Brighton birds

[Joel Beyer <twobirders at juno dot com>]

We hiked today from Silver Lake to Twin Lakes, via the Lake Solitude
trail.  Saw 44 species, including Three-toed Woodpecker, Red-naped and
Williamson's Sapsucker, Red Crossbill, Rufous Hummingbird, and Pine
Grosbeak.  The bird of the day was a male Northern Goshawk.  He flew past
us carrying a squirrel(?) in his talons, and disappeared into a copse of
trees.  We could hear him calling, and after a few minutes of searching,
he suddenly flew out of the trees and made a twenty yard flight straight
for me, talons outstretched.  I ducked, he missed my head by a foot or
less, and swooped up fifteen feet to a bare branch in a tree beside the
trail.  From there he loudly voiced his displeasure at our presence,
until we left him.  We saw him once again about fifteen minutes later as
he flew high above us over the trail.  We also noticed that he had metal
bands on each leg, but we were unable to make out the markings.

A few belated sightings from the past few weeks, for those interested:
June 28 - Purple Martins, at the spot previously reported in Payson
Canyon/Nebo Loop
             - 2 Common Moorhen, at Heppler's Pond (east of Richfield,
Sevier Co.)
July 6 - Semipalmated Plover, east side of tour route at Bear River MBR
          - Black Terns, at Bear River MBR
          - Short-eared Owl and Sharp-tailed Grouse, at White's Valley
(Box Elder Co.)
July 13 - Flammulated and Northern Pygmy Owl, about a mile up Desolation
Trail in Millcreek Canyon

J & K Beyer
 

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