Montana, June 21, 2021

We returned to Yellowstone Park that morning, stopping at beautiful Swan Lake. We continued down the road next to a rushing stream, with Josh listening carefully. Soon we pulled over and bushwhacked to the edge of the water. The American Dipper was singing loudly, in between hunting and feeding her three chicks.

We carried on into Idaho on our way to Twin Falls. We intended to check the lake at Harriman State Park. We saw a pair of Trumpeter swans, American Wigeons, Phalaropes, grebes and other waterfowl.

While we were returning from the lake we met a photographer/birder from Washington State. She described in detail how to find a group of Saw-whet Owl chicks right in the park not far away. As we got close to the location we were unsure about how to proceed. The birder showed up and took us straight to the spot. I was first in the group walking along a narrow path. Someone said stop!-look up! There was an owl right in front of me! We had to speak quietly and move carefully to avoid disturbing them but they remained perched while we all took photos. The bird in the second photo appears to have traces of blood around it’s mouth, probably left from breakfast. This was a real bonus sighting and unexpected. While this species was not a lifer for us, we still rarely see them.

We weren’t finished looking for owls. After dinner we left our hotel and headed for Magic Mountain Ski area outside of Twin Falls Idaho. By the time we got there it was starting to get dark.

Joshed played the call of the Flammulated Owl, and we heard it respond. We were in that general area from 10:10 pm until 11:30. In that time we heard four different Flammulated Owls but we never saw them. But “heard only” still qualifies the bird for the eBird list, giving us another lifer!