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)
Northern Flicker, Pygmy Nuthatch, Brewer's Blackbird, Steller's Jay, American Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Say's Phoebe, Common Raven, Western Bluebird, Clark's Nutcracker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain Bluebird, Canada Goose, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Cinnamon Teal, Killdeer, Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed), Eared Grebe, Horned Lark, Golden Eagle, Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, Western Grebe, American Coot, Common Loon, Ring-billed Gull, American Kestrel, European Starling, Western Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Great Blue Heron, Western Scrub-jay, House Sparrow, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Sage Thrasher, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, California Gull, Clark's Grebe, Pinyon Jay, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Violet-green Swallow, Eurasian Collared-dove, Brown-headed Cowbird
I guess if you had to go to the dentist, it's good that you got some enjoyment out of it! :)
True, time spent in that chair isn't the best use of one's time - nothing personal against dentists - but birds will always brighten the day. Like Kenn Kaufman says (Kingbird Highway), "Any day can be a special day, all you have to do is go outside and see what the birds are doing."