CBC Brings the Year to a Close

Today was the Logan Christmas Bird Count, and also my last day of birding in Cache County this year. We birded all day, from before sunrise looking for owls to picking rare geese out of a flock as the light dimmed in the evening. I was with Stephanie in the morning and Ron Ryel (photo below) from mid-morning to evening. We found some good birds today, including the Mourning Doves shown above. (There were many seen this year, but some years we only find one in the entire count circle.) There were five species that my group found that were not seen anywhere else in the count circle: Cedar Waxwings, a Greater Yellowlegs, a Ruddy Duck, a Ross's Goose, and two Cackling Geese. In total, I saw 54 species, but none of them were new for the year. Our count circle found a total of 93 species, but none of those would have been new for the year for me either, so it was good to know that I didn't miss anything. The dinner celebration and count compilation at the end of the day was not only a good way to end a cold day, but also a great way to end the year.

It's only the 20th, so why is my big year ending early? Well, Stephanie and I leave tomorrow at 4:30 AM to go to Colombia for the holidays. Which brings up another good question: what will happen to the blog? You might have already noticed a few small changes; I'm going to keep the blog going and transition it into a place to write about all of my natural history experiences, in Utah and elsewhere. The changes may be gradual, but within a few weeks this will be a whole new place! So, watch this spot for more adventures in the natural world. Up next, Colombia!

Fun with Geese

Today Stephanie and I were having lunch on our way out to do some birding when I got a phone call. The caller ID said "Craig Fosdick," and I knew that what it meant was "Good Birds Have Been Found." Sure enough, Craig and Keith Archibald were scanning a flock of about a thousand Canada Geese and had also found Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and a Ross's Goose in the mix! By the time we got there, the geese had moved a bit further from the road, but in the next hour or so we were also able to find three Cackling Geese and a Greater White-fronted Goose in the flock. Cackling Geese are a smaller version of the familiar Canada Goose, and were recognized as a distinct species in 2004. You can see one with Canada Geese in the photo above - can you find it? Perhaps it is only because they are a recent species which didn't have much attention paid to it when it was just a subspecies, but the new species is considered rare in Utah and is being tracked by the Utah Rare Birds Committee, who will be interested in a report about this sighting. White-fronted Geese are not considered as rare state-wide, but are apparently more rare in Cache Valley - Bob Atwood told me that he hadn't seen one in Cache Valley since the mid-1990s. It seems that the spring migration is finally underway, and my list is again picking up momentum, with four new species today!