A couple of first-of-year birds near Garden Valley

Towards the end of March we spent part of an afternoon around Garden Valley. Spring migration is just starting to pick up a little bit, and still has a long way to go, but we did still have a couple of new birds for the year. First off was a Vesper Sparrow and an Osprey that we saw while driving around South Fork Landing.

Vesper Sparrow at South Fork Landing, Boise County. March 28, 2015.

Osprey at South Fork Landing, Boise County. March 28, 2015.

Also nearby, though not our first-of-year, was this pair of Hooded Mergansers.

Hooded Mergansers at South Fork Landing, Boise County. March 28, 2015.

We headed up the Middle Fork of the Payette River (north of Crouch) to check out Bell Creek, one of our favorite spots in the area. There wasn’t a lot of action yet, but we did photograph this Common Merganser on the way up, as well as one of the many Red-breasted Nuthatches that were hanging out at Bell Creek.

Common Merganser on the Middle Fork of the Payette River, Boise County. March 28, 2015.

Red-breasted Nuthatch at Bell Creek, Boise County. March 28, 2015.

We’ll be back to Bell Creek soon to track down our Ruffed Grouse for the year.