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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

June visit to Camas NWR (1 Viewer)

Thanks for mentioning Market Lake, Andrew. I have seen Market Lake WMA as Camas WMA not to be confused with Camas NWR. Anyway, we expect to be traveling that same interstate and in the same direction after week in the Tetons. Camas NWR has a really nice list of breeding birds that we'd like to see, including Short-eared Owl and Black Tern. I see that Market Lake WMA has some excellent sagebrush species listed. We might not have time for both. Too many good birding sites!

Steve
 
A quick stop along I-15 can net you several of the species you mentioned. The marsh at Market Lake is right along the interstate. The sage area is a little bit north; in fact, you can get to Hamer along the frontage road heading north from Hwy. 33. I've even seen Short-eared Owl sitting on fence posts in the area.

The I-15/Hwy. 33 crossing is known as Sage Junction. Sage Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Ferruginous Hawk, and Burrowing Owl can all be found from the gravel frontage road. I've even had Bobolink out there!

I actually prefer Market Lake to Camas. It's easier to get to (I'm usually heading east to Rexburg and the Island Park area), and the birds are fantastic. I'd dare say that there are even fewer mosquitos!

Both Market Lake and Camas are known for their tendency to attract vagrants. If you have time, both are totally worth it.
 
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A quick stop along I-15 can net you several of the species you mentioned. The marsh at Market Lake is right along the interstate. The sage area is a little bit north; in fact, you can get to Hamer along the frontage road heading north from Hwy. 33. I've even seen Short-eared Owl sitting on fence posts in the area.

The I-15/Hwy. 33 crossing is known as Sage Junction. Sage Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Ferruginous Hawk, and Burrowing Owl can all be found from the gravel frontage road. I've even had Bobolink out there!

I actually prefer Market Lake to Camas. It's easier to get to (I'm usually heading east to Rexburg and the Island Park area), and the birds are fantastic. I'd dare say that there are even fewer mosquitos!

Both Market Lake and Camas are known for their tendency to attract vagrants. If you have time, both are totally worth it.

Short-eared Owl on fence posts, huh? Sounds easy to me; wouldn't want to have to get out of the car or anything that involved effort! 8-P

Good feedback, Steve. You guys are talking us into a stop at Market Lake. We may do the frontage road at Sage Junction as well. It's those birds that we will probably be looking for. I'll assume that list would include Sage Grouse.
Thanks -

Steve
 
For Pinyon Jay, Gray Flycatcher, and Juniper Titmouse, we'll be looking for Pinyon-Juniper habitat. Would that be expected to be mixed with Sagebrush and found at Sage Corner or Market Lake or is that more montane in location?

Steve
 
Pinyon Jay, Gray Flycatcher, and Juniper Titmouse are all found (some easier than others) in the area around Pocatello. Gray FC and the titmouse can be found at Kinney Creek, which lies in the Mink Creek Recreation Area. Here are the Google Map coordinates for Kinney Creek:

42.760334,-112.397186

Pinyon Jay is irregular in the area. An eBird search should give you locations where they've been seen in the last few years. There's a boat ramp on the South Fork of the Snake that has hosted them (and they've been seen in the general area), and there's one neighborhood in Pocatello that has had them (I saw them last year after seven years of 1x/yr. searches).

Also, as to the SE Owls on fence posts - it's happened a few times, but they've been tougher to see the last few years.

I know all of this because I lead birding tours to Idaho each summer. I'll be up there June 5-18 this year. I also lived in the state for two years and am on the team that holds the Big Day record for the state.

If you'd like more information, my email is sgross77 AT comcast DOT net
 
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