Review Species Reported This Month:
Gray Hawk Utah Co.
Northern Bobwhite
Salt Lake Co.
Prothonotary Warbler
Weber Co.
BEAVER COUNTY
Pat Jividen (1 Jul 2012) - On the 26th of June Steve
Carr and I were in Beaver county. We saw a Scott's Oriole in Indian Creek
Canyon, and on state road 21 at 1475 south we saw Bobolinks.
BOX ELDER COUNTY
Norm Jenson (28 Jul 2012) - Today, thinking there might be some action on
the west side of Willard Bay we headed out. We were not disappointed, finding
Godwits, Dowitchers, and thousands of Black Neck Stilts as well as a
first for us in Box Elder County Black Terns.
Paul Higgins (21 Jul 2012)- Burrowing Owls,
Promontory, Utah.
Paul Higgins (1 Jul 2012) - Snowy Plover west-side of Willard Bay.
CACHE COUNTY
Craig Fosdick (13 Jul 2012) - This morning there was a
male Great-tailed Grackle singing at Benson Marina, in Cache Co from 930
to at least 1030. This is only the third summer (June-July) eBird record for
this species in Cache County. What may have been the same bird was seen at
Petersboro (only 2 miles SW of Benson Marina as the grackle flies), at the
intersection of UT-23 and 2000 N half an hour later.
Mike Fish (9 Jul 2012) - [Logan, Utah] - On July 3rd I
had a male Rufous at my feeders for the first time this year. On July 4th I saw
two male and one female Rufous Hummingbirds in the yard. I went camping
up Logan canyon to Guinavah campground over the weekend and hung a nectar feeder
for three days. I saw loads of Broad-tailed and Black-chinned
hummingbirds but didn’t see a single Rufous in the canyon. My yard is being
overrun with juvenile hummingbirds right now, and I am seeing fewer and fewer
males. The Bullock’s Orioles also seem to be thinning out in my area. I had a
few Bullock’s fledglings around my yard two weeks ago, but they have moved out
of the area. Dog days of summer are setting in early. Seems this 2012 year has
had the seasons a month ahead of schedule.
DAVIS COUNTY
Cindy Sommerfeld (8 Jul 2012) - July is never
the birdiest month and today's survey supported that. We did see a Sharp-tailed
Grouse run across the road on our way to the ranch. We also saw a Blue Grosbeak
in a gated area. Nothing else too unexpected. Species count was 52: [some other
highlights:]...Black-crowned Night-Heron,...Marbled Godwit,...Burrowing Owl,
Long-eared Owl,...Grasshopper Sparrow,...
Carol Gwynne (24 Jul 2012)- There were hundreds of
shorebirds at about mm 5.8 on the Antelope Island Causeway today at about 2
p.m.. In the groups that were close enough to scope, there were lots of Western
Sandpipers, a few Wilson's Phalaropes, some Lesser Yellowlegs, a
Black-bellied Plover, and a few Long-billed Dowitchers.
DUCHESNE COUNTY
Jeff Cooper (31 Jul 2012) - Eric Peterson and I
ventured out from American Fork/Pleasant Grove yesterday... --Among species seen:
Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird,
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Black-headed Grosbeak, Cassin's Finch, Green-tailed
Towhee, and White-breasted Nuthatch.
Steve Carr (18 Jul 2012) - I have been to Costa Rica
and Ecuador and have seen upwards of 12-15 different species at once around a
set of feeders. But for sheer numbers of birds at one time, Pat Jividen's 6
feeders at his cabin on Tabby Mountain, elevation 6900 feet, overlooking the
town of Tabiona, Duchesne County, during Rufous Hummer migration time, can't be
beat. On July 17 at any given instant we saw--
--10-12 pairs of Rufous Hummers, 4-5 pairs of
Black-chinned, 3-4 pairs of Broad-tailed, and at least one pair of
Calliope. Then, of course, when some birds get full of sugar-water and go to
rest up on a tree branch their places are immediately taken over by new sets of
hummers. I would guess that there are upwards of 100 individuals, including 20+
adult male Rufous.
--Then, to add to the hummer frenzy - there were-- 3 pair of
Black-headed Grosbeaks, 5 pair of Cassin's Finches, 3 Spotted
Towhees, 4 Mourning Doves, 2 Scrub-Jays, 2 Evening
Grosbeaks, one White-breasted Nuthatch, and 10 Pine Siskins,
along with fly (soar)-over Ravens and 2 Turkey Vultures, many
Tree and Rough-winged Swallows.
GARFIELD COUNTY
Terry Sadler (24 Jul 2012) - A colony of Lewis's
Woodpeckers seems to have taken over the dead Ponderosa Pine North of
Boulder, Utah where Acorn Woodpeckers used to frequent. I saw at least 8 Lewis's
Woodpeckers on the dead tree Saturday, July 21st. The tree is located in a
pasture west of Highway 12 between mile markers 92 and 93.
RICH COUNTY
Mark Stackhouse (17 Jul 2012) - [Deseret Ranch, UT]
- A few weeks ago I pointed out that birding is weird. I have to say it again.
On Thursday, we found 135 species, and yesterday we also found 135 species - the
second time this summer that we've had the same number of species on
back-to-back trips. This time, even though the total number of species was the
same, we had 14 species different from Thursday's trip. It was another great day
of birding on the ranch. The complete bird list for the day is below:
[highlights:]...Swainson's Hawk,... Spotted Sandpiper, Greater
Yellowlegs,... Marbled Godwit,...Common Nighthawk,...Clark's Nutcracker,...Northern Mockingbird,...Cedar Waxwing,...Common
Yellowthroat,...
Mark Stackhouse (13 Jul 2012)- [Deseret Ranch, UT]
- Wow! What a day we had at Deseret Ranch yesterday. 135 species of birds.
Watching the delight of Norman Jenson getting his 300th Utah bird. Baby White
Pelicans (how many birders have seen a baby pelican in Utah?). A Rubber Boa.
Lots of mammals, of course. It was a day of Utah birding the likes of which one
can only find on Deseret Ranch. Tomorrow will be my last ranch trip of this
year. The full bird list is below. [highlights:]
--...Blue-winged Teal,... Greater Sage-Grouse, Dusky Grouse,...Sandhill
Crane,...Black Tern, ...Burrowing Owl...Purple Martin,...
SALT LAKE COUNTY
Matthew Wallace (25 Jul 2012) - [East Millcreek] -
Still have a handfull of Rufous Hummingbirds, they've been here for over
a week now. They buzz around all day, enjoying our feeders and chasing the
competition, mostly Black-chinned and some Broad-tails. One
of the joys of summer!
Jack Binch (24 Jul 2012) - Great morning to have
off of work. I had four Calliope Hummingbirds at home early this morning.
Not enough light when they were here for photos and I did not even have my
camera out. Two adult males, one adolescent male and one female. Never happened
before. The two adult Rufous Hummingbird males are still around and after
a couple of slack days, a good bunch of female Rufous were here. I had one large
female hummer that I hope comes back. Poor light, but was greenish on the sides.
I finally had enough sense to put a perch close to a feeder for some front
views. The males have been here for ten days. Unheard of for me. They must have
been forced to start migration before they were ready and finding cooler weather
and ample food are staying for a bit.
jpogden@xmission.com
(19 Jul 2012) - Last evening I had a pair of BOBWHITE quail in my back
yard on the east side of Salt Lake City. It is my understanding that this area
is not their normal range.
Eric Peterson (18Jul 2012)
- [Silver Lake] - I just wanted to pass along a couple of things to everyone. I
finished my two trips to Silver Lake and they were a huge success. Thanks to
everyone who gave me tips on where to look for different things. A couple of
notes. The Rufous Hummingbirds have moved in to the feeders north of the
lake. There were more of them than Broad-tails now. I always forget that
what is common to us isn't to the rest of the country. We saw Mountain
Chickadees and everyone loved seeing and hearing them. We saw a group of
Clark's Nutcrackers feeding fledglings and McGillivary's Warblers. We
saw about 35 species on each trip. We saw lots of mammals also. Uinta Ground
Squirrels everywhere, Beaver in the lake, Mule deer, the Pika were out in full
force, and the coolest of all was the moose.
KC Childs (Jul 8, 2012) - At about 30th South and
300 East in South Salt Lake is a apartment complex called Millcreek Gardens. It
is tucked back on a drive from 3rd east just on the north side of the actual
Millcreek. In the very back, the last apartment building there is a Common
Grackle hanging around in the trees behind the building.
Rich Young (6 Jul 2012)- While I was teaching Karin Kirchhoff bird
photography, I introduced her to the Kennecott Nature Center, Murray/Jordan
River Parkway oxbow today, July 6, 2012. Karin returned my favor by pointing out
some movement across the pond. It was a
Green Heron!
Eric Petersen (5 Jul 2012) - [Silver Lake] - Jeff
Cooper and I set out yesterday morning to beat the smoke and the 4th crowds up
at Silver Lake. We arrived at Silver Lake at about 7:15 am...We then headed down
the the trail hearing Clark's Nutcrackers everywhere. We spotted 4
Evening Grosbeaks on the way down and got some good looks...
Bryant Olsen (2 Jul 2012) - Today I hiked around
Brighton from Silver Lake to the pass above Twin Lakes and then back via Lake
Solitude. Nothing rare or unusual, but since some are leading groups there soon
and the Brighton Bird Count is coming, I though I would share the highlights. I
had my FOY RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, a male, at some feeders by one of the
cabins north of the Silver Lake parking lot. ...Near the next-door cabin/mansion
to the south was an AMERICAN TREE-TOES WOODPECKER pecking away,
inconveniently behind a no-trespassing sign, never the less I got a good legal
look at her. Up on the pass between Twin Lakes and Lake Solitude, the
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS nest is very active with mom and pop coming
in every few minutes, and the kid, or at least the one that stuck its head out,
was a boy, looking like a spitting image of dad. I imagine they will be out of
the nest soon, so best get up there to get a good look at the family now before
they disperse. Near by was a group of RED CROSSBILLS that had no white in
their wings unfortunately, and down the trail a ways toward Lake Solitude was a
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH to give variety to all the Red breasted's
everywhere, although it wasn't hanging out with its red kin. Had 1 flyover
PINE GROSBEAK that I didn't get a good look at...
SUMMIT COUNTY
Dave Hanscom (29 Jul 2012) - Finding peeps at
Rockport has been quite a spotty endeavor lately (pun intended). My previous
trip was a bust, with only a half dozen Spotties to be found. Yesterday was a
different story. With the help of the sharp eyes and ID skills of Bobs
MacDougall and Huntington, we were able to find Bairds, Least, Solitary,
Spotted, and Western Sandpipers, along with one lonesome Dowitcher.
The numbers weren't high, but the variety certainly was good.
--Next stop was Washington Lake in search of a Pine Grosbeak
for the Bird Nerd. We succeeded on that score, and added a Brown Creeper
to our list as well. At Mirror Lake we were able to find a Three-Toed
Woodpecker, but no Gray Jays.
Dave Hanscom (21 Jul 2012) - I had a couple of
hours this afternoon before the showers started, so I headed over to Rockport to
see what might be hanging out on the mud flats. No disappointment. Hanging out
with literally dozens of Spotted Sandpipers were 2 PECTORALS and 1
Western...
--Yesterday I went for a run/hike up Shingle Creek to see if I
could find a Ruffed Grouse. No luck with that, but a Gray Jay did drop by
to say hello just below East Shingle Creek Lake. After a number of visits to
several Mirror Lake campgrounds without finding one, I'm convinced that much of
this birding game is just plain luck! :-)
TOOELE COUNTY
Norm Jenson (28 Jul 2012) - [Ophir Canyon] - It was
a four hummingbird day yesterday [Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Rufous,
and Calliope] thanks to the nice lady at 93 Ophir Canyon Road who
has 6 or 7 feeders and hundreds of hummers...
UINTAH COUNTY
Oliver Hansen (12 Jul 2012) - UCB field trip turned
Big day was a hit. We started out at Leidy Peak with Ptarmagins and
Gray Jays and ended in Ouaray with Bitterns, Virginia rails
and AW pelicans. What a great trip. Thanks to all who came and to Bryan
for leading. I'll send out more info of some locations we birded and maybe some
pics later. I think at the end of the day I was at or near 80 species.
UTAH COUNTY
Eric Huish (30 Jul 2012) - I stopped at Lower Hobble
Creek WMA this morning before work to look for the
Indigo Bunting
reported in eBird by Rindee. I found it! A bright male singing a little over
half way down the trail from the parking area. I also spotted a Solitary
Sandpiper down at the end of the trail.
Jeff Cooper (20 Jul 2012) - Recently, I've made a
couple of trips up American Fork Canyon to check out Mutual Dell for
hummingbirds and the birds along the first few miles of the unpaved Timpooneke
Road--at about 8000 ft and on the NW end of Mt Timpanogos....We watched large flocks of Pine Siskins
fly circles above us for several minutes. It was cool to see such large flocks.
We stopped and spent some time in one spot and found some Clark's
Nutcrackers, a Cooper's Hawk, Chipping Sparrows, a Dusky
Flycatcher, a Western Wood-Pewee, Fox Sparrows, a family of
Red-naped Sapsuckers, and some Rufous and Broad-tailed
Hummingbirds, to name a few....
cinbo@flightline.com (19 Jul 2012) - [Highland,
UT] - July 5 or 6, 2012 I was standing on our back porch when a gray bird with a
hooked bill lit in our tree. The tree is not more than 10 feet from the porch &
I saw it very clearly. I called to my husband, who was in the garden, but the
bird flew away toward the south. When I described the bird, my husband thought
it was a falcon. However, just now when I looked it up, I immediately knew it
was a GRAY HAWK. It looked exactly like the picture on this website, & I
had a very good look at this hawk as it was in the tree at my eye level. It was
magnificent! Exact location is 5324 W. 10280 N., Highland.
Alona Huffaker (13 Jul; 2012) - [Springville, UT] -
Lazuli Bunting, Black Headed Grosbeak, Black Chinned Hummingbird, Broadtailed
Hummingbird, a couple of Rufous Hummingbirds and a couple glimpses of
a male Caliope Humming bird! Fun times!
Jeff Cooper (10 Jul 2012) - I was talking to Eric
Huish the other day about how I've missed more frequent birding and photography
over the past few months due to other priorities. I told him I really wanted to
see Blue Grosbeaks this summer... --This morning I got a text from Eric indicating he had found my
summertime friends near the Lindon Beach, about a half mile south of the boat
harbor and settling ponds. I had a meeting with a potential client in Lindon
this morning so I dropped by the boat harbor area on my way back to house. I
observed two adult males and one female so I'm not sure if territory has been
established, unless they are willing to share close territories. The females
tend to stay down low so there may have been two pairs in the area.
Jeff Cooper (9 Jul 2012)- I would have questioned it
had I not seen it myself, but an unmistakable male Calliope Hummingbird
was just at my feeder.
Donel Jensen (7 Jul 2012)-
Summer Tanager in lower Provo Canyon. It was
down the paved trail on the South side of the river from the
parking area that is on the south side of the river before the diversion.
Lot is on the south side of the river from the Mt. Timpanogos Park, Provo
Canyon. The T
Tanager was in a cottonwood overhanging the trail about 130 meters west on the
foot path from the end of the parking lot.
WASATCH COUNTY
Bryant Olsen (15 Jul 2012) - I had a "Green Backed"
Rufous Hummingbird male
at my feeder in Strawberry the other day. The truth is, Allen's are likely under
reported as migrants because of their extreme similarity to Green Backed Rufous,
and they should probably be on the Utah checklist, but go through un-noticed
because they are virtually identical, but since Allen's have turned up as far
out of range as New Jersey, Utah seems likely. So my advice is get a good look
at those "Green Backed" Rufous, for one of them may eventually turn out to be an
Allen's. I took some video stills of the one I saw, and sure enough it had
notched R2 tail feathers, making it a Rufous, but I still hold out hope for an
Allen's.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Rick Fridell (22 Jul 2012) - Yesterday, 7/22, I took a drive through the
Washington Fields, Washington Co. Highlights included two Cattle Egrets in a
pasture following cattle, a young male Blue Grosbeak singing in the
southeast corner field, at least 30+ Western Kingbirds, and a Northern
Harrier in the wet meadow area.
--Also stopped by Quail Creek State Park and the Pacific Loon
is remaining (usually in the inflow area north of the main boat ramp).
Dave Hanscom (1 Jul 2012) - Went for a 15 mile run/hike today to look for
a Ruffed Grouse in Bench Creek and Camp Hollow. Just when I was about to
give up, right at the bottom of Camp Hollow, a flurry of activity about jumped
me out of my skin. Little grouses flew in all directions, and momma went limping
off down the trail. Quite a show!...
WEBER COUNTY
Paul Bausman (17 Jul 2012) - Had our first Rufous Hummingbird
at home in South Ogden (just west of US89) on July 14: adult male, all-rufous
back, brilliant red/orange gorget. Have seen no female..
Kris Purdy (13 Jul 12012) - I haven’t seen a
Lewis’s Woodpecker in northwest Ogden Valley, Weber County, in the area of
the North Fork in almost two years, so I was mighty happy to see a rosy adult
and a dusky juvenile this afternoon in a row of cottonwoods out in a field that
has historically been both a breeding and a wintering location for them.
--Once you’ve had your fill of the woodpeckers, you can make a nice
birding outing of it by continuing to North Fork Park. Continue around the 90°
turn and drive through the neighborhood to the stop sign. Turn left toward North
Fork Park. Take the main road into the park; I recommend you find your way to
Cold Water Canyon (just follow the signs). I’d just park where you can and walk
the road. It’s really just a lush mountain wooded stream rather than a canyon,
utterly and delightfully alive with singing Swainson’s Thrushes, Fox
Sparrows, Cordilleran Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, Dusky Flycatchers,
MacGillivray’s and Yellow Warblers, American Robins, Black-capped
Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches. And this was between 3 and 5
pm today...
Bryant Olsen (4 Jul 2012 - Yesterdays GSLA field trip
was something of a success, and we covered a lot of ground and saw some good
birds, with 102 species seen in total. Highlighs included, 5 GREATER
SAGE-GROUSE at Woodruff Narrows reservoir, plus an adult BALD EAGLE.
BLACK TERNS at Bear River Meadow, 2 PURPLE MARTIN at Curtis Creek,
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS at their nest in Monte Cristo Camp Ground plus a
couple RED CROSSBILLS nearby, 2 LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS near the turn
off to Causey Reservior (sadly, not seen by myself but others in the party), 6
BOBLINKS near Eden, and 1 male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD near Pineview
Reservoir. Checklist:..
Brenda Kidman (4 Jul 2012) - [South Weber] - We had a Lazuli Bunting
in the backyard tonight. I don't think we have ever had one so late.
Tonight we had five males fighting over the nectar feeder/jelly station and a
female was eating the orange. After the boys left she went over and enjoyed the
feast at her leisure. She's no dummy! The yard is FULL of babies except our
California Quail seem to have lost the single chick they had.
Kris Purdy (1 Jul 2012)- Eric Peterson and I watched
the PROTHONOTARY WARBLER at Fort Buenaventura in Ogden, Weber County,
this morning at around 8:00 am. The bird is much less active than he was two
weeks ago, but he still belted out enough “See-ya, See-ya, See-ya” phrases and
bold chip notes that we were able to find him by following his voice. ...
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