|
What better way to continue to see and hear
high-volume bird activity on a hot summer day than to aim for higher
elevations? That's what I did yesterday. I was richly rewarded
in Wolf Creek Canyon near Powder Mountain Ski Area in Weber County. Wolf
Creek trail passes through several vegetation zones that offer different bird
species. The lower reaches are vegetated by scrub oak and maple; the
mid-elevations have both isolated firs and sometimes cool and thick fir
slopes; and the higher areas open up with shrubs, forbs, and
aspen/alders/box elders along the creek.
I saw and heard many MacGillivray's Warblers and
noted that their behavior has changed since courting season. Back in May
and early June, they were dedicated low-growth skulkers.
Yesterday, the warblers sang from prominent perches, responded easily
to pishing and popped out of knee- to waist-high growth frequently for a
look at moi, the pisher. They even brought the kids and I saw all ages and
both sexes along the whole length of trail.
At about 6300 feet in scrub oak, I was treated to a
visit by several Virginia's Warblers. Wow, are these
warblers active. In order to see one with binocs at all, I had to
have mine raised near my face and lift them in an instant when the bird briefly
landed on an open perch. I had a chance to study the juvenal
plumage. The young bird was entirely missing the yellow breast and
looked a little scruffy. He or she was traveling with at least one
parent that came in for a close look at me. The
parent even tipped its head to the side so I
could see the red crown feathers. The view was always fleeting, but
they were curious about me and stayed so long that I left them first.
Chipping Sparrow families were lively and vocal,
too. One adult stretched its neck up high while peering at me
over a leaf, and flexed its crown feathers to look like a military
high-and-tight haircut. The "kid" of this family didn't show any signs of
the rusty crown. Waaaaay up high on the trail male Broad-tailed
Hummingbirds jealously guarded drifts of Showy Larkspur, Sticky Geranium and
Horsemint with zinging pursuit of interlopers intent on sampling the nectar
fields. A male Rufous Hummingbird came to the open area over a steep,
wildflowered drop-off, turned to all four points of the compass while hovering
at his same relative position in the airspace, and then zoomed away to the
higher reaches of a fir tree. He might have perched there and I
could not have found him. I noticed his rusty color exactly
matched the rusty-colored fir cones.
I also saw and heard Green-tailed Towhees, Western
Tanagers, Swainson's and Hermit Thrushes, Pine Siskins, Black-capped Chickadees,
Red-breasted Nuthatches, Lazuli Buntings, Hammond's Flycatchers, Warbling
Vireos, House Wrens, an Orange-crowned Warbler, Steller's Jays, a
Brewer's Sparrow, a Northern Flicker, Mountain Chickadees, a Ruby-crowned
Kinglet, Mourning Doves, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Almost every species is
still singing spring songs and has thrown in many contact notes when traveling
in family groups, as was the case with the warblers, sparrows, tanagers, and
chickadees.
I shared the trail with ground squirrels,
chipmunks, a couple snakes, and lots of butterflies. I saw new and old
moose, deer, and other mammalian "sign", if you know what I mean,
Kimosabe.
A favorite sighting of the day was the Weidemeyer's
Admiral butterfly that perched on a flat Mountain Maple leaf. The
butterfly closed its wings and showed all its white and black and
russet glory on the underside. It lifted a foreleg, threaded the leg
through the curled ring of its proboscis and appeared to saw the leg back and
forth as if it were playing a violin. The action was probably some
proboscis-cleaning ritual, but I prefer to think of butterfly
violin-playing because it's a lot more poetic.
As far as my descent, I don't think I saw one
bird, flower, or butterfly. I was about 2 1/2 miles up the trail and
a sudden loud rumble of thunder caused me to look high over the
canyon. Menacing gray clouds billowed toward me. The steepness of
the canyon walls had disguised their approach. I...ahem...might have said
a bad word, turned around, and started a trail run back down the canyon. I
even considered finding a low place to hunker down, away from trees.
I think it took me about 5 minutes to get down, he he he. There's nothing
like running on adrenaline inspired by the menace of thunder to speed your
pace. I made it out in the company of just a few
sprinkles.
Wolf Creek Canyon and its trail is located behind
the white gate at mile 8.2 of UT 158 in Powder Mountain Canyon. It's a
one-way trail that gains about 1600 feet in elevation (6,000 to 7,600) across
the 3 miles.
Kris
|