Dixie Birding, part 2

[Bill Hunter <dixiewillie at sunrivertoday dot com>]

Wow! What a difference a day makes, Cold, wet and windy here in 
Paradise today, gorgeous yesterday, despite the wind.

Anyway, to our outing yesterday. The Dixie Birders decided to look to 
the north for a change. Charlie got a call from Rick Fridell about a 
Long-tailed Duck on the SR-9 (Hurricane) Sewer Ponds so off we went. A 
total of 43 species noted for the morning, results below. Enjoy!

SR-9 (Hurricane) SEWER PONDS (20)
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
LONG-TAILED DUCK - (1 - Female) This has got to be a first! ...at least 
for Washington Co. We found it at the NW end of the NE pond, the pond 
alongside SR-9 in the corner created by SR-9 and the road to Sand 
Hollow. When we found it, it was headed East following a group of ducks 
with two Teal off to her right. Very recognizable, once you spotted 
her. 9:30 AM. Note Rick's posting of Fri Apr 8, 2005. It's appearance 
is in between that of an adult spring and adult winter female (Sibley). 
It's not a difficult find, though we searched all four ponds and a lot 
of ducks. We found it by getting out of our vehicle and walking the 
fence bordering the pond along SR-9. Great find Rick, thanks.
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Ruddy Duck
American coot
Eared Grebe
Double-Crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Merlin
Forster's Tern (2)
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow

QUAIL CREEK RESERVOIR (8)
American Coot
HORNED GREBE (2) In with  three Eared Grebes, but a distinct look. Much 
observing and a cooperative bird, allowed us to see the beginning of 
the rufous neck (below the chin), and the white tip on it's bill. The 
obvious give away were the large golden "horns" on either side of the 
face. But we didn't want it to be a genetic variable for the Eared 
Grebe. As we concluded, probably a half hour of viewing, it joined up 
with a second bird that we had not previously seen, which was a look 
alike. Location was the first pull out North of the boat ramp. It has a 
blue sign, "Overlook".  The one with the trash can is too far North.
Eared Grebe
Clark's Grebe
Osprey
Forster's Tern (2)
Rock Wren
Black-throated Sparrow (1). Took some searching of the hillside behind 
us, but the little singer was eventually found sitting atop a large 
bush.

LEEDS (2)
American Robin
Western Meadowlark

LEEDS - HIDDEN VALLEY (16) The valley has a diverse array of habitats: 
residential, agriculture and mining, nestled in the upland desert 
shrub; lowland riparian with reservoir, and pinyon-juniper. It is in a 
transition from the Mojave Desert to the Great Basin Desert alongside 
the Colorado Plateau. Interesting beauty all it's own.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Gambel's Quail
Mourning Dove
Black-chinned Hummingbird
ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD (1) local resident, been here awhile.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Western Scrub-Jay
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1) Beautiful bird, as we looked down on it's 
steel blue-gray breeding plumage. Aptly named.
Lucy's Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow

OTHERS
These aren't birds, but maybe of interest:
Butterflies; Painted Lady - large migration this year over several 
days, Queen Alexandra 		Sulphur, Sarah Orange-tip
Mammal; Muskrat (Dixie Red Hills)
Reptiles; large Turtle (Stonebridge), Horned Lizards, two species 
(Leeds, SunRiver)




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