Yellow-billed cuckoo Boise River survey summer 2018: biological report

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District (Corps) is assisting Garden City, Idaho (City) in developing a plan under Section 205 of the Flood Control Act to reduce flood risk from the Boise River, where a 50-year flood would inundate much of the City. Section 205 authorizes the Corps to enter a cost-shared partnership with a non-federal sponsor to study, plan, and construct small flood damage reduction projects that have not previously been specifically authorized by Congress and are not part of a larger project. As part of the impact assessment for this action, a survey for yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) was conducted on 18 June, and 1-3 August, 2018 on the Boise River, in Garden City, Idaho.

One vocalization responses was heard during the survey at Cascade Lake on the June 18th. The response call was very short and consisted of only a ”klop” vocalization after a couple of “cluck-cluck” recorded calls were played. No visual sightings were made during the survey. This sighting was approximately 0.75 miles south of a 2015 sighting.

Yellow-billed cuckoos are still present along the Boise River and there is suitable riparian habitat along the river corridor. New sightings are within the same general area as historic sightings. Given the limitations in the number of surveys that could be done and the difficulty in moving through the more preferred habitat, it is reasonable to assume that the survey underestimated the number of birds in the area.

In order to get a more accurate picture of yellow-billed cuckoo status in the area, more surveys per year and over the years, need to be completed.

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Shelf Note: Electronic Files - Zoology: AVES