Fall bird migrations begin in eastern Idaho

“Dang, I got here too late,” I thought as I saw a Peregrine falcon flying off with a young Black-necked stilt in its talons as I rounded the south end of Toomey Pond on Camas National Wildlife Refuge last Monday.

I had stopped to visit several places for pictures and observations making me miss the falcon attack but there were birds everywhere on the large mud flats creating feeding areas for shore birds. The willows, cattails and bulrushes were full of songbirds, mostly summer residents with their young getting ready to head south.

I watched as the Yellow-headed blackbirds picked off the thousands of grasshoppers in the marsh grass and while photographing some stilts I recorded a young one as it picked off a flying dragonfly. Pairs of sandhill cranes were also feasting on the grasshoppers as they flushed the insects while walking through the tall grass.

Later while searching for songbirds among the mature cottonwoods north of the refuge headquarters, I met Darren Clark, a birding expert from Rexburg.

“Pretty quiet in the trees today,” Clark said as we walked along. “There were more the other day, but the windy conditions yesterday probably blew them out. It is still early as the songbird migration should start next week; then it will get busy.”

Yellow and Wilson’s warblers, and a few House wrens showed themselves as we walked along the canal between the rows of huge cottonwoods.

“This year there have been some Blue grosbeaks in the willows around Toomey Pond and I think they even nested there,” said Clark. “They hide pretty well, but once in a while you can catch them sitting out in the open.”

After spending about an hour and a half at Camas, Clark reported that he observed 56 species of birds before leaving. As I went over my list and compared it to his, I found they were very different. He had 14 species that I did not have while I had six that he did not, but we were there at different times and have different observation techniques. He did not record the Eastern and Western kingbirds or a baby Short-eared owl that I got pictures of.

With the songbirds migrating through Camas NWR, Mud Lake and Market Lake Wildlife Management in the next couple of weeks followed by the shorebird, raptor and then the waterfowl migrations, there will be a lot of exciting activities for interested observers. For me, being patient is the key for observing what the birds really do. Watching the young stilt catch and harvest a dragonfly was a first for me as well as watching a young Black-crowned night heron harvest swimming insects while ignoring a covey of butterflies feeding on the mud a couple of feet away. Obviously butterflies were not on its grocery list.

The abundance of water this summer has created large mud flats along the auto route through Camas but they are quickly receding and drying up. Hopefully I will be able to make at least two trips there each week during these migrations to enjoy the games that are played in real time. Early in the morning is probably the best time; evening second best but right now any time is good.

With at least one large bull moose, elk, deer and coyotes at Camas you may luck into seeing them while you are there. Observations are to be enjoyed and stories to be created as you watch real life in action unfold before you. On the way home I stopped at nine burrowing owl nests but saw only three, the rest has flown the coop and migrated south.