Mud Lake | Market Lake 7/26--GRAY PARTRIDGE, Eared Grebe, Long-billed Dowitcher, Vesper Sparrow

Shari attempts to use Scott's scope at Mud Lake

We changed our base of operations to Pocatello on the 25th and on the 26th we went north (I think) to bird a few WMAs. The first place was Mud Lake WMA which at first looked like there was no lake at all. It was here that we got our 3rd lifer of the trip when a GRAY PARTRIDGE flushed from the side of the road. Of course, the days we went slowly up and down country roads looking for one we didn't find it. The law of birding that states you won't see a bird until you give up applies here. Most of the group got to see the bird for a flash, but wanting a better look for all, we stopped and let Scott wander through the back of the field, hoping the bird would pop its head up. Instead, the whole bird popped up, flew 20 feet and dove down into the scrub, never to be seen again, but all the group got a good a look at the whole bird.

Mud Lake itself, when we finally came around to it, had lots of waterfowl on it, but the only new bird was a couple of Eared Grebes. The last year bird there was a couple of Vesper Sparrows on a fence on our way out.

41 species

Canada Goose  85

Redhead  7

Bufflehead  1

Ruddy Duck  7

GRAY PARTRIDGE  1

Eared Grebe  2

Western Grebe  500

Clark's Grebe  3

Mourning Dove  10

Common Nighthawk  10

American Coot  50

Spotted Sandpiper  1

Common Loon  1

Double-crested Cormorant  11

American White Pelican  2

Snowy Egret  1

Black-crowned Night-Heron  1

White-faced Ibis  14

Northern Harrier  1

Swainson's Hawk  20

Western Wood-Pewee  1

Willow Flycatcher  1    Heard

Western Kingbird  2

Eastern Kingbird  8

Black-billed Magpie  6

Northern Rough-winged Swallow  10

Tree Swallow  25

Bank Swallow  50

Cliff Swallow  10

Mountain Chickadee  1    Heard

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1    Heard

House Wren  1

American Robin  7

American Goldfinch  1    Heard

Vesper Sparrow  2

Song Sparrow  2    Heard

Western Meadowlark  1

Bullock's Oriole  1

Yellow Warbler  2

Black-headed Grosbeak  1

Lazuli Bunting  1

We drove to Camas NWR which has impoundments but the place was pretty dry and aside from finding a couple of Bald Eagles (which are "infrequent" in the area) and a couple of Sandhill Cranes, there wasn't anything unusual there.

Our last stop of the day, Market Lake WMA, I wish we could have spent more time at because birds just seem to be popping up wherever you looked, but there is always the tyranny of the clock. The year bird there was Long-billed Dowitcher and what a relief not to have to worry about whether they were Short-billed Dowitchers (which don't occur) or whether they looked like they swallowed a grapefruit, or a basketball, or a bowling ball, or anything else subjective. Of course, there had to be a problem with them. We at first saw 2 dowitchers, no big deal, then came across a flock of 15, which made 17 for the day and which, apparently, is an unusually large number of LBDO for the area. I took a doc shot of the 15, which Scott and I both carefully counted and do I really care if my LBDO record is accepted in Jefferson County, ID?

15 Long-billed Dowitchers

19 species

Canada Goose  40

Pied-billed Grebe  2

American Avocet  1

Killdeer  2

Semipalmated Sandpiper  1

Western Sandpiper  10

Long-billed Dowitcher  17    1x1 count

Wilson's Snipe  2

Wilson's Phalarope  10

Spotted Sandpiper  2

Lesser Yellowlegs  3

Caspian Tern  2

Black-crowned Night-Heron  1

White-faced Ibis  2

Northern Harrier  1

Eastern Kingbird  1

Barn Swallow  2

Savannah Sparrow  8

Common Yellowthroat  1