Hermit Warbler

[Mark Stackhouse <westwings at sisna dot com>]

I recieved the following report from Chuck LaRue (a birder from Arizona):

On 13 August 2002 an adult male Hermit Warbler was seen at the 10,100ft
elevation level on the road up Navajo Mountain in San Juan County.  This was
within about 0.25 mile of the radio towers on the summit.  It was examined
closely for 15 minutes to as close as 20 ft for characters indicating
hybridization with Townsend's Warbler and it showed pure Hermit traits.
After about 8 trips up Navajo Mountain since 1986 looking for this species
(where a few were collected in the 1930s) we finally found one.  Addtional
species found in the spruce-fir cap of the mountain summit included a number
of Townsend's and Black-throated Gray Warblers and several Pinyon Jays.

Chuck also has this to say about the road to get there:

We went up hoping to find Zone-tailed Hawk but our trip was much too short.  We reached the
summit late Monday and left by ca 1100 hr on Tuesday.  I have been looking for this bird up there
for many years and despite the fact it was said to be common in the 1930s
(in Birds of the Navajo Country by Woodbury and Russell 1945) I had never
seen the species until yesterday.  So that was neat. The road up is one
horrible road and has been and still is one of the worst I have driven.  You
need clearance, 4WD, and a short wheel base.  Good 8 ply or better tires are
a must.  I wouldn't try it in an automatic transmission (stick with a
standard) or with a worn engine.  Avoid any kind of extended cab pickup (a
single cab with a short bed would be the way to go in a truck).  The vehicle
needs to be solid and very reliable.  I would have a a shovel or two, extra
spare, a 5ft spud, and a come-along too.  The view is simply about the best
one can hope to see from any high point anywhwere in North America.  It is
stunning and bewilderingly incomprehensible.  From the top one can see the
San Francisco Peaks, the Chuska Mountains, Carrizo Mountain, the La Plata
Range, the San Juans, the San Miguel Range, the Abajo Mountains, the La
Sals, the Henry Mountains and I believe on a clear day the Tushar
Range...plus all of the country in between: the Kaibab and Paria Plateaus,
Boulder Mountain, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley,, Kaiparowits Plateau, the
Glen Canyon Country (spread out at your feet), the swell of the Monument
Upwarp etc etc. so it is worth a trip up for that alone.  At sunrise it is
the most beautiful on the planet.  I hope to get back up again within a few
weeks.

For those who aren't familiar, Navajo Mountain is just north of the Utah/Arizona boarder in
southwestern San Juan County. For hardy souls, this could be a great bird-quest.

Good birding!

Mark

Mark Stackhouse
Westwings, Inc.
1432 Downington Ave.
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
tel./fax. (801) 487-9453
westwings@sisna.com

_______________________________________________

"Utah Birds" web site: http://www.utahbirds.org
     Birdnet:
To subscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-subscribe@utahbirds.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail:  birdnet-unsubscribe@utahbirds.org
To send a message, e-mail:  birdnet@utahbirds.org
_________________________________________________