IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Rosy Breasted Grosbeak

HOW MANY:

One male

REPORTER:

Barbara Harp
4644 U.S. Highway 93
Mackay, ID 83251
208 588-2977

REPORTER EMAIL:

salmonrvr@yahoo.com

OTHER OBSERVERS:

My husband, Rodger, initially spotted this bird.

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

June 12, 2007

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

June 2, 2007

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

Boulder Creek, tributary of Wildhorse Creek, Custer County. 4 miles up the Boulder Creek trail in the high meadow.

HABITAT:

Boggy on the edge of timber, lots of small snow=melt rivulets

CONDITIONS:

Watched him for ten minutes. Weather was unsettled, cloudy, in the high 50's. Bird was 50-75 feet away foraging on the ground. How sad I had no camera! Never again will I leave my camera and bird book behind.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

No, not at all

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

Yes, another day after the observation

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

audubon.com plus two others on line.

My bird books were all at the summer cabin! So I then called Beth Waterbury of Idaho Fish and Game.

DESCRIPTION:

This bird was clearly seen, including with binoculars, and he wasn't far away. Definitely the grosbeak head, beak, black head, wings with white, and phenomenal red breast. Very colorful.

BEHAVIOR:

Foraging amongst low-growing shrubs and along a small snow-melt rivulet. Not flighty or nervous. Seemed perfectly at home in this environment.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?

This bird is hard to confuse with any other, but I was so surprised finding it here, and at this altitude, that I called Beth Waterbury at the Salmon office of the Idaho Fish & Game, after consulting three bird guides on-line.

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

It was definitely a rosy breasted grosbeak, but nonetheless, I went through every grosbeak possible on line to ascertain that.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

With bird feeders in the back yard, I see plenty of black headed grosbeaks and evening grosbeaks. But, WOW! The color on this bird!

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

I've been birding since 1983, and have included sightings of harlequin ducks and elegant trogons (Arizona) to my bird list. I'm too old to think I'm real good,:~) so I make up for that by being very careful to note every detail possible.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:

None