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The Clark's Nutcrackers seem to be amassing at the
bird buffet tables at the treeline along the Wasatch Front. On Thursday,
Glenn Barlow and I birded Brighton in Salt Lake County and we saw a flock of 17
nutcrackers pass high overhead. On Friday, Wasatch Audubon saw
amazing numbers of nutcrackers at Snowbasin Ski Resort in Weber County. We
took the Needles Express gondola and birded the Cirque Loop Trail and higher to
a saddle (about 9,000 feet) that offers sweeping views west past Great Salt Lake
and east over Ogden Valley. The largest flock of nutcrackers included
about 25 birds. At one point, a curious group of 7-8 birds swarmed into
the tops of Limber Pines near our group and really gave us the once-over.
Other nutcrackers continued to fly past us in twos and threes the whole time we
birded. They always seemed to be moving north to south. I wouldn't
be surprised if the trip's tally was 40-45 nutcrackers. Jack Rensel scoped
the Limber cones and saw that the cones are opening to let loose their treasure
of pine nuts. That seems a logical reason for all the nutcracker
activity.
Kris
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