Results of LeConte's Thrasher Expedition 2006

[joshkreitzer at byu dot teancum dot net]

Friends, Birders, Associates,

Lee Jones, an excellent birder from St. George, and myself set out early
Saturday morning with the hope of finding a rare LeConte's Thrasher somewhere in
southern Utah. We traversed Kayenta and the Beaver Dam Slope in our quest, but
unfortunately found no LeConte's Thrashers. (At Kayenta we observed a Thrasher
momentarily at a feeder, though it appeared too dark overall to be the hoped-for
species.) As mentioned previously, a LeConte's was found in Kayenta on the St.
George Bird Count by Marilyn Davis.

We did have a great morning of birding, and came up with some great finds! In
Kayenta, we found a beautiful Cooper's Hawk perched in a tree close to the road.
It allowed us some nice views before flying right over our vehicle.

At Ivins Reservoir we located several species of waterfowl including Eared
Grebe, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and scaup.

On the beaver dam slope we were more fortunate. We found Bewick's Wren, Cactus
Wren, Ladder-backed Woodpecker (pecking on a joshua tree!), Red-tailed Hawk,
Common Raven, Loggerhead Shrike, and White-crowned Sparrow. As we began heading
 back from the Beaver Dam Wash we came across a flock of birds in the cholla and
brush. Amongst them were 5-10 Black-throated Sparrows, a Cactus Wren, a Verdin,
a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and a Brewer's Sparrow! The Brewer's Sparrow stayed
very close to the Black-throateds, they apparently having adopted him as their
own. Brewer's are found in the winter in Washington County on occasion; still it
was a delightful find. Further on, we came across a Sage Thrasher, perching
openly near the road. Beyond that we found two Sage Sparrows, they also perching
openly next to the road in front of us. 

Though we were unable to locate our target species, the trip gave me a better
idea of the birdlife on the slope in winter, a truly diverse array of species.
This information will contribute towards my current work, The Birds of
Washington County. I hope to spend a great deal of time this semester pulling
together this work. If any of you have records you're willing to share to make
this work a truly exhaustive and all-inclusive text, please let me know. 

Sincerely yours and good birding,

Joshua Kreitzer

Teancum Mail + LDS Address Book = LDS Global Directory [Official]
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