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The Monte Cristo area on UT 39 was covered with
slushy hail when I arrived at about 9:00 this morning with Bill Fenimore
and other participants for the Wild Bird Center Saturday morning birdwalk.
When I first saw the hail under the herbaceous ground cover, I though
campers had dumped coolers before leaving their campsite.
Then the group of birders noticed the slush was everywhere...duh,
Kris. Last night's serious storm up in them thar hills
brought a goodly dousing and left the high montane habitat cool and moist.
The environment seemed like passerine heaven as we
watched young families of Mountain Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, MacGillivray's
Warblers, Gray-headed Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Flickers, Cassin's
Finches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Mountain Chickadees. The morning's
theme seemed to be The Young and the Restless! We also saw many other
species you'd expect at that habitat and elevation--Vesper Sparrows, Fox
Sparrows, Warbling Vireos, Dusky Flycatchers, Western Wood-pewees, House Wrens,
Pine Siskins, Green-tailed Towhees, and a few more I've likely
missed. We also saw three Common Nighthawks on UT 39 near the
Hardware Ranch turnoff--first of the year for me. What a nice way to spend
a morning.
I continued east on UT 39 on my own. The
proximity to the road of a small patch of cat-o'nine tails just a couple
hundred yards east of mile marker 67 convinced me I should call for
Sora. I'm sure that seeing me planted in a chair next to the highway with
a CD player and binoculars convinced passers-by they should call for the
men in the white coats. Regardless of the impression I made, call for Sora
I did, and either three Sora showed themselves one time or one Sora showed
itself three times! Oddly, the Sora(s) seemed to get more excited when I
played the Virginia Rail call. They whinnied unexpectedly,
loudly, very close, and startled me into practically jumping out of my
socks with each whinny. I enjoyed seeing them even if they weren't joined
by their reed-loving cousins, the Virginias.
From Woodruff, I headed north on UT 16 and turned
left in Randolph at the brown binoculars sign. I can't recall the name of
the road, but I passed almost all the way through Randolph
heading north, before I turned. Several miles west Little Creek
Reservoir is tucked in the "Y" formed by the splitting of Old and New Canyon
Roads. The water level is low, but that didn't discourage the bird
life. I noticed a lone Black Tern right away. Not only did the tern
course, tilt, veer, flip and flutter over the reservoir, but occasionally
it rested near a group of American Avocets. One Eared Grebe nest with
occupant looked lonely in the middle of the reservoir. The nest was
built from green reeds--but there were none growing in the water. Either
the water level was higher during the nest construction, or the grebes had to
walk up on the banking (can't imagine that!) to pluck their nest
material. A second Eared Grebe was also present, as was a
Pied-billed. I saw many Canada Geese, California Gulls, Killdeer, a
Dowitcher (Long-billed? Short-billed? Who knows?), and 19 Wilson's
Phalaropes. Many Double-crested Cormorants swam, rested, or flew over the
water. The resters all faced west into the breeze with beaks
open.
While scoping two other shorebirds, I asked
myself a philosophical question: If a Solitary Sandpiper is with another
Solitary Sandpiper, are they both still Solitary Sandpipers? Then I
realized the amount of time I had spent in the sun birding had affected my
ability to be rational, so I packed up and headed home.
Argh!
On the way back through the Monte Cristo area I
stopped at Dairy Ridge road and studied some of the wildflowers the
birdwalkers enjoyed earlier in the day. The Western Coneflowers are in
full head and nod heavily with every breeze. White Engelmann Aster covers
practically every square foot. Pale Purple Aster billows in clumps
alongside trails, and Goldenrod brightens up the shade under the Quakie
colonies. The Horsemint must be mighty fragrant to the bees; they seem to
bumble over every bloom. I also saw both pink Sticky and white
Richardson's Geraniums, blue Larkspur, white Yarrow and even the red Paintbrush
hasn't yet given up yet. Oh yes, and I also saw or heard Downy and
Hairy Woodpeckers, White-crowned Sparrows, and I sustained a big-eyed and
cautious inspection from a Hermit Thrush as it looked down on me
amongst the wildflowers. It's absolutely beautiful up there.
Consider planning a trip at your next opportunity!
Kris
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