Ouray Open House, Oxbow (Uintah Co.)

[Bruce & Lynn Robinson <dbruce at prodigy dot net>]

First off, HAPPY MOTHER?S DAY to all you mothers and
grandmothers!!!
Due to family commitments, we missed out on going to
St. George with the SL Birders and the Utah County
Birders.  But, at the last minute, our plans changed,
and rather than moping around the house the whole
weekend (after all it is Mother?s Day and my 29th
birthday today), we decided to go to the Ouray NWR
Open House.  While we weren?t fortunate enough to
locate a Bronzed Cowbird (I did see one 2 weeks ago at
the Yuma Bird Festival), we had a great time and saw
some good birds.
We did not get to Ouray NWR until 11:00AM on Saturday,
not exactly prime time for birding, but still managed
to see 43 species by 1:00PM.  Thanks to Dan, his
daughter Danielle, Susanne, Kip, the 2 ?waterbug?
guys, and the rest of the staff that made it an
enjoyable outing!!!
In the first pond after the information kiosk were
about 20 Long Billed Dowitchers.  These were
accompanied by Blue Winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal,
American Widgeon, and Redheads, which made for a
colorful combination!
At the station where there was a demonstration of
?mist netting? was a House Wren trying his best to
imitate a Brown Creeper?Fly up the tree and crawl back
down, then repeat the process over and over.  I also
saw a nesting Bullock?s Oriole, and several Yellow
Warblers serenaded us with their high pitched song.
At Leota Bottoms we saw (and later heard) a couple of
Bitterns.  There was also a Common Yellowthroat, many
Forster?s Terns, and a male Ruddy Duck sporting his
best spring attire.
This morning I went to the Oxbow south of Vernal (see
utahbirds.org website for directions).  Near the Green
River I was lucky to see a beautiful Yellow Breasted
Chat that was singing, calling, clucking, chortling,
and chatting for all he was worth!  The yellow on this
chat was as bright and vivid as I remember ever seeing
on a bird!  I was also fortunate to see a Great Horned
Owl, several Black Headed Grosbeaks, Spotted Towhees,
and a Spotted Sandpiper.
Yep, it was a great weekend of birding!!!


=====
Ain't Birding Great!!!   
Bruce Robinson 
272 Utah Life Birds and Counting!!!  


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