Yellow Warbler Habitats
Submitted by Jenny Kaylor on Wed, 2017-07-12 00:00
Today we visited a location along the Boise river where Intermountain Bird Observatory is conducting various ornithology research projects. Talking with a past participant who worked specifically with yellow warblers he mentioned that the birds who nested near the river had greater fat content than those who lived near lucky peak and how the riparian zone was a more preferred habitat by the warblers. This made me wonder if those living in the less preferred montaine zone were there due to competition/limited habitat and if so, how much of that has to do with man.
Comments
Birds in the Boise Watershed
Hello Jenny,
Amazing pictures in some of the posts showing the birds being held for banding. What a feeling that must be! It is interesting to me that this is a project where citizen voluteers are sought for help, and something I will look into. I do quite a bit of hiking in the foothills with my dog, and we are constantly seeing and hearing the local birds. I am not sure the name of the zone that encompasses the foothills, but it seems rife with both songbirds and raptors. It is a joy to hear the early morning bird sounds while hiking and I use an app on my phone to try to identify the bird. Also, the large birds (hawks, owls) that nest in the area seem to be of no interest to my dog (unlike the smaller, quickly moving birds!), but I have experienced their interest in the dog. One evening this spring, close to dusk, we were leaving the trail and I heard a whooshing sound, looked up, and saw a Great Horned Owl (I think - I am certainly no expert) swoop down and check out the dog from about 3 meters off the ground - definitely exciting for me but totally ignored by the dog.
I look forward to exploring and learning more about the local bird populations.
Hungry Owls
It is probably a good thing your dog wasn't smaller! Since moving to Idaho I have developed a greater interest in birds of prey and subsequently all local birds. I was enthralled by the research they were doing at the site we visited and hope to somehow get involved in the future as well!