Intentionally, the predator slowly went step-by-step because it approached a small tunnel the place faint sounds had been coming from. For quarter-hour, the Nice blue heron remained immobile, staring on the floor earlier than each muscle, together with the wings, exploded to drive its seven-inch dagger-like invoice into the dust. Bingo! Pay dust because the invoice held a wiggling grownup vole.
Turning away from the burrow, the heron dropped the hapless rodent thrice spearing it every time earlier than positioning it headfirst. Down the hatch it began, however stopped half in and half out, too large to go down simply. The heron tried up-chucking the rodent. No cube. So it began shaking its entire physique and at last bought it to go down. Some herons have choked to demise as a result of the prey was too massive to be swallowed.
That was not the one Nice blue within the hayfields alongside the dike highway that runs alongside the south aspect of Mud Lake. Final week, I counted 52 of them dotting the fields inside a half of a mile from the water. I ended for an hour to look at 11 herons simply north of Dobson Farms and the canal working to their irrigation pump. Within the hour, I noticed the herons harvesting and consuming 18 voles and I additionally noticed seven missed strikes by them. It appeared to me that after a heron had swallowed three to 4 rodents, they flew to the water for a drink. I additionally noticed a heron seize and eat a small perch because it hunted the shallow water.
With the vole caught in its throat, the heron tries to shake it down by way of its lengthy neck. | Invoice Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
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Nice blue herons are identified for his or her love of fish, however they may eat something, together with snakes, small birds and frogs. A number of research point out that 25 to 40% of their weight loss program in Idaho are voles. Hayfields are sometimes a haven for voles as a result of the bottom will not be plowed or labored every year. The fields close to Mud Lake, which have the herons harvesting voles are additionally the fields that had lots of of raptors working final fall.
Whereas watching the herons, a flock of about 5,000 Snow and Ross’s geese landed within the area and methodically marched throughout, consuming new progress and depositing little balls of vitamins alongside the route. It appears to be like to me just like the hay farmers are getting free rodent management, together with free fertilizer for a greater crop of cattle feed.
Nice blue herons are lonely birds, hardly ever being seen shut to a different heron. They want their house to follow their persistence in stalking and harvesting meals. A lot of them even migrate as singles or in a unfastened group. The one time they’re close to one another is throughout nesting season. They’re colony nesters as they collect in a rookery generally known as “heronry” of as much as 500 birds. Many of the heronries in southeastern Idaho have about 40 to 50 nests or {couples}, however they’ll nest anyplace, together with on the bottom.
Herons are largely monogamists however are solely collectively for a season and construct their nest as companions with the male gathering the fabric whereas the feminine is the carpenter. As soon as the nest is completed and two to 6 eggs are able to be incubated, each will sit on the eggs. After the eggs hatch, the babes are fed regurgitated puree by each dad and mom. It’s believed that adults will eat 4 occasions extra meals to fill the demand for themselves and their children.
Elevating children is a big dedication for herons as they develop quickly and don’t be taught to fly till they’re two months outdated. The dad and mom should feed the fledglings for an additional two months whereas the youngsters be taught the artwork of harvesting their very own meals. The artwork of stalking — persistence have to be discovered and the power to strike the goal should all be discovered.
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This summer season, I hope to have the ability to discover the place the younger herons are looking and see what number of strikes it takes for them to reap a vole. Final week, I watched as one missed three strikes earlier than it lastly harvested a small rodent whereas I watched one other heron harvest 4 in a row. I additionally seen that fewer herons had been working the fields because the canals started filling with them, switching to a fish weight loss program.
If you’re thinking about watching a Nice blue heron hunt or fish, you should additionally develop persistence. After an extended wait, it’s possible you’ll miss the strike, which is over in a fraction of a second. Good Luck and have enjoyable.
After swallowing three voles, a Nice blue heron flies gracefully to Mud Lake for a drink. | Invoice Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
REXBURG—U.S. Highway 20 Exit 332 for University Boulevard in Rexburg will fully close starting Monday, September 30, for crews to complete final paving and striping operations. Work is not expected to take more than a few days, and the exit will be re-opened as soon as it is completed.
This closure was purposefully scheduled during Madison School District’s harvest break to least affect traffic. Detours include Exit 328 (Thornton), Exit 333 (Main Street) and Exit 337 (North Rexburg). After re-opening next week, construction work at Exit 332 will be minimal and off the roadway.
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Construction does continue at Exit 333, with one lane running in each direction. These projects to create safe and efficient diverging diamond interchanges at both Rexburg exits are still expected to be complete later this fall.
For more information about this project, visit https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/us20rexburg. Drivers can also use the 511 app to see current status on this and other Idaho projects.
NAMPA, Idaho — Nampa had its inaugural Downtown Wine Fest in 2024. I met with people in the wine community to learn how the art is growing in Idaho.
Local wine lounge owner Andrew Medina told us, “I’m starting to see, the last two years, more people popping their heads in, more people walking the streets in Downtown Nampa on 13th Street, on 1st Street.”
Local winery Veer Wine Project opened in 2016 and has grown quickly, opening two locations since the founding of the label in 2016.
“People moving here that know wine because of the industry of the states that they came from.”
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Yet another sign of Nampa’s growth. 2024 marks the city of Nampa’s inaugural Downtown Wine Festival. Just around the corner from Lloyd Square Park is Swirl Wine Shop & Lounge. Andrew Medina opened Swirl nearly three years ago.
“What has the change and growth look like in the patronage look like for you in that time?” I asked.
Medina responded, “I’ve already had a nice following working out at the wineries for the last 10 years. Now I’m starting to see, the last two years, more people popping their heads in, more people walking the streets in Downtown Nampa on 13th Street, on 1st Street. With more businesses opening up you’re just seeing more traffic down here.”
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It’s not just small business doing well in Nampa. Idaho wineries are beginning to make it big. Idaho Wine Commission data shows the number of wineries in the Gem State have grown 25% since 2017 to 65 total wineries. The workforce nearly doubling, and they expect it to continue.
The IWC sent me a message saying, “Most people don’t know that Idaho settlers first planted wine grapes and produced wine here in the 1860s, and today we have more than 65 wineries. The Idaho Wine Commission envisions significant growth in both the number of wineries and the quality of Idaho wines over the next 5 to 10 years. The state’s unique climate, with its high desert conditions and distinct terroir positions Idaho wines to continue standing out in the local and national market.”
Notoriety has been bolstered by consistent awards at local and national wine competitions, positive reviews in prominent wine publications and word-of-mouth from tourists and locals discovering Idaho’s wine industry. The growth of wine tourism in Idaho has further helped elevate the state’s reputation. As more wine lovers visit the state and share their experiences, Idaho wine has steadily built its presence in the market, and its reputation as an emerging wine region continues to gain momentum.”
“This is amazing for a town the size of Nampa to be able to sponsor a prestigious kind of event,” said wine festival guest Kathy Lacina.
Idaho is beginning to put itself on the map with vintners.
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Lacina adds on, “It’s actually starting to make a name for itself. We have begun to have some really outstanding wineries and wine selections.”
And Idaho has the data to back that up. Local winery Veer Wine Project opened in 2016 and has grown quickly.
“It’s been a lot of growth very quickly and then [we] opened the Caldwell tasting room in 2021 and expanded to Garden City just this spring in March we opened there so lots of rapid growth,” Veer Operations Manager Cheyenne Zumstein explained.
“It’s totally changed with the population growth. People moving here that know wine because of the industry of the states that they came from,” Medina concluded.
COEUR D’ALENE — When sheriff’s deputies were called to the northern Idaho home of distraught former state trooper Dan Howard, something didn’t seem right. Howard told investigators he found his wife, Kendy Howard, dead in their bathtub with a gunshot wound to her head.
Howard told police his wife took her own life. There was a gun found in the bathtub, though there were no prints or DNA that connected it to the trooper.
The case will be the focus of “48 Hours” this Saturday in a program entitled ‘The Bathtub Murder of Kendy Howard.’
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“From the beginnings, it looks odd,” Kootenai County sheriff’s detective Jerry Northrup tells correspondent Peter Van Sant.
Deputies on the scene noticed things out of place. A packed duffle bag was ready to go, and a clothes dryer was running full of clean bath towels. Howard also appeared to have recently showered and changed his clothes.
“Dan knows things that most normal people, ordinary people, don’t know,” says retired Kootenai County Sheriff’s Det. Sergeant Ken Lallatin. “Things like killing someone and staging it to look like a suicide.”
Two years after Kendy Howard’s death, Howard was charged with her murder.
“48 Hours” airs Saturday, Sept. 28 from 9-10 p.m. MDT on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
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Watch a preview of the episode in the video player above.
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