It all feels a bit surreal celebrating our 30-year legacy while grappling with the losses and uncertainty of the Valley Fire. But so much good has happened this year both before and after the fire.
In June, we celebrated with a 30th-anniversary event at Barber Park, filled with laughter, reconnections, and a video tribute to our history.
The night ended on a high note, raising $13,917 through our auction to support IBO programs. We’re deeply thankful for this community’s continued passion for birds and nature that helps drive our mission forward.
Looking ahead, we have exciting trips planned, like a Long-billed Curlew tour in 2025 (spots still available!). If you’d like to join us on any fundraiser tour experiences like those detailed below, or if you have a special request for a tour you’d like to see us add let us know at IBO@boisestate.edu!
Here are just a few of the great auction experiences offered:
Osprey Up Close
By Greg Kaltenecker
We usually team up with Dr. Belthoff at Boise State and some undergrad and graduate students for a few days of Osprey banding at Lake Cascade each summer. But this year, we had special company: a lucky family who won the experience at our 30th anniversary silent auction! Clinton, Katie, Nora, and Wesley Stonich are avid Idaho outdoor people who love birds. Did I mention that their favorite bird is the Osprey? It couldn’t have gone any better! We visited six nest platforms on a Saturday morning, and each had two to three young Osprey. One nest even had…
Read more about the Osprey auction tour
four youngsters – it must have been a good summer for Osprey at Cascade, indeed! We laddered up to each nest, lowered the young to the ground, banded, took measurements and samples (and a few photos), then put them back no worse for wear and sporting some new jewelry.
The Stonich family spent two nights at the Kaltenecker chateau, enjoying evenings on the porch, short walks in the woods, and quiet, cool nights. Dinner was a crowd pleaser, and the kids LOVED the breakfast, complete with huckleberry pancakes! Did I mention the huckleberry milkshakes with whipped cream? Oh my, you have to take time to enjoy the best things in life! By all accounts, the Stonich family had a fantastic time. Read what they had to say about this once in a lifetime experience:
“…WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE! Thank you all for putting this event together and special thanks to Greg for being an amazing host!!! We all had such a fun time! Seriously… I don’t know if we’re overreacting but that was literally one of the coolest things we’ve ever done in our entire lives!! It was truly amazing to see an Osprey up close and to HOLD THEM?!?! AHHHHH!!!! It seriously felt like we were in a dream….” ~Clinton Stonich
Pinyon Jays: A Charismatic Sentinel of Juniper Woodlands
By Lesley Howard
I knew that I wanted to offer a Pinyon Jay-focused experience as an auction item for IBO’s 30th anniversary celebration but was uncertain on the level of interest in joining me for a morning in the field or how deep their curiosity in the species and our project would run. I received more than a pleasant surprise with their…
Read more about the Pinyon Jay experience
enthusiasm, excitement, and interest in our research that made this trip a spectacular success! Thank you so much to the 11 wonderful IBO supporters who joined me for this event in September. It was a pleasure to meet each of you, learn about your connections to our organization, and spend a bundle of time talking about Pinyon Jays!
We had beautiful weather, clear skies, and (eventually) a cooperative Pinyon Jay flock! It took a few hours of patiently hiking around the juniper hillsides in Pocatello, latching on to the occasional comical calls of Pinyon Jays teasing us from an adjacent ridge, until a flock of 60 individuals flew steadily into juniper trees directly in front of us. They flew in groups, flashing their magnificent blue feathers in the sunshine, cacophonously calling for a truly glorious show of their behavior, variety of vocalizations, and a habit of showing up right on time.
Cheryl Huzinga’s Pinyon Jay Experience
When I saw that IBO was offering a Pinyon Jay tour with Lesley Howard as part of its 30th Anniversary Celebration, I jumped at the chance to go! My sister Kathy was visiting from Washington during that time and I invited two other birder friends, Linda and JC, to go with me too. We drove to Pocatello the day before birding as we went, had dinner with other birding friends also doing the PIJA tour that night, and were ready to meet with Lesley the next morning.
It was a beautiful day and Lesley delivered! She is enthusiastic and warm and her knowledge of this jay species was so informative! She had us meet in the hills above Pocatello at a trailhead with a lot of juniper trees. This is an area where she has frequently seen a large flock of the jays and felt this was the best for a sighting. Every question we asked was answered with as much info as we could handle. We were finding other species of birds and hearing a jay occasionally but finally the flock came through. We counted at least 60 of the birds! It was a great experience and we all learned a lot from Lesley’s intensive research of the Pinyon Jay. She’s a great asset to the IBO team!
Signature Appetizers, Raptors, and More at Lucky Peak
By Greg Kaltenecker
This September I had the pleasure of hosting Janell Carr and her sister Lori Taylor for a raptor banding adventure at Lucky Peak. The day was picture-perfect with hawks diving into our station, and it was a joy to share their first-time excitement. But the fun didn’t end with the birds! Back at camp, I donned my chef’s hat to whip up my signature Lucky Peak dinner. And of course, it all began with the appetizer that kicks off every memorable meal at Lucky Peak. If you want to hear my signature appetizer recipe, you’ll have to click this link to read more about Janell and Lori’s trip! To get in on the next “Chef Greg” IBO trip, emails us IBO@boisestate.edu
Call Notes and Crossbills
By Ryan Healey
We had a great group of folks join us this year out in the South Hills to see our Cassia Crossbill research effort in action. They were fortunate to come out when it was in the 70’s and sunny – following what had been a wet, cold first week. Timing is everything, and I am glad they had a beautiful day to get out and chase some crossbills!
Read what our auction winners had to say:
“What a great experience to be with Ryan and Emily in the field. They were just terrific! I really wanted to learn more science about crossbills and they delivered in a big way. Both were friendly, flexible, professional, prepared and I wanted to spend more time with them when it was all done. You’ve put together a great team of researchers and ambassadors in the South Hills who have created a new advocacy in me. Thanks for including me.” ~Brian Sturges
“Frank and I are headed home from our day in the field with Ryan and Emily. It was a beautiful day – Fall colors, brilliant sunshine, moose, and Cassia Crossbills!! Cheeping crossbills, flying crossbills, perched crossbills, crossbills in a spotting scope, even a crossbill drinking water from a nearby puddle. Ryan and Emily are the best guides. Ryan has a remarkable breadth of knowledge and is most interesting to learn from and discuss concepts. Emily is passionate about the Cassia Crossbills, very knowledgeable, and instantly recognizes the softest, most distant bird calls. Thanks for offering the trip. What a glorious day that we will long remember.“ ~Judi and Frank
Breakfast With the Hummingbirds
By Heather Hayes and Heidi Ware Carlisle
For a few years now, our hummingbird hostess, Jennifer Alban, has mentioned how fun it would be to have a waffle breakfast fundraiser with the hummingbirds at her beautiful home in Idaho City, which has served as our hummingbird monitoring research station for 13 years. With our 30th anniversary celebration around the corner, we knew it was the perfect time to…
Read more about the hummingbird breakfast
make this idea a reality! Fifteen lucky hummingbird fans snagged tickets, and with Jennifer’s support (plus her expert advice, planning, and chef skills!), it all came together. The morning didn’t disappoint. We enjoyed as many hummingbirds, waffles, and cups of coffee as we could ask for. Huge thanks to everyone who joined to make it such a special morning, and to Jennifer for her hospitality! If you’d like to get in on a future Breakfast with the Hummingbirds be sure to email IBO@boisestate.edu to let us know!
Goshawks Galore
By Rob Miller
Our American Goshawk experience auction winner was local photographer and blogger Jim DeWitt. Jim was able to visit our goshawk study site within the Sawtooth National Forest, spending a few days with the core goshawk team and some visiting BSU graduate students. Since it was a reasonably good breeding year for the goshawks, we had a number of opportunities to encounter goshawks in the wild. Don’t miss Jim’s recounting of his day with IBO Team Goshawk on his blog.
This article is part of our 2024 end of the year newsletter! View the full newsletter here, or click “older posts” below to read the next article.
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