Subject: Nez Perce County, Idaho
Date: Oct 22 18:24:12 1997
From: Deb Beutler - dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu


Sorry for the lateness of this report but the first part of the week
is very busy for me.
On Friday, October 17, 1997, I birded Mann's Lake and the Railroad
Bridge Levy Ponds, Nez Perce County, Idaho. I was at Mann's Lake from 1000
to 1330 PDT and the Railroad Bridge Levy Ponds (in Lewiston) from 1600 to 1630.
At Mann's Lake, the highlights were 6 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS including
one that had a bad leg and limped around after the other five. The only
other shorebirds were a few KILLDEER and a flock of 10 LONG-BILLED
DOWITCHERS. A PRAIRIE FALCON was hunting around the lake; I saw it buzz the
sandpipers and, later, I saw it devouring a female GREEN-WINGED TEAL.
Unusual also was a clean sweep of the grebes for this area: around fifty
WESTERN GREBES, three RED-NECKED GREBES, several HORNED GREBES, around
thirty EARED GREBES, and a few PIED-BILLED GREBES. There was also two GREAT
BLUE HERONS and one RING-BILLED GULL. The typical waterfowl were present:
thousands of CANADA GEESE, hundreds of MALLARDS, a large number of AMERICAN
WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BUFFLEHEADS, NORTHERN PINTAILS, RUDDY DUCKS, and
NORTHERN SHOVELERS. There were a small number (less than thirty)
CANVASBACKS, REDHEADS, RING-BILLED DUCKS, LESSER SCAUP, WOOD DUCKS, and
COMMON MERGANSERS (six, all females). There were also three domestic geese
that were trying to look like Snow Geese or swans. The only passerine I saw
was a couple of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS.
The Railroad Bridge Levy Ponds had their typical numbers of domestic
waterfowl, Canada Geese, Mallards, American Wigeon, Wood Ducks, and coots.
Interestingly, there were two SNOW GEESE, one still retaining juvenile
plumage. I have been informed that these may be releases from someone who
raises waterfowl in northern Idaho. There were a small number of NORTHERN
PINTAILS on the ponds as well. There was an unusual lack of diving ducks on
the ponds; I didn't even see one!
The best bird of the day for me was a COMMON LOON on the Clearwater
River just above the levy ponds. It was being harrassed by three
RING-BILLED GULLS for a fish it was trying to swallow. It dove under the
water and managed to swallow the fish (I think). The other birds on the
river were two WESTERN GREBES, several MALLRDS, hundreds of CANADA GEESE,
and a few RING-BILLED DUCKS. Interestingly, there was a lack of goldeneye
of either species. In the winter, there is a raft of Barrow's and Commons
here that number in the thousands. However, I only saw one or two the whole
day.
The only raptors of the day were several RED-TAILED HAWKS along the
route from Pullman to Lewiston and two NORTHERN HARRIERS (one along the road
and one at Mann's Lake), and many AMERICAN KESTRELS. So far, the
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS don't seem to make much of a movement into the Palouse.
I saw one in mid-September, but I haven't seen any since.

Deb Beutler
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 644236
Washington State Univerisity
Pullman, Whitman Co., WA
dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu