Explore Local Birds

An Exceptional Place for Birding

Northern Idaho's beautiful landscapes offer ample opportunities to observe birds in their natural habitats. Within a short drive, you can spot birds in wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, and meadows, as well as enjoy biking and hiking along scenic trails. Whether you're a veteran or novice birder, the stunning beauty of northern Idaho makes this a special place to be a birder.

Favorite Birding Spots

A little bird told me…

Use the

interactive map to explore

places to bird in our region.

Birding Checklists and Resources

Birds of Kootenai County

Shirley Sturts compiled this checklist on behalf of Coeur d’Alene Audubon.

Birds of Kootenai County Checklist

Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

Features birds you may see while on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes Checklist

Idaho Bird

Features birds you are most likely to spot in and around Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Idaho Bird Checklist

Archives

Special thanks to Shirley Sturts for her decades of work on our club’s behalf—tracking, recording and managing extensive birding data—to share with members, public agencies and birders throughout the state of Idaho. Access data on county big years, Christmas bird counts, field trip results, Rathdrum Prairie Raptor Run and more.

Visit Chapter Archives

THE STURTS IDAHO RECORDS DATABASE

The Sturts Idaho Bird Records Database, compiled and maintained by Coeur d’Alene Audubon members Shirley and Keith Sturts, contains nearly 190,000 sighting records dating back to the 1890s from the state of Idaho. In 1970, Shirley and Keith Sturts began compiling records which identified bird populations throughout Idaho. Sources include Rare Bird Reports, Audubon Christmas Bird Counts, Birds of Idaho by Burleigh, North American Birds, Idaho Bird Distribution by Stephens and Sturts, US Fish and Wildlife Service Breeding Bird Surveys, sightings reported in Idaho Audubon chapter newsletters, personal sightings, and rarer sightings reported to eBird and area listservs.

Adapted from The Fish Hawk Herald Interview with Shirley Sturts | May 2023
Shirley Sturts has dedicated more than six decades of her life to birds: watching, recording, researching and reporting on species around the world. Born in Coeur d’Alene, she is a charter member of the Coeur d’Alene Audubon chapter. She edited the chapter newsletter for more than three decades, and established the chapter’s first website. Shirley has participated in several important chapter activities and initiatives—she worked with other chapter members in two state “Adoption” programs—to help care for the Mica Bay Wetlands as part of the Idaho Fish and Game’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife program, and the “Adopt-a-Highway” program, cleaning a stretch of US 95 near Mica Bay. Shirley initiated the Chapter’s Mica Bay Surveys. She participated in the Indian Mountain Christmas Bird Count (CBC) and the Coeur d’Alene CBC from its inception in the 1990s until last year. Shirley compiled bird count information for the chapter from 2003 until 2019.
Shirley’s contribution to our chapter and to birds and birders has been immense. Her work has been recognized by other birding organizations in Idaho: she’s served as secretary for the Idaho Bird Records Committee, and co-wrote a book on Latilong Bird Species Distribution Maps, published by the Idaho Museum of Natural History in 1997.
Shirley Sturts has developed and shared a wealth of knowledge to birds and wildlife in Idaho, and has contributed significantly to the success of the Coeur d’Alene Audubon chapter. By any measure, this brilliant woman is a key figure in our club history and to the birding and wildlife community in the state of Idaho.