Mountain Birding

As my list of birds seen gets longer, it gets predictably harder to add new species to the list. However, there is one habitat type that I have not spent much time birding yet this year, and which potentially holds a dozen or so species that are probably present right now waiting for me to add them to my list. That habitat is the high mountians, and last weekend I spent a bit of time on both Saturday and Sunday birding in this habitat. On Saturday, Craig and I birded around Tony Grove. Although we missed some must-have species in the area like Three-toed Woodpecker and Purple Martin, I did pick up several new species for the year, including Clark's Nutcracker, Red-naped Sapsucker, and Williamson's Sapsucker (photo at right). On Sunday Stephanie and I returned to some hummingbird feeders in the area, trying to track down the Rufous Hummingbird that had been reported there. We didn't see the Rufous, but we did get great looks at Black-chinned Hummingbirds and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, both of which I'd seen earlier in the year.

Owling and Nightjaring - and Another State Record!

Last night I went owling up Green Canyon with Stephanie Cobbold and Craig Fosdick. We were mostly hoping to hear Common Poorwills and Flammulated Owls. These species are the last two on the Cache County checklist that are listed as "Common" but that I had not yet seen or heard this year. They would also both be lifers. We started at around 9:30 P.M. near the mouth of the canyon and were quite excited to hear a Common Poorwill from the car. After a couple more stops, we realized that this species really is common here - we heard at least one or two at every stop on our way up the canyon.

We weren't having much luck with the owls, though, so thinking that they might be at higher elevations, we decided to drive up to the loop at the end of the road and then work our way back down. On the way up we passed a car going a little too fast on its way back down. As the car pulled even with us on the narrow dirt road I realized that Ron Ryel, a friend and one of the best birders in the county, was driving. We stopped to say hi and Ron was visibly excited. He had heard a Whip-poor-will at the loop at the end of the road! This species has been reported in the state of Utah about once every ten years for the last four decades, but no record has ever been accepted by the Bird Records Committee because no one has ever recorded one or had any other proof of what they heard or saw.

We followed Ron to the loop and immediately heard the Whip-poor-will calling off to the west, loud and clear and only about 60 m away. We were able to walk about 20 m closer, and the bird then moved even closer to us, within about 20 m. Fortunately, the MP3 player I use to play owl songs also has the ability to record, so I was able to get a couple of clear recordings of this bird. (You can hear one of these recordings by pressing the play button above.) We also heard a couple of Flammulated Owls here, so we heard our two target birds plus a state record! The Whip-poor-will record has already been submitted for review by the Utah Bird Records Committee, and I expect that it will be accepted because of the recording of the song - I'll post an update here when I know.

A Relaxing Day of Birding

It seems like making a birding goal sometimes takes the relaxation out of the hobby - it is even a little stressful to think about the birds that I missed or might be missing each time I go birding. But, now that I've reached 200 and I'm still far from 236, today I was able to enjoy a very relaxing day of birding. First, I did the LBCA point count again, this time with Craig Fosdick (above left) and Keith Archibald (above right). We saw a total of 47 species, including my first Hairy Woodpecker of the year. We also saw a Golden Eagle nest with a chick, a Vesper Sparrow nest with eggs, and a Grasshopper Sparrow. Grasshopper sparrows are pretty rare in the county, but probably occur in some numbers every year. I think the highlight for me was actually a mammal, though: I saw my first live Badger!

After an afternoon barbecue with Stephanie and her housemates and housemate's family, we went canoeing on the Bear River. I only picked up one new species, a Common Nighthawk, and missed American Bittern yet again, a species that should be common but is proving to be hard to find. It didn't seem to matter much, though, because the canoeing itself was so enjoyable.

200!

I finally made it to 200 birds today! After taking care of some errands this morning, I took a trip out to Steel Canyon in NW Cache County, almost to Idaho. Several good birds have been seen in this area lately; several that I needed. I picked up the first must-have, a Grasshopper Sparrow, singing along the gravel road to the canyon - number 199. But then the road got too muddy to drive and I had to turn around before I reached the canyon. I was afraid I might be stuck just shy of 200 for yet another day. But on the drive out, I spotted a flycatcher near a creek I had passed on the way in. I had hoped that some flashy rare bird would fill the 200 spot, but instead it was a plain bird I had seen many times before: this flycatcher was my first Western Wood-Pewee of the year. (Photo above.) On the drive home I managed to pick up yet another new bird just for good measure: number 201, an Eastern Kingbird, shown below.

What next? Well, I'm not stopping here. I've met my goal but now I've set a new one. The record number of bird species seen in a year by any one person in Cache County is 235, held by both Keith Archibald and Ron Ryel. I'm now going to go for that record, and I think I'm off to a good start. From what I've heard from my more experienced Cache County birding friends, only one person has ever reached 200 earlier in the year than I did: Ron Ryel reached 200 by "about" May 24th a few years ago.

Inching Closer to 200

Yesterday Sarah Mohlman and I did a volunteer point count for the Little Bear Conservation Alliance. The LBCA is a group of landowners in the south end of Cache County who want to manage their lands to help wildlife. These landowners need to know which species are using their lands in order to protect those species, so Bryan Dixon has organized a group of volunteers, including myself, to conduct standardized surveys for birds on their lands.

Sarah and I found a total of 43 species on our 4.75 mile transect southwest of Avon, including five new species for the year for me. The highlight was a single adult male Lark Bunting, a very rare species in the valley. We also saw at least five different Yellow-breasted Chats. One Ruffed Grouse was heard drumming. Additional firsts of the year for me included Lark Sparrow (number 197) and Olive-sided Flycatcher (198). I'll be doing this transect twice more before the end of June, so hopefully we'll be able to turn up some more rarities there. Just two more species to 200!

Catching Up

Today I was trying to catch up on being out of town for the last two weeks for my research. My two biggest finds for the day were two Stilt Sandpipers (one is shown above, with a dowitcher) and three Whimbrel. These are both lifers for me, and both are very rare species for the area. My friend Keith, who has been birding in Cache Co. for over 20 years, says that he's only heard of two or three Stilt Sandpipers in that time, and Whimbrel also only about once every five years. Another highlight was a male Townsend's Warbler at Rendezvous Park. This species is generally a fall migrant in Utah and is pretty much unheard of in spring in Utah from what I have been able to find out.

I was also able to find a Bobolink that had been reported online, but I think I missed my shot at the Lewis's Woodpecker and Dunlin, at least this time around. Who knows, maybe more will show up, but it is quite possible that I won't get another chance at those two species this year. There are still several species that are around which I'm missing (see the growing "Coming Up Next" list to the right). I think if I work at it, there is a chance I'll be able to hit 200 by the end of the weekend. If nothing else, I'd really like to get to 200 before I leave for more fieldwork.

An Unbelievable Evening

Last night I did some birding around the valley to try to catch up on the recent migrants I had missed while I was in Arizona. In addition to finding a bunch of new migrants, like Common Grackle, Warbling Vireo, Plumbeous Vireo, and Western Tanager, I found a very rare bird, a Northern Waterthrush. This is a species of warbler that forages along the edge of stagnant water. It is also one I had never seen before. According to one experienced local birder this species is only seen in the county about once every three to five years. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me, so I went back home to get the camera and picked up Craig Fosdick along the way. When we got back to the park where I had found the waterthrush, we couldn't find the bird. But, we found something much better. A Mississippi Kite flew over us twice! This is a really big deal - although there are some breeding areas in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and a few sporadic records in Wyoming and Nevada, this species has never before been recorded in the state of Utah! I really wish I had gotten a photo of this bird, but Craig and I both saw it well enough to be sure of what we saw: a light gray bird about the size of a Peregrine Falcon and flying kind of like it, with strong wingbeats and fast direct flight; a long, black, square-tipped tail, and distinct white flashes in the dorsal side of the wings. To see a Northern Waterthrush in the county is hard enough to believe - they are only seen here once every 5 years or so. But to see a Northern Waterthrush in Cache County AND a new state record in a matter of hours is bordering on unbelievable. My next task will be to convince the Utah Bird Records Committee that we saw what we saw for the record to be accepted. A big help will be to get a photo of the bird; I plan to try to find this bird again tonight, and to get that photo, but it may have already migrated on.

Birding Vacation

Last weekend I took a break from birding in Cache County to do a little birding in Cochise County, Arizona. I was there to help my friends Sarah and Glenda with their field work on rodents, but managed to sneak in some great birding during the breaks. I saw many Arizona specialties and had a total of about nine lifers. Black-throated sparrows and Chihuahan Ravens were common in the valley. I also saw Canyon Towhees and my first Crissal Thrasher there, among others. The most exciting birds for me were up Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains. Mexican Jays were common (photo above). My first lifer up the canyon was a Yellow-eyed Junco, a species I'd been hoping to see for a while. We also saw several Painted Redstarts and Bridled Titmice at our first stop, along with several species that also occur in Utah like Wilson's Warblers, Western Tanagers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, and Dark-eyed Juncos.

At the Southwest Research Station I saw my first Zone-tailed Hawk (photo below), a beauty that tricked Sarah into thinking it was just a Turkey Vulture, which were much more common there. Supposedly this species mimics Turkey Vultures to surprise its prey. While standing in the same spot I saw my lifer Cassin's Kingbird. At the hummingbird feeders here were at least four species. I saw my lifer Hepatic Tanager at the research station, which was exciting enough, but I topped that by finding my second Hepatic Tanager in the same dead tree as my lifer Lewis's Woodpecker within an hour! Lewis's Woodpecker had been a nemesis bird for me - it seems ironic to find it in Arizona at the extreme edge of its winter range when I've spent so much time in core breeding habitat without finding it.

The next day we were able to return up the valley again and I picked up a couple more lifers, including a Grace's Warbler and a Dusky-capped Flycatcher. There were Elegant Trogons around, but we weren't able to find any. After finding so many great birds, I don't mind leaving something to search for next time. . . .

Secret Birding

My birding is sounding more and more like spy work. Last post, I talked about a stakeout for a feeder bird. Today, I went on a secret birding trip. My friend Craig had found a Long-eared Owl, a species for which I'd been searching for years. The catch was that it was sitting on a nest in a relatively accessible place. He was afraid that if word got out about this hard-to-find species, the attention drawn to the nest could disturb the parents enough that the nest would fail, and I think he's justified in that fear so I do not plan to post where the nest is. But luckily for me and Stephanie, Craig trusted us enough to take us to see the bird today. We slowly approached the area and stopped as soon as we spotted the nest, still quite a distance away. But there it was, probably incubating eggs, my lifer Long-eared Owl! Below is the best photo I could get from so far away. While we were looking for and then watching the owl, we also saw a Wild Turkey and several songbird species, but not the Fox Sparrows Craig had seen here before, a species I'm still missing but which should be pretty easy to find soon.

Feeder Stakeout

The feeder stakeout is probably familiar to all serious listers. (No, I'm not a serious lister.) Most of the birds birdwatchers see are probably at birdfeeders, so occassionally a rare bird will show up at a feeder and word spreads quickly. It is then the job of the lister to pretend they're a private investigator. He or she contacts the homeowner, then waits by the feeder for minutes, hours, or even days hoping that the target bird will eventually show up.

I did my first feeder stakeout yesterday, at the home of Alice Lindahl. She reported a Harris's Sparrow coming to her feeder, a bird that normally sticks to the central part of the country and is very rare in Utah. (An interesting aside: this is the only species in the world whose entire breeding range is in Canada.) So, yesterday after handing in my research proposal and giving a presentation to the dean of the college, I celebrated by sitting in Alice's living room window and watching her feeders. Thank god I caught her just as she was leaving and she was gracious enough to let me in. The weather outside was horrendous, with sleet, snow, freezing rain, and hard winds.

After about 20 or 30 minutes of practicing my Junco subspecies identification, the scruffy-looking star of the show finally arrived! (Photo above, bird at center.) Not bad for my first feeder stakeout, and a very tough-to-get bird in Cache County.