2019 Birding Blog: May 13 - City of Rocks National Reserve, Almo ID

We had a quick breakfast in Burley and were on the road quite early. Our first stop would be the City of Rocks National Reserve, a haven for campers and rock climbers. We were the only birders on this day, but the place is well known for bird-watching.

We had a number of target birds here including Virginia Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, and Gray and Dusky Flycatcher.

There were some birds to see on the way from Burley, including this Western Dark Morph Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk - Highway 71 near Burley, ID

This was my first Western Meadowlark of the year.

Western Meadowlark - Hwy 71 near Burley ID

2019 Bird #106

We also saw these Kestrels on the way, there was one more further off to the right that didn't make the frame. The photo was the best I could manage as we drove along the highway.

American Kestrel - Hwy 71 near Burley ID - 2019 Bird #107

On our approach to the City of Rocks, Chris spotted a Chipping Sparrow.

Chipping Sparrow - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

2019 Bird #108

We were now on a dirt and gravel road and were suddenly stopped by something you don't see at home in Vancouver.

Here's a short movie of the cattle drive.

The geology of this place is amazing, it seemed like we went from plains to a mountainous area in a very short time. The geology is explained here: Basin and Range Province

The major recreational activity is rock climbing.

We parked near a campground and started looking and listening for birds. It didn't take long to hear a Warbler song, it was a Virginia's Warbler. This was a lifer for both of us. Chris struggled to locate the bird and did not get a great shot. I was lucky to get this one.

Virginia's Warbler - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID - Life Bird #429
2019 Bird #109

We had another sighting about an hour later and Chris got his shots. This bird is similar to the Nashville Warbler, the distinctive feature is the grayish wing edges. The Nashville has some green on the wings.

Virginia's Warbler - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

After the warbler, the next bird sighted was a Green-tailed Towhee. We heard it before we saw it, it was singing loudly.

Green-tailed Towhee - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

2019 Bird #110

I'd already seen a male Cassin's Finch on the trip, this was the first female I'd seen.

Cassin's Finch - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

I had trouble identifying this bird when I looked at all my photos back home. I sent it to Chris and he came back with Female Lazuli Bunting. We saw the more colourful male later in the trip, but this one was my first of the year.

Lazuli Bunting (F) - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID - 2019 Bird #111

Next I heard the familiar call of the Mountain Chickadee, a bird I've seen numerous times in the Okanagan. I got a nice shot or two and started looking again for other birds. Chris was still with the Chickadee and didn't see interested in anything else. I asked him and told me it was a lifer.

I slapped my forehead (figuratively). Of course, being from the East, there was a good probability that he'd never seen one.

Mountain Chickadee - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

2019 Bird #112

A more common bird flew over, my first Turkey Vulture of the year. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of it.

Turkey Vulture - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

2019 Bird #113

I'm quite happy with this shot of a Violet-green Swallow. It's difficult to freeze them in motion.

Violet-green Swallow - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

Sharp-eyed Chris spotted a bird high above us and immediately identified it as a Townsend's Solitaire, a relative of Thrushes and Bluebirds.

Townsend's Solitaire - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID

2019 Bird #114

It had been three hours since we'd passed the cattle drive and we were still missing a couple of our target birds. We'd hoped to see Plumbeous Vireo and Gray or Dusky Flycatcher, both had been reported recently on E-Bird.

We walked further away from the campground where we'd parked and then heard a Flycatcher calling. It was in the open and we were able to get good shots, but we could not positively ID the bird. The Gray and Dusky are visually identical, they can only be differentiated by song. Chris had me record the call and we figured out that evening that it was a Dusky Flycatcher.

I was happy either way as either bird would have been a lifer.

Dusky Flycatcher - City of Rocks National Reserve, ID - Life Bird #430

2019 Bird #115

After that excitement, we saw a bird off to our left and it was another lifer, the Plumbeous Vireo. Like most vireos, it was not particularly shy and posed out in the open for us.