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The wanderlust hit this morning and I did my
best to quench it with a trip to Locomotive Springs Waterfowl Management
Area, 25 miles northwest of Golden Spike NHS. The area provides
wetlands out in the middle of not only nowhere, but also in saltbush
flats.
The Yellow-rumped Warblers were demonstrating a
certain joie de vivre as they were very active in the few heavily-laden Russian
Olive trees. They chased each other and sallied out after
airborne insects. I saw one female that had a white chin and a yellow
throat. Many Sage Thrashers were also dining on the olives.
Migration must be on, as I saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Savannah
Sparrow in the olive trees. I don't think either bird would be found in
this habitat during breeding season. A female Belted Kingfisher
rested quietly on a dead branch over the water. I saw many Great Blue
Herons including one in crucifix posture as it faced west and warmed itself
in the late afternoon sun. I also saw a juvenile Black-crowned Night
Heron.
I can't wait until the waterfowl molts again so
lazy ol' me doesn't have to work so hard to identify ducks in eclipse
plumage. They just about eclipsed my ability to ID them. I saw
numerous CBDs (confusing brown ducks) that I shall call female
Mallards, because their true identities will forever remain a
mystery. I saw Northern Shovelers--their large spatulate bills make
them easy to ID, but when a group of ducks flushed, I also
noticed the shoveler's white underwing coverts flashed at me as the flock
circled for another landing. The shovelers also have a regal way of
holding that great shovel--as if they're quite proud of it--and the
posture is distinctive in a mixed flock. The Cinnamon Teal I saw
still look a little cinnamon in fresh fall plumage. I also saw a
Green-winged Teal. That one was a toughie. It was smaller than the
Mallard it swam with and had a more angular head at the front and
rear. It finally showed me its bright green speculum edged in white
when it preened. I saw a smidgeon of wigeon--one, to be exact, showing its
dark, droopy-eyed look. A lone Common Merganser sat on a rock in
bizarre peanut butter-and-marshmallow fluff plumage. The bird
showed a great deal of white so I'll have to say it was a male, but I still
don't understand why it was partly brown instead of gray. His brilliant
orange beak and legs were distinctive as was his ragged hair-do.
Ducks of the day were three pointy-headed Ring-necked Ducks. They blessed
me by maintaining basic similar to breeding plumage. Their beaks and
eye color hadn't quite changed and the pale spur along the breast was still
apparent in one. One of them preened with beak pointed toward me, and the
beak looked festooned with a thin scallop of white where the beak met the
duck's forehead. Other water birds included Pied-billed Grebe and
American Coot, and I heard Virginia Rails.
A most interesting sighting was the Horned
Larks sitting on the mats of vegetation out on the water. I didn't
realize the Horned Lark could be considered a waterfowl species!
After all, it was using the same
habitat the Pied-billed Grebes and some of the dabblers used. Several
shorebirds also used the mats, but I didn't get my scope up quickly enough and
they flew. I only saw one Killdeer. Locomotive Springs is not the
best shorebird habitat.
The return trip was pretty much a falcon festival
as I saw American Kestrels, a Prairie Falcon, and a Peregrine Falcon. I
saw the Peregrine very close to the same spot I saw one about 2 months ago--on
the line of double telephone poles that run parallel to and south of UT 83 near
the junction with Highway 102. I heard Virginia Rails, Common
Yellowthroats, and Marsh Wrens there too. Finally, I saw many
Red-tailed Hawks on telephone poles once I passed Golden Spike again headed
east, Northern Harriers throughout, Western Meadowlarks, Vesper Sparrows, and
one Rock Wren.
I put a new twist on the syndrome called Birder's
Absentmindedness (BA)--the condition that causes you to drive away
leaving a field guide on the hood of your car. After I saw the
Peregrine I tried without success to entice the Virginia Rails to come of
the reeds, then I headed home. About a mile later I realized my telescope
was still back there on the side of the road, trained on the Peregrine.
That's a pretty bad case of BA, isn't it? I retrieved my
scope. You may now chuckle at me.
Earlier in the day I visited 200W in Willard
because it looked like good warbler habitat. This road runs parallel to
and between I-15 and UT 89 and you can access it by taking I-15 exit 360
(Willard Bay State Park), turn east, and watch for 200W on the south side of the
road. 200W runs under a leafy deciduous canopy. I didn't see many
birds, but I'll earmark it for a spring visit due to the Wilson's and
Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cassin's Vireo, and Downy Woodpeckers.
Kris
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