I finally went birding for the first time in the 2009. It wasn't the best birding weather - the time and the temperature (°F) when I got started were the same: 10. Not to mention the sky looked like it just might snow anytime, though it did hold off until after I returned home. Last year, on New Year's Day, I tallied 20 species on a sunny day that was 20°F colder.
The first leg was north of the park along Utah Highway 22, but, with only 3 species, the pickings were slim: Common Raven, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle. So I headed down off the plateau, hoping my fortunes would change, and east to the town of Tropic. I know where some of the local residents have feeders (my boss, for one) and was certain to pick up a few that way. The first stop yielded 7 species in just minutes, and I picked up several more just cruising around town. The local Cooper's Hawk is definitely a creature of habit (the eating must be good) and she was in one of the two locations I reliably found her last winter.
When it was all said and done the day's total was 21 species, one more than last year's first birding day total: Common Raven, Bald Eagle (11 total), Golden Eagle, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Eurasian Collared-dove, European Starling, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Pine Siskin, House Sparrow, Rock Pigeon, Cooper's Hawk, Western Scrub-jay, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Townsend's Solitaire, Rough-legged Hawk.
The first leg was north of the park along Utah Highway 22, but, with only 3 species, the pickings were slim: Common Raven, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle. So I headed down off the plateau, hoping my fortunes would change, and east to the town of Tropic. I know where some of the local residents have feeders (my boss, for one) and was certain to pick up a few that way. The first stop yielded 7 species in just minutes, and I picked up several more just cruising around town. The local Cooper's Hawk is definitely a creature of habit (the eating must be good) and she was in one of the two locations I reliably found her last winter.
When it was all said and done the day's total was 21 species, one more than last year's first birding day total: Common Raven, Bald Eagle (11 total), Golden Eagle, Black-billed Magpie, American Robin, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Eurasian Collared-dove, European Starling, Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Pine Siskin, House Sparrow, Rock Pigeon, Cooper's Hawk, Western Scrub-jay, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Townsend's Solitaire, Rough-legged Hawk.
Eleven Bald Eagles! That is amazing.
It's always great to see so many, though 11 isn't a record - last year (on New Year's Day) I found a tree full of eagles. There are at least 12, maybe 13 but can't tell if one toward is stretching or if it is two individuals. I checked that tree again, but it was empty. At one point yesterday I saw four in a row, each perched on a pole along a barbed wire fence.