Monday, 11 May 2009
Antelope Island
Davis County, Utah

(Emails from Jessica Stokes,  11 May 2009)

Subject: A Mystery Sparrow and more

My husband and I birded along the Sentry Trail on Antelope Island for the first time yesterday (approx. noon - 4). Although the bugs made the lower elevations a little unpleasant even with insect shield hats and DEET, we were thrilled with our life bird, the Horned Lark.

Along the way, we saw:

Horned Lark
Western Meadowlark
Lark Sparrow
Raven
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Harrier
Chipping Sparrow
Mystery Sparrow!
Coyote
Buffalo
Antelope
Snake (TBD)
Lizards (TBD)

We are confused by sparrows we saw (see attached photo). Bird #2 looks to me like a classic Chipping Sparrow, and #3 does as well. No. 1, 4, and 5 confused us because they have the center spot on their chests and additional face markings. They don't follow classic American Tree Sparrow patterns, though.

Any ideas? (I apologize if this is a dumb question!)

After our hike, we briefly checked out Garr Ranch, where we saw:

Wilson's Warbler
Northern Waterthrush - life bird!
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Great Horned Owl with chick -- see www.stokesnature.com for pic
Lazuli Bunting
Mule Deer

Overall a great -- but exhausting -- excursion.

-Jessica

          Photo by Jessica Stokes