April 2009 Archives

It's about 90 miles to Richfield - where my dentist is located - from Bryce and, including a few species I saw here in the park before leaving, it was a record birding day for me in Utah. At 53 species it was pretty awesome, saw some great birds, yet the total could have been even higher had I been able to stop more and chase down some of the sparrows I was seeing along the roadside. Year birds included American White Pelican, Clark's Grebe, Gadwall, Red-breasted Merganser (all at Otter Creek Reservoir), Mourning Dove, and Sage Thrasher.

Chuckle of the day came just south of the reservoir on the "out bound" leg of the trip when I saw an Osprey perched on a fence post eating a fish. On the adjacent post was a Black-billed Magpie, just staring intently at that fish, waiting patiently for the leftovers.

Not bad at all for what was mostly "drive-by-birding". Full species list below the fold . . .

(American White Pelican photo from Upper Souris NWR, North Dakota)

A few snow flurries, cold north winds, and this morning's low is -6C/21F. Not a lot of activity in terms of birds, needless to say. I did watch a robin collecting nesting material the other day, Steller's Jays are very much in evidence as are some Brewer's Blackbirds (who hang out a lot over at the stables).Still looking for the first Western Tanager of the season, though a quick check of last year's blog entries and the date was May 7, in '07 the date was May 1, so it could be any day now.

A few days ago I heard an early morning chorus of Coyotes coming from out in the forest and I have some chipmunks (Least or Uinta? Not sure or, maybe, both.) and Golden-mantled Ground-squirrels in addition to lots of Utah Prairie Dogs a couple hundred feet away.

I have to go to the dentist tomorrow (yippee!) in Richfield; if I can find my birding guide for Utah I might check around there for some birds. Depends on how long they keep me in the damn chair . . .

Last week we had a Great-tailed Grackle, a bird I haven't seen yet in Utah (they don't occur in the "High Plateaus"), but they should be around some of the places I visit. Since I've had a good couple of weeks seeing a few shorebirds around the neighborhood, I though we'd go that direction again. Good luck and great birding!!

So last year on Earth Day I saw my First-of-the-Season warbler, a Grace's Warbler over near the employee laundry. Yesterday morning, also Earth Day, I saw my FOTS warbler again, though this time it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler just outside the ol' homestead. Interesting having the consistency tow years in a row; in '07, my first year here, it was several days later, but then I was also just getting to know the place at that time.

Looking now for Green-tailed Towhees and Western Tanagers . . .  

It's been a rough start to Spring, last week being particularly yucky, but the couple of days have been really good. More like Spring, actually. So I took advantage of the situation and spent a few hours birding on my days off.

Monday was good for 28 species, mostly around the park and over at Tropic Reservoir - which still is not 100% ice free at this late date. Northern Pintail, Osprey, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet were three new birds for the year, and over at the Paria View overlook here in the park I added Life Bird #380 with a pair of Red-naped Sapsuckers.

Can't say that I have actually made note of the most species I've seen in a day here in Utah (I know it is 98 in Florida), but today might have been the best ever with 45 species. Of those, 8 were "year birds", one of which was, in fact, a new state bird: Western Sandpiper (shown, though I shot that image in FL). Barn Swallow, Pied-billed Grebe, Wilson's Phalarope, Western Kingbird, Black-necked Stilt, Vesper Sparrow, and Lesser Goldfinch were the new birds for the year. The Bald Eagle seen today (looked to be 3rd year) was the latest by nearly a month. This may be a bird opting out of migrating back to the north, something that is not unheard of with some sub-adult birds.

The numbers, just for fun: 2 days, about 7 hours of "dedicated" birding, 53 species, including 10 "year" birds, 1 state bird, and 1 life bird.  

The bird in last week's quiz was a species that, along with its nearest relative, always gets birders scratching their heads in juvenile/immature plumage. With the North American Night-herons in this plumage there are three important field marks to look for: bill, breast streaking, and, in flight, foot extension. Of those three, breast streaking is not really evident (and, therefore, conclusive) in this photo, but the other two - especially the foot extension - are. A juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron has a bicolored bill, mostly yellow with black or dark gray on the top, and, the really important clue here is that the BCNH's foot only partially extends past the end of the tail. The correct answer, Yellow-crowned Night-heron, has an all dark bill and the entire foot when seen in flight extends well past the tip of the tail. Congratulations if you got this tough one right - Good luck with this week's quiz and here's hoping the coming week will be full of great migratory birds!  

Two years ago today Roxy and I rolled in to Bryce Canyon with the plan of staying as a volunteer for 5 or 6 months, then going to find a job doing what I know how to do. And, of course, we're still here doing that and a little more. To help us celebrate, click on the thumbnail to open up a new window with a Flash slide show containing a few photos from the year past.  

Yesterday Roxy and I settled in to a new location here at the park, somewhat off the beaten path in an area closed to the public, where we'd been living in the main campgrounds previously. This new site is just a few hundred feet away from the stables that horse/mule ride concessionaire uses and, yesterday afternoon, I had to listen to one of the mules braying a little more than I would have liked. We are also very close to the largest Utah Prairie Dog colony in the park (they were barking a lot, which I can live with), and from the looks of things it might be pretty birdy around here, too. The first bird I saw after getting here was a Brown Creeper - my first of the year - and there are robins, bluebirds, chickadees, Steller's Jays, ravens, woodpeckers, and almost certainly a few more to be seen as time goes by. I'll get my dripper going as soon as it warms up a little (another "winter" storm on the way). Then there was the Badger; hope it keeps hanging around - some photos of it would be great!
 

Not sure why he doesn't get a special holiday as author of the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom, and being somewhat influential, even though he was in France at the time, in the fact that we even have a Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson is clearly one of the most important Founding Fathers, but I guess we have to be happy with Presidents Day.

He was one of the founders of the Democratic-Republican Party, which we now know as the Democratic Party. The opposition in his time was the Federalists, and when we look closely, today's Republican Party positions tend to be more in line with Federalist thinking. Among other evils, the Federalists were opposed to a Bill of Rights. Just think about that for a minute: If the Federalists would have had their way, we would probably have no Bill of Rights. Scary thought, I think.

A few words of wisdom from The Sage of Monticello:

I hope we shall take warning from the example and crush in it's birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.

(He distrusted financiers - friends, by the way, of the Federalists - and was fearful of corporations gaining too much power and influence. Talk about being prescient . . . )

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." 

"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions."

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

"If the children . . . are untaught, their ignorance and vices will in future life cost us much dearer in their consequences, than it would have done, in their correction, by a good education."

"On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind."

"I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature."

Last week's quiz bird, a rather nondescript little bird, can be kind of tricky with not a lot to go on in terms of field marks that jump right out at you. With many smaller species one important thing to do is to first establish its family by looking at bill shape and size, which will really help to reduce the number of birds we have to look up in our field guide. Here, the narrow, pointed bill indicates we are most likely looking at a warbler. The only other field mark that jumps out at us is the yellow throat. Now the male of this species wears a very distinct black mask that sets him apart, but the female is very plain. The answer, however, is in that one important field mark, "yellow throat" - the bird in question is a Common Yellowthroat.

For this week, a species that is pretty easy to determine in adult form, but the juvenile can really be tough - good luck and great birding!

On my days off the past few weeks I've gone out of the area to look for some different birds that wouldn't be found at Bryce without the benefit of open water, but I had some projects to complete around home in anticipation of moving to a different location in the park. So, with that in mind, I stayed close to home for the most part and didn't really go on any major bird watching outings. But that doesn't mean I didn't get to see a few new birds. The pond behind Ruby's Inn yielded another shorebird species Monday morning, Greater Yellowlegs, a bird that just last week was a new state list species for me, making the total there 5 shorebird species in 3 days (American Avocet, Killdeer, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, and the Yellowlegs). On a shopping trip to pick up a few groceries I saw a first of the year Belted Kingfisher perched on a wire above the Sevier River and, at the Paria View Overlook I saw my first Violet-green Swallow of the Spring. While at Paria View I was also to treated to a mini "Raptor Fest" with Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle in a span of about 15 minutes.

The sighting I was most excited about was a species I have heard numerous times over the past year, but had yet to actually see: Northern Pygmy-owl. I was guided to it not only by its calls, but also the alarm calls of several other birds not happy with the owl being around. Though way up at the top of a 45 or 50 foot tall Ponderosa Pine snag, I (finally!) got very nice looks at this tiny (<7 inches) little owl.

Lastly, my friend Ric is in from Florida for a couple of days with his son Casey to do a little photography around Bryce. We went out looking for Utah Prairie Dogs yesterday afternoon and I took a few pictures myself. The little guy looks pretty fat and happy after all that time spent sleeping over the winter . . .

There's a pond behind the Best Western just outside the park that sometimes yields some decent birds. Last week when I checked it was still iced over,but it has since thawed and is now open water. Yesterday, in addition to the usual collection of Mallards and a few Canada Geese I can count on being there, I found some Cinnamon Teal, an American Avocet (year bird), and some Long-billed Dowitchers (a new state species for me). I went back today hoping to find the avocet in a good place for a photo or two. Still there, but too far away and I didn't walk through the muck I would have to walk through to get to it. Maybe with different footwear, no problem. So I had to settle for the Wilson's Snipe you see here - another year bird and a first time photo of this normally secretive species. (click the thumbnail to see it big)

It's Friday again! Our bird last week was one of two members of the genus Zenaida and, while mainly found in the American Southwest, appears  to be expanding its range into Florida, White-winged Dove. Its nearest relative is the Mourning Dove; their ranges do overlap and quick field marks to look for are the short, square tail of the White-winged Dove which contrasts with the longer, pointed tail of the Mourning Dove, which, in addition, has black spots on its wings. The White-winged Dove is stockier and shows distinct white patches on its wings in flight which will appear as a thin white line along the edge of the wing when perched. The invasive Eurasian Collared-dove is similar in appearance to the White-winged Dove, is slightly larger, lacks the white on the wings, and has a black "collar" on the back of its neck - be careful not to confuse that with the White-winged's small black crescent on its neck just below the eye.

Our bird this week is widespread, but at times inconspicuous. Give it a go and, as always, good luck and great birding!

I'm late posting this birding report, but we took a drive up to Otter Creek Reservoir Tuesday, about 45 miles north of the park, to see what we could find on the water. The day before I had mentioned that one of the species I had yet to see this year was Killdeer and, what do you know, we saw one on the way there. A species that I had only seen once previously since moving to Utah was Northern Mockingbird, and we (okay, I, Roxy doesn't really look for them) found one of those perched on a fence post. Needless to say, the "mocker" and the Killdeer were new "year birds" and at the reservoir we tallied another 5: Greater Yellowlegs (a new "state" bird), Tree Swallows, Common Loons, Eared Grebes, and California Gulls. In addition, before leaving the park I drove down to Farview Point and was successful in locating a first of the year Peregrine Falcon. All in all, a pretty day of birding with 36 total species - 8 of which were year birds - including a Clark's Nutcracker hanging out in Pinyon-Juniper woodlands - which is kind of strange as they should be at higher elevations, or so I would think knowing what I know of their natural history.

 
Along the way we also saw over 50 Pronghorn out grazing in the sagebrush. This nice looking buck was just outside the park boundary as we were returning home for the day.

It is hard to believe, but Roxy's 11 now. She moves a lot slower, but when I come home from work, or wherever I've been without her, that tail wags with the same zeal as always. We've traveled together the width and breadth of this land - looked for birds together from Florida to Alaska and she's gotten her feet wet in rivers, ponds, lakes, streams, and oceans just about everywhere we've been from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

She's just a great ol' dog, and she's my pal . . .