Discover the Joy of Birdwatching
The Southwestern Idaho Birders Association (SIBA) was founded in 1997 by a group of individuals who shared a common interest in birdwatching. Since then, we have grown into a thriving community that offers a variety of events and resources to our members.
The Mission of SIBA is "To promote birdwatching and environmental conservation among the members and general public."
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Spotted Sandpiper by Louisa Evers
Blue Grosbeak by Linda Wentz
Lazuli Bunting by Wyatt Tustin
Barred Owlet by Linda Wentz
Bird of the Month
by Louisa Evers
Bird of the Month: Dark-eyed Junco October’s bird is the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). While Dark-eyed Juncos are present year-round in the Treasure Valley, they are mostly at the higher elevations, such as up at Bogus Basin. By October, they are usually descending into the valleys for the winter. They come in many subspecies across the continent, but the Oregon subspecies is the most common here. The Slate-Colored subspecies is probably the next most common, but still fairly rare. Even more rare and difficult to identify is the Pink-Sided subspecies. A fourth rare subspecies is somewhat controversial in that not all experts agree that it is real. That is the Cassiar, or cismontanus, subspecies, which is thought to be an intergrade between the Oregon and Slate-Colored subspecies. The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most common songbirds in North America and a common subject of research in understanding songbird resource use, habitat portioning, and community structure. They have frequently been used to understand songbird physiological, behavioral, and neurological development due to its high tolerance for experimental manipulation. The Oregon subspecies is the most common subspecies in western North America while the Slate-Colored is most common in the east. The Oregon subspecies male has a black hood, brown back, grayish wings, and pinkish brown to brown sides and white belly. Females are more muted with a browner hood. The Slate-Colored subspecies is generally dark gray with a while belly. The Pink-Sided subspecies resembles a female Oregon subspecies, but the hood is grayer with black between the bill and eye (lores) and the sides are pinker. All forms have a pink bill and white outer tail feathers easily as the bird flies away. These sparrows are common backyard birds in mid-fall through mid-spring, preferring areas with shrubs like many sparrows. Look for them most anywhere with shrub cover. They forage almost entirely on the ground but may come to suspended or raised platform feeders. Most common foods are seeds and insects. They will also consume grit to help with digestion.
Meetings
2026 Meeting Schedule
Meetings are held on the second Thursday of the following months
at 7:00 PM Mountain Time
January – an all Zoom meeting
April – Hybrid meeting – in person and Zoom
July – Hybrid meeting – in person and Zoom
October – Hybrid meeting – in person and Zoom
November – Annual Member meeting – Hybrid – in person and Zoom.
November 12th – Annual Member meeting – Hybrid – in person and Zoom
Election of officers will be held. Hai is creating a slideshow of photos submitted by members
for our entertainment. We will have awesome door prizes and great snacks.
In-person meetings are held at the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
13751 Upper Embankment Rd, Nampa, ID
Join Zoom Meeting at the scheduled time:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81011857044?pwd=vgLpycJkjrrZZnbQWNdQZ6RRljas3y.1
Meeting ID: 810 1185 7044
Passcode: 031179
Field Trips
Upcoming Field Trips
Ted Trueblood WMA and CJ Strike Reservoir
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
Time: 7:00 a.m.
Location: Meet Near the Sinclair station
at 6584 S Federal Way, Boise, ID
Trip Leader: James Jarrett
Registration Required: email James Jarrett at SIBAFieldTrip@gmail.com
We will meet near the Sinclair Station and form carpools to drive to Ted Trueblood and CJ Strike.
We hope to see migrating waterfowl, gulls, terns, and loons. This will be an all-day trip so bring water, lunch, binoculars, and layers for fall weather.
Field Trip Leader: James Jarrett
Registration Required for all field trips:
email James Jarrett at SIBAFieldTrip@gmail.com
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS 2026
Please mark your calendars for the following CBC dates:
Garden Valley CBC - Dec 16
Contact Louisa Evers - elouisa603@gmail.com
Nampa CBC - Dec 19
Contact Cheryl Huizinga - bchuizinga@gmail.com
Boise CBC - Dec 26
Contact TBA
Report for October SIBA Field Trip to Lake Cascade and Beyond
Six birders came out for the SIBA monthly Field Trip to Lake Cascade. It was the annual Global Big Day so were we were excited to add our counts to global counts. We met up in Boise and Cascade and started scoping the south end of Lake Cascade hoping for scoters, rare loons etc. We didn’t find any of those but 3000+ coots were fun! We did see a lot of different duck species though and even a rare to the area Great-tailed Grackle. We continued driving along Lake Cascade stopping at a couple more scoping spots and adding species to our day. We decided to head up to the McCall area to check out Payette Lake and Camp Ida Haven, a private camp where we had permission to enter. Several passerine species like Mountain Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper were added to our lists at this camp. At Rotary Park we heard and saw Evening Grosbeaks which have been seen frequently this fall even in valley areas. We continued on our way down Hwy 95 and sharp-eyed Shannan spotted a leucistic Red-tailed Hawk along the road. This bird has been in this area since last winter and has been counted during a Winter Raptor Route. California Scrub-jays and also Blue Jays have been reported in a certain neighborhood in Weiser so our cars headed to this spot to see if we could add them to the day’s list. We did find 3 Scrub-jays but no Blue Jays.
This day was a typical fall day in Valley County but overall we enjoyed nice temperatures and not a lot of wind. We ended the day with 50 species of birds with 7 eBird checklists to add to global counts. And a good time had by all!
Photo by Cindy Peters
Member Photo Gallery
Contact Us
If you have any questions about the Southwestern Idaho Birders Association,
please don't hesitate to contact us. You can reach us by email by entering your name, email and a message then click submit. Alternately, message us through our Facebook page. To join or renew membership, click on Join Now button to download the form.