Garden Valley Birding

Howdy everyone!
Just got back from another of our Saturday birding excursions! (but don't worry, this post will be much shorter than our last ones!! :)
We wanted to go for a more subdued day of birding today after a crazy week for the both of us (how long till school's out?) so we decided to head up to Garden Valley.
At a bridge over the river on the way up, we stopped to look for American Dippers, and found 'em! woohoo! a Heidi year bird! (uh oh, that means Heidi is catchin' up!) it was fun for me because this is the first time I've heard them since I really started paying attention to bird calls :) Dippers are sweet!
In Garden Valley we met up with a birding buddy, Spencer Walters, who was awesome enough to show us around today!! We searched for White-headed Woodpeckers, and ended up stopping by Michael Wiegand's house (thanks Michael!) to look for them. While there, we had a fun time hangin' out, and had some torturous 'listens' of the White-head's and a White-breasted Nuthatch. But with an adorable toddler, some goofy dogs, and tons of Red Crossbills around, we certainly weren't bored! :) Finally after a few hours of hanging around, we were able to see a male White-headed Woodpecker on the suet feeder! yay, Lifer!!

Waiting for the woodpecker to show up!
Our awesome hosts Michael & Serena, Heidi, Spencer "The Guide", and one of the dogs :)

The White-headed Woodpecker! he finally showed up!!

Before heading home, we stopped for a quick visit to Ralph and Sheri Foote's house, where we were able to see lots of birds! It was cool to see a single pine tree full of all the colors: yellow, orange, and red Red Crossbills, Cassin's Finches, Goldfinches, and some awesome male Evening Grosbeaks! I'd never had a close view of those guys before, so that was pretty sweet :) thanks guys!
all in all, a fun day with some super fun birders!

Just a few of the Siskins and Crossbills at the Foote's house