Birding Fish Creek and the Portnuef River Near Lava Hot Springs Idaho

Female Mountain Bluebird

Nery, Dave and Bennett at Fish Creek 

This last weekend we attended a wonderful Family Reunion in Lava Hot Springs Idaho, it was a bird paradise. For the middle of July it seemed more like late May. Unfortunately I did not get a lot of pictures or any new life birds but did see many I haven't seen for a while.  We had a pair of Mountain Blue Birds nesting in the eaves of the cabin we stayed in and a House Wren nesting in an old shed in the back. I did get pictures of these birds.

Male Mountain Bluebird

House Wren

Here is a list of birds seen during two days of casual birding Fish Creek and while fishing on the Portnuef River
Western Kingbird
Mountain Bluebird
House Wren
Calliope Hummingbird, chasing insects up and down Fish Creek
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Chipping Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
American Goldfinch
Great Blue Heron
Sandhill Crane
Common Raven
American Crow
Black-billed Magpie
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
American Kestrel
Song Sparrow
Cassin's Finch
Gray Catbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Robin
European Starling
Bullock's Oriole
Lazuli Bunting
Yellow-headed Blackbird
House Finch
Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove

July Bird of the Month Brown-headed Cowbird

There are some birds that seem to be infamous among humans, some hate Magpies, others hate Starlings, Gulls seem to have gained a bad reputation., Crows, Ravens and even Jays are spoken of unkindly by some people. The Great-tailed Grackle is considered a pest by many and then there is the Brown-headed Cowbird the "parasitical nester, too lazy to build it's own nest or to raise their own young. One thing all of these "infamous" birds have in common is that they are all successful. In other words they have learned to adapt to the encroachment of humans to their natural habitat.

The Brown-headed cowbird that once followed herds of Bison on the prairies ( that by the way is how they got their name) now frequents all kinds of habitats and are doing well.

It is true that Brown-headed Cowbirds do not build their own nests, they lay their eggs in the nests of other host birds from the tiny Kinglet to Meadowlarks. Some birds like the Yellow Warbler have learned to recognize the Cowbirds eggs and get rid of them or build a new nest on top of the intruder eggs. Other birds never notice that they are raising Cowbirds instead of their own offspring. These kinds of things sound so horrible to humans but for some reason that is the Cowbirds place in nature. I will not pretend to understand what niche the Cowbirds fill but I do know that nature left to its self is as it should be. So my choice of Bird of the Month for July 2011 is the Brown-headed Cowbird.

Like all Blackbirds the Brown-headed Cowbird is a handsome bird. The male is glossy black with a rich brown head that sometimes appears black but in the right light you can see the deep brown color.

The Female is a brownish gray color

At Antelope Island in the Great Salt lake you can still find Cowbirds following the Bison

Eating flying insects from the back of Bison

Every Spring I see groups of Cowbirds in the trees in my back yard. I don't know if they are looking for places to lay their eggs, I have Robins, Bullocks Orioles, House Finches, House Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings and Starlings nesting in or around my yard. They never hang around long just a short stop then on their way.

Cowbirds visiting my back yard.

There are many Brown-headed Cowbirds at Farmington Bay, they are summer residents, though I have occasionally seen them in the winter with flocks of Brewers Blackbirds.