Is it spring, summer, fall or winter?

[Mark Stackhouse <westwings at sisna dot com>]

I just finished a few days of birding in northern Utah, with visits to 
Antelope Island, Deseret Ranch, the Uintas and East Canyon Reservoir, 
and find myself entirely confused as to the season. We saw lots of 
birds (about 165 species), but they gave very conflicting impressions 
as to what time of year we're experiencing right now.

First, this morning (Tuesday), we watched a pair of Cedar Waxwings at 
Deseret Ranch just starting to build their nest. Yesterday it was Black 
Rosy-Finches that were building a nest in a crack in the rocks at Bald 
Mountain in the Uintas. As if this weren't enough to show that it's 
clearly spring, last night there was a Northern Saw-whet Owl calling 
it's head off up at Deseret Ranch - one of seven species of owls we 
found over the weekend.

But wait, there were babies everywhere, including several older 
fledglings, such as Prairie Falcons, Burrowing Owls, and waterfowl of 
every type. A female Blue Grouse was shepherding around a brood of 
eight newly-flighted chicks. The young Sage Thrashers were everywhere, 
and apparently quite independent of their parents. Ditto this year's 
new Brewer's, Sage and Vesper Sparrows. Virginia's Warblers, 
Macgillivray's Warbler's, and Warbling Vireos - all were feeding 
fledglings. The Williamson's Sapsuckers near the Washington Lake 
Campground were busy feeding what sounded like quite a brood. While a 
few, such as Cordilleran Flycatchers, still had young in the nest, 
others, such as Gray Flycatcher, had all left the nest. It must surely 
then be summer, right?

Well, not so fast - fall, or at least the fall migrants, are already 
upon us. Rufous Hummingbirds were at the feeders at the Bear River 
Ranger Station in the Uintas. Alright, I know, these guys do seem to be 
the earliest of the fall migrants. But how about the number of 
shorebirds that suddenly have made an appearance? Last Thursday at the 
entrance to the Antelope Island Causeway we saw Western and Baird's 
Sandpipers and Red-necked Phalaropes. At Deseret Ranch there were 
Lesser Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwits, Western, Least and Baird's 
Sandpipers. Welcome to the fall migration.

So what's so strange about having a mix of spring, summer, and fall 
during mid-July in Utah? All that seems rather normal, right? Well 
maybe you could explain what a female Common Goldeneye was doing at the 
island end of the Antelope Island Causeway last Thursday? Or why two 
males and a female Common Goldeneye were at the end of the east arm of 
East Canyon Reservoir this morning? Is winter really here, too?

Good birding!

Mark Stackhouse
801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)

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