"If you take care of the birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems of the world."

Thomas Lovejoy

~News and Upcoming Events~



• 126th Christmas Bird Counts - Updates

• February Photo Share 2/06/26 - Pick out 10 of your best bird photos from 2025 and email them to Jan Simpkin jsmpkn@gmail.com to be included in the program!



• Photo Share Party Details ~ Thursday, February 6th at the Lamphouse Theater

• Citizen Science: The Great Backyard Bird Count

Christmas Bird Counts ~ Four down, one to go!

A BIG Thank you to all of the compilers and birders who participated in our local

Randy Smith and Pat Weber - Photo by Pat Weber

Flowers blooming at Bluegill Pond on Dec 20th! -

Photo by Sarah Harris

Lesser Black-backed Gull - Photo by Pat Weber

Billingsley Creek WMA - Photo by Sarah Harris

Jarbidge, NV ~ Tuesday, Dec 23rd

Karl Ruprecht, Compiler

Karl had plans to conduct the Jarbidge NV CBC on the 18th of December. However he was forced to change the date due to predicted high winds. If you've seen the downed trees on the CSI campus, you know he made the right decision. Sadly, no one decided to join him on the 23rd. Karl did the count all by himself. He tallied 5 species - 3 Black-billed Magpies, 18 Townsend's Solitaires, 54 American Robins, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos, and 1 Golden Eagle.

We would love to see your photographs!!



Submit Your 10 Best Bird Photos from 2025

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Start reviewing all your photos/videos and select ones you would like to share with our group. Please choose high quality photos in a jpeg format. Photos will be placed into a PowerPoint presentation and displayed on a large screen.

Maximum number of photos – 10 per person.

How to submit: 

• Photos should be in jpeg format, and should be consecutively numbered in the title to make sure they load in the order you intend. Please email in jpeg format (high resolution) to jsmpkn@gmail.com.
• Correct identification (we can help) of bird and where the photo was taken needs to be noted. To help Jan, and her assistant Randy, label your photos like this:

1. Vermillion Flycatcher, Kimberly, ID
2. Great-tailed Grackle, Bliss, ID

• You do not need to be in attendance to share photos.
• And you do not need to share photos to attend :) Everyone is welcome!
• Submission Deadline:  January 31st, 2026.

We will regale ourselves with photographs and videos taken by the best photographers around – our members!!!  It’s your chance to share with everyone special moments you’ve encountered while traveling or simply looking out your back window.

We would love to see your photographs!!

Vermillion Flycatcher

Kimberly, Idaho

Melody Asher, Photographer

Annual February Photo Sharing

PARTY!

Thursday, February 6, 2026

7:00 PM

On the BIG Screen at the

Lamphouse Theater

223 5th Ave S

Please join Prairie Falcon’s Photo Sharing Party.

Get together with your birding pals to share photos and the stories behind the photos.

Soft drinks, wine, beer, popcorn

and more available for purchase!

What a great way to kick-start another season of great

Prairie Falcon Audubon programs. 

CITIZEN SCIENCE

Get Involved!

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

February 14-17, 2026

WATCH A VIDEO - How to Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count - GBBC

Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds.

Step 1: Decide where you will watch birds. Anywhere will do - home, park, WMA, a Magic Valley Birding Hotspot!

Step 2: Watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 13-16, 2026.

Step 3: Identify all the birds you see or hear within your planned time/location and use the best tool for sharing your bird sightings:

• Use the eBird Mobile app or enter your bird list on the eBird website (desktop/laptop).
• If you are a beginning bird admirer and new to bird identification, try using the Merlin Bird ID app to tell us what birds you are seeing or hearing.

If you already contribute to Merlin or eBird, continue what you are doing! All entries over the 4-days count towards GBBC.

If you want to start ebirding here is a great beginner TUTORIAL

Ways to help winter birds

From Penn State Extension

1. Leave leaf litter lie on the floor of your gardens.

Most overwintering songbirds spend much of their time foraging through the leaf litter on the floor of your garden looking for the tiny insects and insect eggs that will sustain them throughout the long cold. If you painstakingly clean every leaf off your garden in the fall, you are destroying the birds' main food source.

2. Provide thick growth.

Birds take shelter in the protective boughs of evergreens or within any shrubs that provide thick growth. Juncos and tree sparrows often take shelter on the ground under the warm boughs. They especially appreciate a stand of several evergreens massed together.

3. Clean your birdhouses, then leave them up for the winter.

Many birds take shelter from the wind in an empty birdhouse. Chickadees and downy woodpeckers especially enjoy enclosed cavities. Clean out your bird houses of any old nesting material at the end of the summer. To help prevent disease and possible parasite infestation, wipe them down or spray them with a ten percent Clorox solution.

4. Provide native plants with edible fruit, berries, and seeds.

Most native perennials provide seed heads which birds eat throughout the winter. Rudbeckia, coneflowers, Salvia, Coreopsis, sunflowers and most daisy-like flowers are some of their favorites. Also, asters, goldenrod, and many grasses provide needed food for the birds. Sure, you may want to deadhead some of these for prolonged blooms throughout the summer, but starting in late summer, let the seed heads stand.

Chokecherry, Hackberry, and Juniper do their part by providing berries for hungry birds throughout the winter. In shopping for some of these shrubs, always look for the natives. Most have non-native cousins that the birds will ignore.

Some trees that provide fruit that birds love include American crabapples, serviceberry, mulberry, juniper, and dogwood. If you enjoy seeing songbirds in your garden, make it a late New Year's Resolution to add some of these plants to your property in the spring.

5. Keep bird feeders filled.

This is the time of year when bird feeders are really appreciated. They will probably need to be refilled every day. It's important for the feeders to be close to shelter where small birds can quickly find refuge from predators, however, not so close that a cat can hide within the thick branches then jump out to grab the unsuspecting bird.

Keep in mind that different bird species have different feeding requirements. Some prefer a hanging feeder while others require a seeds scattered on the ground.

6. Provide drinkable water.

One of the most important things is providing water. Birds need drinkable water which is often difficult to find in icy weather. Use a birdbath heater to prevent the water from freezing, even on the very coldest days.

All these suggestions not only help our bird friends, but provide us with entertainment on long winter days. Obviously, planting native trees and shrubs is not something you can do today, but investing in a feeder, suet holder, birdbath heater, or birdhouse is something you could do immediately. Then plan ahead to invest in at least one native tree or shrub to add to your landscape in the spring.

7. Watch Birds, Share What You See

Enjoy birds while helping science and conservation: Join a project such as eBird, Project FeederWatch, Christmas Bird Count, Climate Watch, or The Great Backyard Bird Count to record your bird observations. Your contributions will provide valuable information to show where birds are thriving—and where they need our help. Note: If you don’t yet know how to use eBird, we have a free course to help you get the most out of the project and its tools.

Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Click the link above to read the full article, watch some great little videos, and be inspired to do some good in the world to help out the birds