It's kind of bittersweet, in a way, but this morning I noted that mom and dad Western Bluebird were out hunting, though carrying their prey somewhere other than the nest cavity. As near as I can tell there are two, now fledgling, youngsters. I knew we were getting close and, if didn't look like the sky was going to open up any minute, I would probably try and get some video of them being fed. Having said that, they are also staying pretty high up in a pine not far from the nest tree and, as would be expected on their first day out and about, not spending much time out in the open. All things considered, getting good clips would ultimately be a rather difficult, and possibly frustrating, assignment..

Totally unrelated, but interesting in the "unusual avian behavior" category, while I was looking for the bluebirds I saw a swallow (probably Violet-green) circling near the top of a Ponderosa Pine. Used to seeing that, of course, but then I noticed a hummingbird began chasing it until it flew off. Not sure what that was all about though, as we know, hummers are quite territorial and I suppose it is also possible the hummer has a nest in that tree.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So one of the major projects (did I mention this before?) going on here at the park is developing a series of podcasts about different aspects of the park which will ultimately be available on the park's website as well as the NPS section of ITunes. My current (first of many, probably) is about Utah Prairie Dogs and, in the introduction, there will be a brief mention of park wildlife including birds, naturally. Yesterday morning I shot a little video of the Western Bluebirds coming to their nest to feed the young (who I had guessed hatched weeks ago based upon adult behaviors, but boy was I totally wrong). It's less than a minute and I cut about 25 seconds between appearance by them. The first to pop into view is the female followed by the male. Unfortunately my camera really produces a lot of background noise, plus there is traffic noise in there as well, but you can hear the chicks if you listen closely. Someday I really should look into getting an external microphone that would eliminate the motor noise coming from the camera. One thing that is a little different from previous videos is the 16:9 widescreen format which we'll be using on the park's podcasts.

Not much to it really; they fly in, feed, then depart for more tasty bugs, all rather quickly. Enjoy . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I had a small group today (4) and the number of species(17) was not quite what it was last week (24). The number of participants is generally higher when I give a talk the night before and that didn't happen last night. There's something to be said for small groups, however. We really had to work for the "bird of the day" because it was staying way up in the Ponderosa Pines and I ended up making the call based upon voice. It is just too hard to pick out field marks on a 14 cm (5.5 in) bird when it is 80 feet up but the song was distinctive enough. We all agreed after listening to a recording that the bird that we'd found was a Warbling Vireo.

Species for today: Say's Phoebe, Violet-green Swallow, Western Bluebird, Pygmy Nuthatch, Grace's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Warbling Vireo, Green-tailed Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin, Western Tanager, Turkey Vulture, Northern Goshawk, White-throated Swift, Cassin's Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Townsend's Solitaire.

Oddly enough it was some of the "gimme' species that didn't turn up that kept the total below 20 (Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Steller's Jay).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided at the last minute this evening to go try and shoot a little video. While I didn't have a lot of battery life in the camera, I did have enough to at least grab a couple of minutes worth. The file is kind of large - about 14 +/- megabytes - but I hope you enjoy it anyway. This is not the same kit that I photographed yesterday - notice that this one has some white on its paws.

And please don't overload on cute.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I managed several photos of the foxes this afternoon, but they aren't what I thought they were. In my entry on Tuesday I raved about the fact that I saw some Gray Fox kits but it turns out I was wrong. I made the assumption that they were "Gray" because they master list of park mammals shows Vulpes vulpes as being "Unconfirmed" and Urocyon cinereoargenteus as being "Present in Park". I suppose it is time to update that list, since I now have the necessary photographic confirmation to show that Red Foxes are also "present". The dark legs are one clue, but the real clincher is the Red Fox has a white-tipped tail and a Gray Fox would be sporting a black-tipped tail.

I believe there are three of them living in the culvert along with their parents, though I would most likely have to return at either dusk or dawn to catch a glimpse of the adults as V. Vulpes is mostly crepuscular (active at twilight). Though it may ultimately be to its detriment, this one was rather tame while the other two seemed a bit shy. The fact that the culvert where the den is located is a very busy intersection can't be a good thing, either. Over the next couple of days I'll probably see what else I can come up with, though I should be looking for Pronghorn fawns about that same time of day, also.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Had a "big" day on today's birdwalk with 24 species in just over 2 hours (26 if I were to include Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins I saw just outside the Visitor Center as I was leaving for the meeting place - in addition, I only count species observed while actually birding with the visitors and only if at least half of them see the bird, too). This total (24) equals the best from last summer and the total number of species seen in all the walks this year already exceeds last year's total (38 vs. 36). While I have seen them in the park when not "birdwalking", a pair of Rock Wrens, found just over the edge of the rim, were new additions for the walks. The day might have been even better if a couple of raptors would have given us longer looks (best guess was Northern Goshawk and Peregrine Falcon - I'm just not confident enough to say for sure).

Here's the complete rundown: Turkey Vulture, White-throated Swift, Northern Flicker, Say's Phoebe, Steller's Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Rock Wren, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Grace's Warbler, Western Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Cassin's Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Mule Deer that had been visiting my birdbath for a drink. The title of that post was "All Are Welcome Here" but I'm rethinking that sentiment a little. Tonight when I came home from work to find she had not only drained the birdbath, but had proceeded to begin devouring the native plants I'd been nurturing through the spring for the hummingbirds. The Scarlet Gilia that was just about ready to bloom is gone. One Eaton's Firecracker (billed as "great for hummingbirds") is gone and the other, like the Scarlet Gilia also about to bloom, will probably survive (I arrived home just in the knick of time because she was about to eat it, too). It goes without saying that I am not happy about this turn of events. It isn't like I can drive down to the corner store for replacements - it's 200 miles round trip to the nearest native plant nursery (at $5 per gallon).

I can't stay too mad at her, though: She looked a bit pudgy and is probably eating for two.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

. . . of Utah Prairie Dogs have emerged from their burrows within the past several days. This is - I guess it goes without saying - one of them that posed for a few shots for me. I didn't have much time to hang around since I have to work shortly, but it looks like it has been a pretty good year for them. I know the folks in Resources dusted for fleas yesterday in the colonies to hopefully reduce the chances of plague - a disease introduced by westward expansion of us 2-leggeds - from spreading and potentially wiping out a colony.

In other news, I need to update my Utah "year bird" list soon as I have added a couple of species (Mourning Dove and Lesser Goldfinch); tomorrow's quiz will feature a bird I've seen frequently but photographed for the first time a couple of days ago. See you then.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I led another bird walk, the fourth of the Spring, and the weather was much better than last week when it was snowing off and on. I had a nice group of 10 park visitors and we finished up the 2-1/2 hours with a total of 19 species (high for the year, so far). Bird(s) of the Day had to be a pair of Red Crossbills that made an appearance just as we were finishing up. That makes only the third time I've seen crossbills and he was the first male. We also had a Northern Goshawk fly by near the rim toting some kind of prey item (appeared to be a small rodent). Other than that it was pretty much the usual suspects:

Say's Phoebe, American Robin, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, Western Bluebird, Western Tanager, Townsend's Solitaire, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Green-tailed Towhee, Violet-green Swallow, Northern Goshawk, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Steller's Jay, White-throated Swift, Grace's Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Flicker, and the crossbills.

Closer to home, before I left for work the very first song I heard was a first-of-the-season Hermit Thrush. I was able to find it with the binocs and we now sit at 121 year birds for the state, 109 for Bryce Canyon.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had this rather large visitor to my birdbath/dripper this evening, though she didn't sit on the available perch (a good thing, I suppose). She wiped that little birdbath clean too - but ,at well over 45 kg. (100 lbs.), she would probably require a lot more water than your average Yellow-rumped Warbler or Western Tanager . . .

(Actually, this post's title isn't entirely correct. Skunks and Brown-headed Cowbirds are not welcome here.)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This morning I stopped off at the storage area where the park's brochures are kept to do an inventory and was greeted with a call as I unlocked the warehouse door. While it seemed familiar, it wasn't anything that I'd heard recently, I played it back in my mind while the door opened and I walked back to my truck to grab my binoculars. Hearing another "round" of the call, I remembered the mnemonic:

"Quick, three beers!"

"Quick three beers!"

"Okay, it's a flycatcher", I decided.

Then it hit me:

"Yes! That's it! An Olive-sided Flycatcher!"

I never did find the bird up in the pines, but recognizable calls count. However, despite the persistent request, I haven't had a beer in many years, and it has been a really long time since I had one at 8 in the morning . . .

That was the second new species for the week after what seemed like a bit of a dry spell for new "year birds". The first was on Tuesday while I was lounging around trying to recover from my nasty cold: a female Red Crossbill stopped by my birdbath that afternoon. Earlier in the day, before the wind started to kick up, and while feeling much better thanthe day before, I did shoot a few wildflowers. At this elevation this early in the year there aren't but a few, one early bloomer is the Common Starlily (Leucocrinum montanum). I think it may be a good year for wildflowers based upon some of the stuff I see growing in the vicinity of my trailer. Very little flowering yet, but, as last week showed, winter hasn't quite given way to spring completely.

This photo is also from Tuesday morning, an Acmon Blue that I encountered while searching for flowers. A tiny butterfly whose total wingspan is an inch or less, it is the first butterfly I've photographed since arriving here more than a year ago. I guess I really need to work on that statistic a bit more. . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird (the pair shown here and here) have been making very frequent visits to the nest cavity not far from my trailer. Just an educated guess on my part, but I suspect there just might be some hungry mouths to feed up in that old dead Ponderosa Pine . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Welcome to another Spring day at Bryce! This is what woke up to yesterday morning - snow everywhere! It wasn't deep, maybe a centimeter or so (less than 1/2 inch), but there none the less. Not that it is a surprise around here since last year it snowed as late as June 6. Pictured is a close-up of the snow and hoarfrost on a Manzanita outside my trailer.

Surprisingly, given the weather, I had 8 participants show up for my bird walk. And the birding was tough. Best I could muster was finding 10 species and that includes a Northern Flicker that was heard, but not seen. A singing Green-tailed Towhee once again put on a show for us and we saw several Grace's Warblers foraging in one small area near the lodge, high up in the Ponderosa Pines. This female Western Bluebird is, for me, a reminder of the beautiful Spring days we had earlier in the week. Today there's still a 70% chance of snow.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It's been a while since I had any images of birds to post, but a little time hanging around the dripper (and some decent weather) solved that problem. One thing I can count on is the robins coming around trying to keep themselves clean. Get a couple of them in a row and it'll be a while before the dripper can catch up and replace all of the water they manage to splash out! In this shot the robin is giving it a good shake after wrapping up an extended preening session.

While I have yet to see them bathe, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird at least come around for a drink now and then. The male frequently uses the dish for my satellite internet for a perch to launch himself from when foraging for insects - before long I'll need to clean off the tell-tale signs ("whitewash") he leaves behind, lest it should have a negative effect on reception. Can't help but wonder if it is the same pair from last summer; they're using the same cavity that produced a few young.

There's at least a couple of male Western Tanagers coming around; this is the less brightly colored of the two, the other one hasn't been around when I'm in the blind, unfortunately. There's at least one female tanager visiting, too, as well some other species.

I've padded the year list over the past couple of days as well as getting some photos. Over at Tropic Reservoir I picked up a couple of rarities for Bryce with a lone Great Egret and several Forster's Terns. The Utah year list now stands at 117 and the Bryce list has topped 100 (now at 103). Even though we are well into the second half of May, if the forecasts are correct we are headed back to winter for the next several days - that'll slow things up a bit.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today I led my second "bird walk" of the season with an amazing 17 participants. We ended up with 16 species on the day, 1 less than last week but still better numbers than my early walks last year. Probably has something to do with the fact I know a little more about where to look. Species highlights were a very cooperative Green-tailed Towhee who gave us some great looks, and a first of the season sighting of a Williamson's Sapsucker (a female). The real fun was watching male Western Tanagers chasing each other around in apparent territorial squabbles - 3 different times! While I cannot say for sure, I think it may have been different birds involved because they were in separate locations some distance apart. In between the 2nd and 3rd tanager battles we got to watch a pair of Chipping Sparrows in a knock-down, drag-out wrestling match on the ground just a few feet away from the group. To top it all off, this evening after work I had the opportunity to watch a pair of male Yellow-rumped Warblers chase each other around just outside my trailer.

Things are definitely heating up for "breeding rights", it seems.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the things I enjoy about living where I live is listening to the birds in the morning. Just for fun I took out my little notepad and jotted down the names of the birds I heard singing and/or calling today. It took them a little while to get going, most likely because we had some heavy rain in the evening (canceling last night's astronomy) which turned to snow during the night. This morning's "joyful noise" was provided by the following:

American Robin, Grace's Warbler, Northern Flicker, Cassin's Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, Chipping Sparrow, Western Bluebird, Western Tanager, and Brown Creeper.

As I write this the sun has set, it is nearly dark, and there is still a robin outside chatting away.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The past couple of days have been kind of productive with 5 new avian species to add to the year list plus a reptile (of course the lizard won't go on the bird list . . . ). The 3 Dendroica warbler species that breed at Bryce are now present and accounted for with the addition of Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler and Black-throated Gray Warbler (a positively striking male) in the last 24 hours. I added Grace's last week and for the past couple of days a male has been singing his heart out here in the campground. Sunday I found a Wilson's Phalarope hanging out near the Mallards over at Tropic Reservoir; today a Red-breasted Nuthatch was calling before coming into the open for a look near my trailer and, at the Post Office, saw some Barn Swallows buzzing around in their quest for insects. I'm now at 94 on the year for the state list and 78 species on the Bryce list.

I went the entire summer last year without seeing a Mountain Short-horned Lizard, though it is said they are fairly common. Last Thursday when I came home for lunch there was a pair of them scurrying around near my trailer. It got chilly again so, unless something ate them, they must have gone back below ground to wait for warmer temps (in fact, someone at work mentioned it seemed a bit early). We'll keep an eye out, but for now I'm more interested in the arrival of the Western Tanagers . . .

Update: We can add 3 more to the list: On the way out to the reservoir I saw some Tree Swallows barely 1/2 mile outside the park, then, at the reservoir, a Franklin's Gull (what a tough ID, even though I wouldn't expect to find many species of black hooded gulls in Utah; it was out in the middle of the lake, bobbing up and down in the waves - it's windy again today), and finally a Western Kingbird on the way back home. Now at 97 for the year and 81 for the park. Just for fun I counted the Eared Grebes at the reservoir: 130+ (hard to count as they were swimming in tight rafts among the whitecaps - tried really hard, to no avail, to see if I could find a Horned Grebe in the mix, too).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday (Tues.) I heard a song just outside the employee laundry so grabbed my binos to see if I could find it and ended up with the season's first warbler, Dendroica graciae (Grace's Warbler). Just for good measure one popped next to the old homestead this morning and sang for quite a while up in one of the Ponderosa's just outside my trailer. Somewhat surprised as I expected the more numerous Yellow-rumps would be the first to make an appearance. But a warbler is a warbler and I'll take all I can get.

Both Monday and Tuesday I drove Roxy out to Tropic Reservoir - on Monday not knowing how much it had thawed - and, let her get her feet wet. Over half of the lake was free of ice and the birds were taking advantage. Picked up 5 additional species for the year list and, because of close proximity to the park, all make it on the Bryce list, too (crazy that it is a 14 mile drive to the lake, yet only about 3 miles in a straight line from where I live . . .). A loon was present both days and I shot this nice wing stretch Tuesday morning. The new species: Red-breasted Merganser, Northern Pintail, Ring-billed Gull, White-faced Ibis, and Belted Kingfisher. In addition I've picked up Brewer's and Yellow-blackbirds over the past few days, along with the aforementioned Grace's Warbler, so we stand at 88 species for the year on the Utah list and 67 for Bryce.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 06:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We're having a little more Spring-like weather again following the cold temps and nasty winds we had earlier in the week. The bad news is another front will be passing north of here and high winds will be making a return over the next couple of days. Looking back at a post from last year around this time, I made mention of a really windy day, so I guess it must the norm here in April.

I've had the bath out but, with it being so cold still, I haven't hooked up the dripper as of yet. Robins have found it, though, and, despite the temperature being around freezing, they do like their baths. Must be clean birds. Other birds I've noticed around the campground: Western Bluebird, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern (red-shafted) Flicker, Steller's Jay, a pair of Canada Geese (!) that flew through here this morning, and a bird that had been singing all week that I finally saw this morning (kept thinking it might be a warbler), Brown Creeper. What had me going was the song doesn't match up that well with the recordings of creepers that I have - close but a little different. There's also a woodpecker around, but haven't had a good enough look to tell if it is Hairy or Downy.

If I can get around to editing, I have some more Sage-grouse video from earlier this week, too.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's almost hard to believe, but I arrived here a year ago today, though we didn't actually move into the park on the 16th. And I really didn't think I would be around more than 6 months, let alone go from being a volunteer to a Park Ranger.

For the occasion I put together this short (about 1:40) slideshow:

(There's a slightly larger version of the file here . . . )

It has been an amazing year: 125 species of birds* tallied to date in Utah, I've learned more about geology that I thought I ever would, I'm currently learning more about paleontology than I thought I ever would, I've made a few nice photographs along the way, and - this is the great part - they pay me for a job that I absolutely love doing.

I am looking forward to a great summer - hope you will stick around and join me and Roxy on our adventures around Bryce and the rest of Southern Utah!

*Despite the wind gusting up to 50 mph, I added 6 to the 2008 Year List today (now at 80 species): Common Loon, Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe, Eared Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, and Caspian Tern.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I went back to work yesterday and it was nice to be back after my 12 days off; in my Geology Talk today I got show of a couple of my "new" fossils. They generated some "oohs" and "aahs".

I'd failed to mention that I picked up a couple of new Year Birds while I was out fossiling: Violet-green Swallow and Rock Wren. Not sure what I was thinking when I went out since I remembered my binoculars, but not a field guide. Not being completely familiar with Western wrens, it wasn't until I returned home before I knew if I'd been looking at Rock Wrens or a Canyon Wrens.

With a few hours of daylight remaining after work today, Roxy and I went to see if we could finally get down to the reservoir. The road had been blocked about 1/2 mile in by a rather deep drift. Over the past couple days someone had punched a hole through and we made our way there. And discovered that it was, except for a little bit of the shoreline, still completely frozen over. So much for finding any ducks, grebes, or loons. I was surprised to find the local pair of Osprey hanging around their nest (#74 for the year list) and couldn't help but wonder what they are doing for food. I suppose they could be getting fish from the river . . .

In other news, it is now confirmed that for International Migratory Bird Day (Sat., May 10), the evening program will be my Wings on the Wind - Travels With Migratory Birds at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. Then on the following morning I'll be leading a bird walk - you should stop by if you're going to be in Utah!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Strange coincidence.

Went out looking for birds on this the 4th month & 1st day and what do I do: notch 41 bird species on the day (a new personal high around these parts, though a far cry from the 98 I had on a bird-a-thon in Florida). I suppose the April Fool's Day joke on me was that I didn't manage to get a single bird photo, just a couple of more rodents to add to the collection. The chipmunk was the first I'd seen up and around since last fall, though some visitors mentioned seeing one a few days ago. For what it's worth, the total number of vertebrate species I tallied was 47 (birds+mammals). Included in the avian total was 5 new "year birds" and that total also includes 1 "lifer" (wigeon). It may be possible to break 50 birds in one day covering the same ground I did today, though once more songbirds arrive later this month the ducks will, for the most part, be long gone.

Here's the list: Common Raven, Greater Sage-grouse, American Kestrel, European Starling, Horned Lark, Steller's Jay, Western Meadowlark, Mountain Bluebird, Red-tailed Hawk, Eurasian Collared-dove, American Robin, Juniper Titmouse, Western Scrub-jay, House Sparrow, Killdeer, Canada Goose, American Coot, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Mallard, Pie-billed Grebe, American Wigeon, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Black-billed Magpie, White-crowned Sparrow, Rock Pigeon, Golden Eagle (6!), Northern Flicker, Western Bluebird, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon & Gray-headed), Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier, Spotted Towhee, Turkey Vulture, Say' Phoebe, Wild Turkey, White-breasted Nuthatch, Clark's Nutcracker, Pygmy Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee.

(year birds, lifer)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In the past couple of days I've seen some more stuff either here in the park or very close. New bird species include the arrival of White-throated Swifts - seen yesterday zipping around from the Sunset Point overlook as I was chatting up some folks just prior to my Geology Talk (leaving the talk I also saw some activity at the last prairie dog colony to emerge - almost a month later than the first!). The day prior at the laundry I saw my first Northern Flicker as well as a pair of Western Bluebirds within the park. New additions today included 1 bird and 1 mammal: the bird was a Northern Goshawk flying just outside the park; the mammals were a couple of herds of Pronghorn outside the park, they have migrated from lower elevations where spent the winter.

In the "I'll Have to Go Look for This One" department: Yesterday a park visitor reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon zooming around the park's southern end at Yovimpa Point - I'll be down there in a few days when I'm off and be sure to let you know!

And in the "Wish I Could Have Been There" department: A few days ago the park's superintendent witnessed a Long-tailed Weasel take down and drag off a significantly larger Mountain Cottontail. Can you imagine????!!!! No doubt I'd feel bad for the bunny, but that would still be an amazing bit of nature at work to be lucky enough to witness.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today was my Best Birding Day So Far This Year; I was hopeful that I would hit 30, but came up 3 short in the end. On a positive note, I added 4 new species to the year list, bringing that total to 45; all were within the range of the Bryce checklist area, too. The additions are Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe (a big surprise I found hanging around the edges of a pond where I was checking out the ducks), Vesper Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow. The only (bird) species I managed to photograph was this male Greater Sage-grouse. They should be lekking soon, if not already, and the spot where I shot this one seems to be a major hangout for them. This was the third time I found them there and, who knows, it just may be one of the leks . . .

Birds weren't the only thing happening today, either. Since it was quite a bit warmer and the winds were a little calmer than yesterday, the Utah Prairie Dogs were up surveying the scene again. I am kind of surprised that I have not seen any chipmunks yet and, to date, only one Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel. Maybe later in the week if the weather holds (though the weather has already proven that it can be schizophrenic this time of year 'round these parts).

(Today's birds: American Robin, Common Raven, Horned Lark, Mountain Bluebird, Greater Sage-grouse, Ferruginous Hawk, Western Meadowlark, Townsend's Solitaire, American Kestrel, European Starling, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon & Gray-headed), Red-tailed Hawk, Western Scrub-jay, Killdeer, Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Canada Goose, Wilson's Snipe, Western Bluebird, Steller's Jay, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Golden Eagle, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Three weeks ago it was the prairie dogs stirring and, during that period, more and more of the colonies have become active. Then it was the Say's Phoebe singing at the Visitor Center (though it promptly disappeared for several days when a cold front came through but has since come back). The robins, though present all winter, have begun returning to the plateau in greater numbers along with a few other species. Three days ago I saw a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel seeking out some food around Sunset Point - another first for the season. Now the Mule Deer have made their way from the park's lower elevations and are browsing up here (watch out for the cat you guys!).

Of course if the forecast for the next couple of days is correct, we're going to be thrust right back into winter with a foot or so of new snow. Yikes. But I don't mind too much because I learned this week that I've been hired on for another 6 month stint through the summer!

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I didn't do much bird chasing on my day off today, but did go check out the Utah Prairie Dogs to see what they were up to. There are a lot more out and about now as the weather continues to warm; some of the colonies that were not active are now showing signs of stirring, with the occasional head peering out from behind a mound of snow. This one knew there was nothing to munch on near the hole and had ventured out to where the snow had melted beside a road. Looking at those paws, it appears things are a little on the gooey side, too.

While I wish I could say that I had seen them (better still, wish I could get a photograph), but all I can come up with for now are more tracks. The difference in these tracks and the last ones is this: these are about 100 feet from the front door of my trailer. Apparently momma and her kittens have been roaming around North Campground sometime in the past couple of days (top one is a kitten; the last one, according to the books I've checked, would be the front paws side by side when "bounding") . We had snow Saturday night so that means these were made since that time or they'd be covered just like the first set I found. There's also some prints in the mud near the campground's restrooms a 100 or so yards away - they've been wandering around here just a little. Spooky in a way, yet kind of exciting; will definitely have to keep a closer eye on Roxy when we're outside . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I said in the last post, my main mission was to shoot some stills of the Utah Prairies Dogs and here are a couple of the keepers. It took a lot of patience to wait for these three to get lined up. They were in and out of the hole, sometimes a fourth would make an appearance but hang out in the back, or they wouldn't all be looking the same general direction. But I stuck with them and it paid off, even if the one on the left is squinting a little (I bet you would be too after being holed up for 4 months, then coming out to all that bright white snow . . .)

This "kissing" is a somewhat common behavior and a form of greeting/recognition of another member of the coterie. It really isn't so much a "kiss" but touching incisors. Though they live in colonies, each coterie has its territorial boundaries; if it were an interloper a fight would likely take place (though in late summer and fall they will often share "common areas" at the edges of their territories).

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Don't want this to get too out of hand since the files are kind of large but, after spending some time shooting a lot of stills (look for a couple or three to be posted tomorrow sometime . . .), here's about 1:30 worth of Utah Prairie Dogs. There weren't doing much except hunkering down in the wind - you can hear it in the soundtrack, but you get to hear them barking, too.

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 12:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not enough that the prairie dogs are out of their burrows but as I was walking in to work this morning I heard what I though was a familiar song. My first reaction was "No way!" but I walked back to my truck, found it with my binoculars, and sure enough, perched on the peak of the Visitor Center roof: First Of The Season Say's Phoebe. A pair raised 2 broods below the eaves last summer - maybe could be one of them . . .

For my year lists that makes #34 for Utah, #24 for the Bryce Canyon National Park checklist.

(Update: On the way to a dinner party last night added Mallard to bring the state list to 35)

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday I was on my way home from a little adventure (which I'll get to in a minute) and, as I passed by one of the meadows in the park, I cast a skeptical eye in that direction and wondered when "they" would be making an appearance. It took all of about 500 feet to get my answer. The Utah Prairie Dogs had gone below ground to hibernate in late October, so it was right at 4 months since I had last seen one. I've since checked out 3 colonies in the park and there is activity at all of them, and I saw activity at another colony outside the park. The snow is still pretty deep so finding food must be a little tough. Even with that, this one looks pretty plump and must have had a lot of food stored away.

The tree at left was the object of my adventure yesterday. I happened upon it about 10 days ago while leading a snowshoe hike out near Bryce Point and it is one of the more mature examples I've seen here. The others I've seen are, for the most part, rather spindly, while this one had some bulk (trunk about 10 to 12 inches in diameter) . With the rate of erosion here as high as it is, Bristlecone Pines (Pinus longaeva) don't live as long as they do in the White Mountains of Eastern California, where a tree called "Methuselah" is about 4,800 years old, they can still live longer here than everything else around. The oldest one known at Bryce Canyon, now unfortunately dead, lived about 1,600 years. Bristlecone Pines are the oldest living single organisms on the planet.

Far from being an expert, I'm guessing this one is maybe 1,000 years old based upon size and what I have read about their rate of growth. If I'm right, it means this tree would have been a sapling during the time of the Fremont Culture (Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited portions of Utah concurrent with the more famous Puebloans - formerly called Anasazi - who inhabited the Four Corners region) and Europe would have been mired in the Dark Ages. Kind of cool when you think about it. Of course that's nothing when you realize Methuselah would have been a sapling during the time of the pharaohs . . .

Posted by Kevin, F.C.D. at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)