I Can Haz BlogThe places I go and things I seeFiled under: birdingJanuary Meadowlark and a Rock Wren (just cuz Wrens are the best)Sharp-shinned Hawks in the yardWe had juvenile and adult Sharp-shinned hawks in our yard this week. The adult took a junco as prey and consumed it on the front walk right outside our front door. As a bird watcher it was both terrible and fascinating to watch. Observing the juvenile a few days earlier was much more peaceful and gave us a good opportunity to closely study the markings, size and behaviors of a Sharp-shinned. It was a great way to really learn how to better distinguish this little fury from the Cooper's Hawks we sometime see around here as well. It was amazing to get up close and extended opportunities to see both juvenile and adult birds within days of each other in the exact same spot - all without leaving my warm living room.
Common GoldeneyeRather than shopping the day after Thanksgiving we headed out birding with Tim Avery. In a pond next to the city dump this great little Common Goldeneye gave me a great look (I love the mirror reflection. A Rough-legged hawk sat nice for me too. We got 4 new life birds: Red-breasted Merganser, Horned grebe, Cackling goose and a Greater White-fronted goose. We never would have picked out those geese without Tim's expert eye.
Curlews and IbisA hot August day on the Great Salt Lake had the Long-billed Curlews and White-faced Ibis cooling in the shallows, gorging on insects and I'm not quite sure what that Ibis is doing in the last shot, but I love the colors.
Bobolinks and Ring-necked Duck. 2 New Life birdsThis past weekend we finally had days warm enough to enjoy a day in the Heber Valley. It turned out to be a chance to see 2 birds we'd never seen before. A flock of funky little Bobolinks gave a goof show over the farm fields. Later we checked out the Jordanelle wetlands and happened to catch a RIng-necked duck floating through the reeds - not uncommon, but new to us. New birds are always fun, but I have to admit that my favorite moments were watching a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling to each other and spending a minute just listening to a Grey Catbird sing and sing. Drab look, great song.
Long Eared Owl, Bird Babies, Buntings. Spring Birding at its Best.Spring (what there was of it) is ending. Migration winding down. Today we ventured out and ended up seeing a new life bird, a Long-eared Owl. This is the sixth owl species we've seen on Antelope Island (others were: Great Horned, Barn, Short-eared, Burrowing and Northern Saw-whet owls). The cold, wet Spring kept birds around our yard, so we were able to see several Western Tanagers and a great afternoon watching a couple of baby Lesser Goldfinches and their mother. Lazuli Buntings are everywhere and I can't resist taking hundreds of pictures. Even when they are just first-years with messy plumage,they're still so striking. When we finally got some warm weather the Barn Swallows all laid out to catch some sun. It looked like a day at the beach. At first I thought they were a bunch of dead birds, but they are just lazing away in the sun. Cutest bird of Spring 2011 has to go to the baby Killdeer we spotted running around on the side of a road.
May Means Buntings, Warblers and... More Snow?One of my favorite Spring birding spots is the temple stone quarry up Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt lake City. Over the weekend we encountered many Lazuli Buntings in the area as well as Black-headed Grosbeaks. Returning today I found the mountain tops covered in a layer of new snow and the cold, wet weather keeping the birds down. I was able to spot Virginia's Warblers, Orange-crowned warblers, chipping sparrows and Yellow-rumped warblers all in the same tree. A few Spotted Towhee were hanging around as well. Dramatic Winter Day on the Great Salt LakeYou never know what will show up on Antelope Island in January. A dramatic day of sun and snow brought Bald Eagles and Coyotes on the iced over bay. Our big surprise was a Greater White-fronted Goose - a bird not very common to the island and a new life-bird for us. This one is a juvenile which made distinguishing it from a domestic goose a bit tough, but you can tell by the crisp markings and the lean look that it is a wild bird. Domestic geese have much more bulk. We also stopped by the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area where a couple of American Kestrels posed beautifully and we got our second life-bird of the day, a Rough-legged Hawk (and a shutter-hog Canada Goose). Winter is so much more bearable with wildlife and wild places to visit.The Pics I Missed Posting in 2010I was looking back over my photos from 2010 and realized I never posted some of my favorites from this year's adventures. 1) Great Salt Lake Mirror Calm2) Long-Billed Curlew - Antelope Island 3) Bison and Antelope - White Rock Bay, Antelope Island 4 & 5) Coyote in the Grass - Antelope Island 6) Rock Wren Singing - Visitor's Center, Antelope Island 7) White Crowned Sparrow - Visitor's Center, Antelope Island 8) Cordilleran Flycatcher - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 9) Western Tanager - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 10) Hermit Thrush - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 11) Black and White Warbler (rare visitor) - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 12) Northern Saw-Whet Owl (with prey) - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 13) Cassin's Finch - South Willow Canyon, Tooele Valley 14) Westen Wood Pewee - South Willow Canyon, Tooele Valley 15) Chipmunk - Big Four Ice Caves, Washington 16) Pacific Wren - Big Four Ice Caves Washington 17) Barn Swallow Chicks and Mother - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 18) Mountain Bluebird, Strawberry Reservoir, Utah 19) Cooper's Hawk Chicks - University of Utah campus 20) Fall Colors in Silver Fork Canyon, Utah 21) Looking Toward Wasatch Mountain State Park from the Johnson Mill Pond, Midway, Utah 22) Johnson Mill - Midway, Utah 23) Pied Billed Grebe Chick - Johnson Mill Pond, Midway, Utah 24) Red Tailed Hawk - Heber Valley, Utah 25) Fall Colors, East Canyon, Utah
Snow Buntings at Utah Lake |
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