>Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 20:12:51 -0600
>Reply-To: gettinger <gettinger at EXECU.NET>
>Sender: "National Birding Hotline Cooperative (West)"
> <BIRDWEST at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
>From: gettinger <gettinger at EXECU.NET>
>Subject: [BIRDWEST] South Idaho RBA, April 6.
>To: BIRDWEST at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>
>RBA
>* South Idaho
>* Apr. 6, 1998
>* IDSO9804.06
>
>- birds mentioned
>
>
>Osprey
>Barrow's Goldeneyes
>Common Goldeneyes
>American Avocets
>Mew Gull
>Common Loons
>California Gulls
>Red-Breasted Mergansers
>Ring-billed Gulls
>Eurasian Wigeons
>American Wigeons
>Canvasbacks
>Redheads
>Ring-Necks
>Lesser Scaup
>
>- transcript
>
>Hotline: South Idaho Rare Bird Alert 208-236-3337
>To Report: Chuck Trost 208-236-3337
>Compiler: Diana Gettinger 208-378-9325
>
>
>This is the South Idaho Bird Alert, brought to you by the Idaho Museum
>of Natural History. This alert was updated on Monday, April 6th..
>
>Highlights for this week include two OSPREYS and two yearling MEW GULLS
below the dam
>at American Falls. AMERICAN AVOCETS have been spotted at two locations,
and the male
>EURASIAN WIGEON has been found again at Seagull Bay.
>
>Two yearling MEW GULLS was seen Saturday below the dam at American Falls.
It was sitting with
>several RING-BILLED GULLS on the rocks by the spillway on the south side of
the dam. To find it take
>Falls Avenue at the Circle K on the west side of town, drive straight down
to the parking lot and
>park below the dam, and look on the rocks to the east of the park. The
mantle of these young gulls
>is darker gray than the similar sized Ring-bills, and their tail is all
dark brown. Their wings are
>brown too, and their head is more round than Ring-billeds. One of them has
a slightly deformed,
>down curved bill. Two weeks ago an adult MEW GULL was there too. About 40
RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were fishing and courting in the calm water just
below the park on Saturday morning. There were two OSPREYS on the Snake
River near the light poles about a half mile downstream,
>out from the trout farm. They can best be seen from the overlook near the
landfill, just west of the cemetary, which is off McKinley Road on the west
side of American Falls. Both BARROW'S and COMMON GOLDENEYES are feeding and
courting in the Snake River just below the landfill.
>
>AMERICAN AVOCETS have been seen at Oxford Slough, which is south of Downey
off of US 91 on
>the way to Preston. Take the spur road off to the right about three miles
south of the town of
>Swan Lake and look out on the flooded alkali flats on each side of this
gravel road. If you keep
>going on this road follow the Sportsmans Access signs to Twin Lakes where
at least 30 COMMON
>LOONS have aggregated. This is at about C-3 on page 22 of the Idaho
DeLorme Atlas. AVOCETS
>have also been found on the north pond at Springfield, which is on Idaho 39
about half way between
>Blackfoot and American Falls.
>
>A beautiful male EURASIAN WIGEON has been present for over two weeks in the
pond at the upper
>end of Seagull Bay, which is about 15 miles west of Pocatello of of I-86.
Follow the signs to the
>marina, and park just after cresting the hill down to the bay. Do not
drive down to the water's edge,
>as you will flush all the ducks. Look for a flock of 75 AMERICAN WIGEONS
with which it feeds. On
>Saturday they were all grazing on the grass on the west side of the pond by
the railroad tracks. Many
>other ducks are also on the pond, including CANVASBACKS, REDHEADS,
RING-NECKS, AND
>LESSER SCAUP.
>
>Finally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been putting neck collars
on TRUMPETER SWANS
>in the area. If you see any marked birds please try to read the
alpha-numeric numbers on the
>collar and report it and the location to Steve Bouffard at (208) 237-6616
or e-mail at
>steve_bouffard at mail.fws.gov.
>
>

Deb Beutler
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 644236
Washington State Univerisity
Pullman (Whitman Co.), WA 99164-4236
dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu