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Call your favorite spa and book a post-birding trip
neck and shoulder massage. You're going to need it if you seek out the
Red-eyed Vireo I saw and heard on Riverdale Parkway in Weber
County from 10:00-12:00 this morning. The
section of the parkway is just south of where the Rusty Blackbird was seen by
many birders this winter.
Holy cow, did the vireo ever frazzle me.
Hearing him was easy. Seeing him was another matter. For the most
part, the vireo stayed in the tops of tall Cottonwoods along the path and moved
very little while he sang. He occasionally came out on dead whorls of
branches and sing-songed without moving. To my disappointment, he also
left the path area twice, crossed the river east of and just south of the
bridge, and sang from tall Cottonwoods on the other side of the river.
My first look at him was a ventral view where
he appeared pale whitish below with very pale yellow undertail
coverts. The beak also appeared fairly long and thinner than the
beaks of the Solitary Vireo complex vireos. The Red-eyed Vireo preened
while I watched and I saw a hint of the stripe over the eye. Later, I
got several clear views at a little lower angle with a good look at the eye
stripe, the dark stripe through the eye, and the crown that's more distinct
than the Warbling Vireo's crown.
The bird sang and I saw it all four times I passed
by this spot during the 2 hours. Your best bet to find the vireo is to be
familiar with his song. The bird was not shy about singing loud, but it
remained high up in the trees and didn't move much while foraging or
singing. As an extra help, I tied pink surveyor's tape on several of his
singing trees and on a wooden footbridge near his "favorite"
tree.
To reach Riverdale Parkway, take I-15 to exit 342,
Riverdale. Drive east 1.3 miles and turn left (north) at 700W. Drive
.4 miles and turn right (east) on 4300S, and left (north) on 600W. Drive
.2 miles and park at the trail access at 4080S. 600W. You'll see other
trail access points along 600W, but the one I've directed you to offers the
shortest walking distance to the vireo's location.
When you reach the paved trail, turn left (north)
and walk approximately 10 minutes to the second footbridge. Look for
the pink tape about halfway across the bridge and on the west side. I
tied the tape at the base of an upright that supports the rail so a casual
passerby wouldn't pull it off at hand-level. The bird's "favorite" tree
was in the swamp and 20 feet due west of the tape on the bridge. I also
marked three trees just north of the bridge where the vireo sang. >From the
north end of the bridge, look immediately to the right and you'll see pink
tape. Look directly ahead and along the right side of the trail, and on a
dead tree to the north of and a little to the right of the marked tree next to
the trail. More pink.
And don't forget...before you go, book that
massage.
Kris
P.S. I met an elderly man walking his three
dogs and we talked about birds. He described how the birding
community flocked to the parkway this winter when the Rusty Blackbird was
reported. In a thick European accent, he said, "Some of zem came to
see dis bird all de vay from Zolt Lake Citee!"
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