Crissal Thrashers, Fox Sparrows

[Milton Moody <miltonmoody at yahoo dot com>]

<forwarded by webmaster>

\From Bob 
From: Bob Showler
Subject: Crissal Thrashers & Fox Sparrows
Email_Address: bob_showler@nps.gov

Message: I'm posting this message quite some time after the sightings, 
but hopefully these birds are sticking around for the winter, at least.
 
Around November 15, Christi Carmichael and I saw/heard six Crissal 
Thrashers and saw four Fox Sparrows at various locations along the Sand

Bench Trail in Zion National Park.  While Crissal Thrashers are pretty 
common in St. George, they have been observed only twice in the history
of 
Zion NP.  Could we have seen part of a heretofore unnoticed breeding 
population of these birds in Zion?  I plan to return to the Sand Bench 
Trail periodically during the year to see if they're permanent
fixtures.  
Fox Sparrows are recorded only rarely in Zion as well (only three 
records during the last 30 Zion Christmas Bird Counts).  The ones we
saw are 
most likely just late migrants or wintering in the area.

The terrain around the Sand Bench Trail is densely covered in manzanita

and live oak.  Perhaps both bird species, noted for their secretive 
habits, have escaped notice in the past along this lightly-birded, 
heavily-vegetated trail (?)



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