White-throated Sparrow at Willard Bay

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

Pomera Fronce, Glenn Barlow and I birded a windy Willard Bay State Park this morning with the hope of seeing a White-throated Sparrow.  Glenn saw one there last year so we had good reason to target that location.  And just like magic, Poof!  There was a White-throated Sparrow.  Glenn saw the first one in the brambles and teasel immediately south of the Nature Trail Day Use parking area.  We found several other sparrow species skulking in these brambles including a Song and several White-crowned.  We all continued south across the stream and in the direction of Eagle Beach Campground.  We could hear several sparrows' high-pitched contact "seet-seet" notes and occasional metallic "chip" call notes, too.  

Then Glenn played the White-throated Sparrow CD and what excitement he caused!  A sparrow flashed through the brambles and called back to the CD with energetic chipping.  It also began to return the high, plaintive whistled song..."Ferrr...feeee-feeee-feeee!"  This sparrow needed to wet his whistle a little more because at the end of his 'fee' note, he sounded like his batteries were running low and the song dribbled off into obscurity.  But he didn't give up; he returned the song several times and we all got good looks.    

He was a tan-striped adult.  We debated a bit about the prominence (or lack thereof) of the yellow lores that became the tan supercilium over the eye, but there was no need to debate the dark bill, white throat and narrow dark line that led down from the corner of the beak and separated the cleanly-defined throat from the white malar.  The sparrow was a year bird for Glenn and a lifer for Pomera.  Oh yeah!  

Ironically, on the ride up to Willard Bay I told Glenn about a sparrow song I've had stuck in my head for a few months.  I remembered it from my New England childhood, couldn't remember which bird it was and haven't heard it in Utah.  I whistled it for Glenn..."Ferrr...feeee-feeee-feeee!"  Now I know what it was, and I have heard it in Utah ;^D.  

The other birds we saw included a Peregrine Falcon (we really enjoyed this one--an adult with a strong "helmeted" appearance and buffy cast to its throat and breast flew directly over us and then circled several times), an unidentified Accipiter, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, a patriotic foursome--American Kestrel, American Robin, American Magpie, and American Goldfinch--Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Dark-eyed Junco, Ring-billed Gull, Common Merganser and House Finch.  Our walk ended at the picnic pavillion past the extreme northwest end of the campground.  Without a telescope, the thick-headed duck I could see at an extreme distance out in the bay looked like a puffin.  I think my tongue-in-cheek proposed ID signalled my companions that further study without a scope was not useful.  We headed home.  

Willard Bay State Park is located at Exit 361 of I-15.  Turn west after you exit the interstate and left into the park.  

Kris