Birds in Idaho - Part 2

Western Tanager near the Greenhorn Trail, in Hailey, Idaho

 This is my third post of the interesting birds we observed on our vacation to Utah, Wyoming and Idaho this summer, and the second post that focuses on the birds of Idaho. After traveling through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks, we spent the second half of our vacation in Idaho. From the barren land of Craters of the Moon National Monument, to the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, and then the cliffs of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation area we saw some interesting and unique birds.

Idaho has an abundance of rivers, in fact it has the most river miles of any state in the country.  It is revered by fisherman and provides great habitat for birds and other wildlife..

Osprey definitely find ample opportunity to fish. On our way to Craters of the Moon, we took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway. Our first stop was at Upper Mesa Falls located at Henry's Fork of the Snake River. This pair of osprey found a perfect perch to build a nest.
A well maintained boardwalk provides access to a closeup look at the falls that drop 114 feet.

The next day we spent the morning at Craters of the Moon, one of the national monuments that was on President Trump's list for reevaluation. Fortunately, no changes to its designation were recommended by Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke. We were warned that the temperature can sometimes be unbearably hot, so I put on my shorts, but it was definitely a hat and gloves day, being both cold and windy!

Standing in front of lava formations at Craters of the Moon National Monument

In spite of the seemingly inhospitable environment here, over 200 species of birds have been identified. During the short time we were there, I only saw a handful of different species and I am thinking that the wind was a factor.

A colorful Mountain Bluebird at Craters

The Clark's Nutcracker is the size of a jay and is grey with black wings. This one was hiding in the thicket

Another interesting birding area we visited was less than an hour drive from Boise - the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, where more than 700 pairs of raptors nest each spring along the Snake River Canyon.

Snake River Canyon

Although we didn't see many raptors it was still an amazing place to visit. The first birds that we saw were ravens, although they are not technically birds of prey, this area provided a perfect habitat for them. Down by the river we saw dozens flying around the cliffs.  Based on their size and the apparent coaxing of their parents, I suspected that these nesting Ravens were ready to take flight within hours. I have written previously about the intelligence of these birds so it was disheartening to learn that in 2014 the State of Idaho was granted a permit by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill 4000 Ravens in an attempt to reverse the decline of Sage-Grouse. I am not sure if the plan was ever implemented.

Parent and "baby" Raven

In addition to birds, the conservation area is home to many mammals and herps (e.g. reptiles and snakes.) The Lizard below crossed our path. It had beautiful blue dots on its back.

Common Side-blotched Lizard

We followed the road down the canyon to a dam and the Swan Falls Picnic area where we ate our lunch. This is the site of the Swan Falls Hydroelectric Dam operated by Idaho Power.

The Swan Falls Dam hydroelectric plant was built in 1901 and is now a museum

It was a beautiful spot for a picnic and there were several female Barrow's Goldeneyes swimming on the river.  

This Barrow's Goldeneye has a quizzical look

After we finished our sandwiches, we continued on the road along the river. The road turns to dirt and becomes narrow, but is still easily passable. Not surprisingly, we saw another osprey and nest.

The rope adds some color to the nest, but I wonder if it's a safety hazard to birds that may get caught up in it.

The topography at the end of the road was very interesting and another reminder of how varied the landscape is in Idaho. The road finally ended, so we turned around and continued on to our next destination, Celebration Park.

These rock formations looked like giant's feet

Dirt road along the Snake River

On the drive we saw a Long-billed Curlew, a species of concern in Idaho.

Long-billed Curlew

Celebration Park

Celebration Park is an archeological site, with a 10,000 year old history of nomadic tribes living in the area. It is also on the Idaho Birding Trail.
There is a museum on the premises and a visitor center where there are maps, but it was closed when we arrived. Because of this, we did not know exactly how to get to the rocks with the petroglyphs, for which the park is most known. Instead, I took a random walk toward the cliffs to see what I could find. Immediately, I saw a Peregrine falcon, but it flew either into one of the many rock crevices, or around the side before I could capture a photo. The rock formations themselves were very interesting and there were lots of cliff swallows flying around and as I got closer, I could see the colony of nests.

A colony of Cliff swallows

I was so preoccupied watching the birds, that I did not notice the snake coiled on a rock slab to the right of the nests until I started gathering photos for this blog.

Snake at Celebration Park. 

You can not see its entire body, but it was either very long, or there was a second snake behind it. Also I am not sure if it was a Gopher snake or a Rattlesnake since they are both known to inhabit the area. I am just glad that it was a distance away.

It was late afternoon by the time we left the park to return to Boise. We decided to make one last birding stop at the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge. Our timing was not good again, as the visitors center was closing just as we pulled into the parking lot. Because of this, we only stayed briefly and did not observe the many water birds for which the refuge is know. We did see several Magpies, and even though it's a common bird in the West, they are beautiful and entertaining to watch.

Black-billed Magpie

I realize now that this blog could have probably been divided into two. We also visited the Sun Valley/Ketchum area where we went on a three mile hike in Hailey. The photo at the beginning of this blog was taken from that trip. Idaho is a beautiful state and the birds that can be found their reflect that beauty.