For some reason I believed the weather reports that said the snow today was only going to be a "smidge." But as I rode, the snow got heavier. So, I finally turned around about halfway through my normal route. It was when I went into the rest room at the Willow Lane athletic complex that I saw myself in the mirror—totally covered in snow—that I decided to turn around.
But the reward was great. I found a Bald Eagle, a Great Horned Owl and lots of water birds along the way. The most unique was a Red-breasted Merganser at Esther Simplot Park. I caught a glimpse of it a few days ago at Quinn's Pond, but he was far out, and I didn't feel confident enough to post. Last time I reported one it caused a bit of a stir because no one ever found the bird.
Final tally was 26 species in 7 (snowy) miles
Tom McCabe, Boise
Also a pair of Long-tailed Ducks were seen just upstream of the bridge from Island Park in Marsing. Linda WentzÂ
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 12:59 PM, Denise Hughes via groups.io<deniseh449...> wrote:  A Green Heron was found in Marsing at Island Park on Tuesday and a pair of California Scrub Jays were found in Weiser.  https://ebird.org/checklist/S299770949
Date: 2/12/26 11:59 am From: Denise Hughes via groups.io <deniseh449...> Subject: [IBLE] Uncommon birds
A Green Heron was found in Marsing at Island Park on Tuesday and a pair of California Scrub Jays were found in Weiser. https://ebird.org/checklist/S299770949
Date: 2/1/26 3:46 pm From: Diann Stone via groups.io <dstoneak2id...> Subject: Re: [IBLE] White loon at CJ Strike Reservoir in Owyhee County
Wow! Such an unusual sight to see!
Diann Stone Boise
On Sun, Feb 1, 2026, 9:49 AM R L ROWLAND RONALD ROWLAND via groups.io
<rlrowland...> wrote:
> Hey all, RL here.
>
> Saw the reported white loon yesterday afternoon. First had in my scope
> from the Black Sands eBird Hotspot. Went around to the Cove Rec. Site to
> get better views.
>
> The bird was with two other COLO's and all were ...the same size. Had in
> scope and during the time I was there, the bird did not rise out of the
> water, but, was actively preening its back over its right shoulder, no wing
> stretching, lifting a leg to scratch or any other out of water movement. So
> did not see any thing I could say was a sign of being banded. May try again
> later this day.
>
> My take is that this bird is leucistic, not albino. Had a dark eye and
> the bill was a normal COLO coloration.
>
> CGB. RL
>
> On Sun, 1 Feb, 2026 at 7:49 AM, Kent Kleman via groups.io <Kentkleman=
> <msn.com...> wrote:
>
> To: <ible...>
> On January 30 I posted on the Idaho Rare Birds Facebook page about an
> all-white loon at Cove Recreation Site on CJ Strike. I have been contacted
> by biologists who banded a young white loon last year. They asked if I saw
> any leg bands in the event it lifted a leg out of the water to stretch or
> scratch its face. I didn’t see any bands.
>
> If anyone goes out to see it, look for leg bands and note the color of
> them as well as the leg they were on. Also, try to compare the size of it
> relative to the other loons in the area.
>
> Very interesting bird for sure.
>
> Kent
>
> [image: image0.jpeg][image: image1.jpeg]
>
>
>
Date: 2/1/26 8:49 am From: R L ROWLAND RONALD ROWLAND via groups.io <rlrowland...> Subject: Re: [IBLE] White loon at CJ Strike Reservoir in Owyhee County
Hey all, RL here.
Saw the reported white loon yesterday afternoon. First had in my scope from the Black Sands eBird Hotspot. Went around to the Cove Rec. Site to get better views.
The bird was with two other COLO's and all were ...the same size. Had in scope and during the time I was there, the bird did not rise out of the water, but, was actively preening its back over its right shoulder, no wing stretching, lifting a leg to scratch or any other out of water movement. So did not see any thing I could say was a sign of being banded. May try again later this day.
My take is that this bird is leucistic, not albino. Had a dark eye and the bill was a normal COLO coloration.
CGB. RL
On Sun, 1 Feb, 2026 at 7:49 AM, Kent Kleman via groups.io <Kentkleman...> wrote:
To: <ible...>
On January 30 I posted on the Idaho Rare Birds Facebook page about an all-white loon at Cove Recreation Site on CJ Strike. I have been contacted by biologists who banded a young white loon last year. They asked if I saw any leg bands in the event it lifted a leg out of the water to stretch or scratch its face. I didn’t see any bands.
If anyone goes out to see it, look for leg bands and note the color of them as well as the leg they were on. Also, try to compare the size of it relative to the other loons in the area.
Date: 2/1/26 6:49 am From: Kent Kleman via groups.io <Kentkleman...> Subject: [IBLE] White loon at CJ Strike Reservoir in Owyhee County
On January 30 I posted on the Idaho Rare Birds Facebook page about an all-white loon at Cove Recreation Site on CJ Strike. I have been contacted by biologists who banded a young white loon last year. They asked if I saw any leg bands in the event it lifted a leg out of the water to stretch or scratch its face. I didn’t see any bands.
If anyone goes out to see it, look for leg bands and note the color of them as well as the leg they were on. Also, try to compare the size of it relative to the other loons in the area.
