in the rear view, I wanted to take a moment to look back on my year of birding and give some well overdue thanks to a number of people.

This year, as a result of determination, circumstance, and a great deal of luck I was fortunate enough to amass an Idaho State Year List of 321 species, just surpassing the longstanding Idaho Big Year record of 318. The previous record was, as many or most of you may already know, was set by the late Harry J Krueger in 2004.

Beyond the hardship we all faced as a global society, 2020 challenged me in ways I could not have expected.

While I had the incredible opportunity to see parts of this state, birds, and natural phenomena I had never seen before. Those moments of wonder came alongside many trials, and long days and, some even longer nights. Those hurdles were the experiences that made me a better birder and a better person at the end of it all. The moments that tried me this year were as valuable to me as the moments of rich triumph, and altogether made for an experience I am truly grateful for. 

12 months, 44 counties, and 321 bird species later I am left in awe, once again, of Idaho and all that it has to offer.

More importantly, however, I would like to thank a number of people. There are too many people to acknowledge here and now but I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Heidi Carlisle, Cheryl Huzinga, Lucian Davis, Darren Clark, Carl Lundblad, Cliff Weisse, James Petersen, and the many supportive and wonderful birders of the Wood River Valley including Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Larry Barnes, with whom I began this great adventure, and the late Harry J Krueger for setting a very high bar, that was both incredibly difficult and wildly fun to pursue. All of these people played an integral part in making this year possible, and as such have my eternal gratitude.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in 2021.

Bird on,
Carter Strope 

P.S. For those who are curious, you can find my final list here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-aBB2NtpJ3PrhsqWTGs2cIu1phTC3l6J7GxwlDxv79s/edit?usp=drivesdk

Ken Miracle
chukar28@...
208-570-2780
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" 2COR 3:5

Greetings IBLE,

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

With 2020 finally in the rear view, I wanted to take a moment to look back on my year of birding and give some well overdue thanks to a number of people.

This year, as a result of determination, circumstance, and a great deal of luck I was fortunate enough to amass an Idaho State Year List of 321 species, just surpassing the longstanding Idaho Big Year record of 318. The previous record was, as many or most of you may already know, was set by the late Harry J Krueger in 2004.

Beyond the hardship we all faced as a global society, 2020 challenged me in ways I could not have expected.

While I had the incredible opportunity to see parts of this state, birds, and natural phenomena I had never seen before. Those moments of wonder came alongside many trials, and long days and, some even longer nights. Those hurdles were the experiences that made me a better birder and a better person at the end of it all. The moments that tried me this year were as valuable to me as the moments of rich triumph, and altogether made for an experience I am truly grateful for. 

12 months, 44 counties, and 321 bird species later I am left in awe, once again, of Idaho and all that it has to offer.

More importantly, however, I would like to thank a number of people. There are too many people to acknowledge here and now but I would like to give special thanks to Jay and Heidi Carlisle, Cheryl Huzinga, Lucian Davis, Darren Clark, Carl Lundblad, Cliff Weisse, James Petersen, and the many supportive and wonderful birders of the Wood River Valley including Jean Seymour, Poo Wright-Pulliam, and Larry Barnes, with whom I began this great adventure, and the late Harry J Krueger for setting a very high bar, that was both incredibly difficult and wildly fun to pursue. All of these people played an integral part in making this year possible, and as such have my eternal gratitude.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you the best of luck in 2021.

Bird on,
Carter Strope 

P.S. For those who are curious, you can find my final list here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-aBB2NtpJ3PrhsqWTGs2cIu1phTC3l6J7GxwlDxv79s/edit?usp=drivesdk

Anyone see the Yellow-billed loon today?

On Dec 24, 2020, at 11:15 AM, Louisa Evers <elouisa603@...> wrote:



Dondi Black reports that the yellow-billed loon is still at Bell Rapids boat launch site as of approximately 11 am on December 24.

--

Louisa Evers

elouisa603@...

Kudos to our Boise CBC leaders, and participants!

I mentioned last night the 1981 count, my first. I'm attaching a scan of the page with our count, as published in American Birds - no kids, not on papyrus, but close :)

Seeing how the birds (and birders) have changed is one of the great appeals of our Christmas Bird Count, both from a scientific and more global perspective, but also from a personal and very specific perspective.

Jumping out at me beyond our 67 species were the count-week-but-not-count-day species : Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, and Mourning Dove.

Howdy folks

Boise's CBC was held today in a mix of very foggy (~1/3 to 1/2 of the circle?) to beautiful sunny weather.  A number of misses but some great finds. Thanks a ton to everyone who participated, and to the many folks to who helped coordinate!

Preliminary totals:

• participants: ~80
• species: 104 on count day, plus 6 count week species that had been seen Thurs-Sat but not today

Highlights:

• Trumpeter Swan (a 1st) - western greenbelt & ponds on N side
  
• RB Merganser (only a handful of years) - Barber Park
  
• Osprey (~7th time)
  
• Greater Yellowlegs (2nd time?)
• 2 Spotted Sandpipers (only a handful of years)
  
• Long-eared Owl (1st time?) - high in foothills
  
• 2 Bushtits (2nd time?) - on Joplin rd across from SW corner of storage facility
  
• Ovenbird (!!; 2nd time in a row) - private residence, can't be seen from street
• I don't know the address but knowing the CBC zone it was in, it can't be more than ~2 miles from the bird we hosted last winter ... same bird or serious coincidence??
  
• Western Tanager (1st time) - Barber Park
  
• Lincoln's Sparrow (~4th time) - canal W of Borah Park
  
• good variety of finches - Red Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, and Evening Grosbeak
• count week species: Lesser Scaup, Barred Owl, Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls, Blue Jay, Harris's Sparrow
  

Misses (mainly due to fog or access):

• blackbirds (too foggy to see main roost in gravel pits) - Yellow-headed, Brewer's, and BH Cowbird
• gulls - esp. Mew, Thayer's (landfill & wastewater treatment facility closed)
  
• Ring-necked Pheasant (less & less habitat in our circle)
• Rough-legged Hawk
• American Pipit

Please let me know if I missed anything :-) & happy new year!

Jay

Kudos to our Boise CBC leaders, and participants!

I mentioned last night the 1981 count, my first. I'm attaching a scan of the page with our count, as published in American Birds - no kids, not on papyrus, but close :)

Seeing how the birds (and birders) have changed is one of the great appeals of our Christmas Bird Count, both from a scientific and more global perspective, but also from a personal and very specific perspective.

Jumping out at me beyond our 67 species were the count-week-but-not-count-day species : Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, and Mourning Dove.

When in PA.did you bird venango COUNTY near oil city