Monthly counts- July 2023

July was a lackluster month for birds.

We added a paltry two species to the annual bird list- Clark’s Grebe and Caspian Tern on the first of the month in the Island Park area of Idaho. Yearly total stands at 186 species.

We missed the opportunity to add several ‘rare’ species that we learned about through the local birding community, but most of them would have required a pretty decent effort to obtain and our schedules didn’t permit. Oh well, almost half the year remains to break the 200 mark.

Wildflowers, on the other hand, were rather abundant in July. Forty-five new species for the year. We also managed 109 miles of hiking, mostly on Mt. Helena, and a healthy 29,840 feet of accumulated elevation gain for the month.  

Onward!