Birding Sun-up to Sun-down in Northeastern Utah

This past Saturday I enjoyed my fourth annual birding trip under the guidance of Mark Stackhouse of Westwings Birding Tours. I started this tradition when I enjoyed a full-day of birding with over 130 species on Deseret Ranch in northeastern Utah. Mark spent many years in Utah and was the education director at Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary for a number of years before he moved his home base to Mexico. He guides birding groups professionally to Utah, Mexico, and other countries. He's an awesome guide and shares expert information on wildlife, plants, ecosystems, and much more. His birding-by-ear skills are incredible. We identified over 120 species during our trip and I'm pretty sure we would have missed at least 20 if it weren't for Mark's ear tying otherwise obscure songs and calls to specific species.

Saturday's outing began with a couple of stops in the Salt Lake City area to pick up a total of seven birders from Utah County, Salt Lake County, Cache County, and even Idaho. Our day included stops at a number of birding locations between Pineview Reservoir in Weber County and Bear River Meadows near Randolph in Rich County, all along State Roads 39 and 16.  Our first stop was at Pineview Reservoir to observe a number of water birds. We also explored the North Arm Natural Area of the reservoir for about 90 minutes. Gray Catbirds, Goldfinches, Yellow-breasted Chats, Fox Sparrows, and Black-headed Grosbeaks were prominent in the area with a handful of others species.

American Goldfinch at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

Gray Catbird at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

As we were observing several Black-headed Grosbeaks feeding on Squaw Berries on a hillside a grosbeak flew from behind our group and landed in some bushes in front of us. We recognized the black and white wings of the grosbeak as we got our first glimpse of its upper side when it flew in for a landing. It immediately turned to face us and several of us declared simultaneously, "Rose-breasted Grosbeak!". We thought that might just be the most unexpected bird of the day--but it wasn't the only one. It quickly flew out of sight before anyone could get photos to document it. However, we relocated it a few moments later. It was high on a hillside so the images below had to be severely cropped even with my 300 mm lens.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

The nice red breast against a white belly is more than enough evidence to identify the bird as a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but the image below also captured its red under wing feathers as it adjusted its perch.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak at North Arm Natural Area of Pineview Reservoir in Weber County, UT

Our trip continued along State Road 39. We eventually stopped at Monte Cristo Campground for lunch. Mark, the awesome guide, prepared lunch for everyone as we wandered in various directions to see what birds might be observed. We saw Hammond's Flycatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red Crossbills, Red-breasted Nuthatches and more. I spent a little time watching a House Wren sing and sing over its territory.

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

It paused from singing for a moment, gave a good shake to it body feathers and then perched slightly fluffed before it began singing again.

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

House Wren at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

After a nice lunch, some visiting, and learning a little more from Mark's vast birding knowledge we were encouraged to gather and capture an image of our newly-formed patrol of birders. Jo Ann used the timer on her point-and-shoot camera to capture the image below.

(Front, L-R) Mark, Jo Ann, Terry, Rachel, Laurie
(Back, L-R) Scott, Chris, Jeff
Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT (Photo by Jo Ann H)

After our photo we explored the campground as a group. Scott had been hearing from and about Western Wood-Pewees all morning. He was more than ready when we finally found one that provided nice looks. We observed 24 species in the campground (plus hearing a Williamson's Sapsucker call there later in the day when we stopped again on our way home). We also spent a little bit of time watching a Mountain Chickadee forage for food to take back to a nest hidden inside a nearby tree. Birds which are foraging to eat immediately consume their food. However, when they are foraging to secure food for chicks they secure and carry the food back to the nest. That's just one indication of bird breeding behavior.

Mountain Chickadee at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Mountain Chickadee at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

I captured the Red Squirrel and Mule's Ear flower images just before we packed up the van to move on to new areas and habitats.

Red Squirrel at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Mule's Ear at Monte Cristo Campground in Weber County, UT

Dry Bread Pond proved to be another stop that provided an unexpected species. We didn't spend much time in this area, but it was long enough to capture a few images and allow Mark to hear the song of a male Purple Martin, another great surprise for the day.

Violet-green Swallow at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

This image of a female Purple Martin in flight was a lucky shot in terms of timing. It was flying between trees and I was able to get focused on the bird just before it disappeared behind some Aspen Trees.

Female Purple Martin at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

The same martin is seen here as it perched near a nest site in a large Aspen. It was in the shadows so I had to work with exposure compensation to bring out some detail from the darkness.

Female Purple Martin Near Nest Site at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

This juvenile Mountain Bluebird allowed us to see plumage that is not often seen and that often stumps birders when they do see it. The obvious white eye ring resembles a Townsend's Solitaire. However, the juvenile bluebird has more of a streaky chest and belly where the juvenile solitaire would look more scaly in those areas.

Juvenile Mountain Bluebird at Dry Bread Pond in Weber County, UT

Another real hot spot for our group was along Crawford Mountain Road and Bear River Meadows just outside of Randolph, Utah. We drove over a bridge where Cliff Swallows were nesting. I managed to capture one in flight as it passed over our van and above the passenger side where I was seated.

Cliff Swallow Over Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Several members of our group had searched through thousands of White-faced Ibises over several years, before Saturday, in hopes of finding a vagrant Glossy Ibis. When we stopped Saturday to look at a group of ten Ibises we found another bird surprise for the day--a Glossy Ibis. I was in the front passenger seat of the van and the birds were on my side. Mark was in the driver's seat as we began to scan the birds through our binoculars. Mark began scanning from left to right (over my left shoulder) and I started scanning from right to left. The second bird I saw was the Glossy Ibis. I exclaimed, "Glossy Ibis!" and our birding hearts leaped. Just before I was able to get my camera lens on the bird they all flew about fifty yards away from us. We exited the van so Mark could put his scope on the bird and give everyone a nice look and time to discuss the differences between the White-faced (typical for summer in Utah) and the Glossy (not typical for Utah). I captured the images below to document the observation and include with the submission I would make to the Utah Bird Records Committee. These images were cropped quite a bit, but they clearly show the powder blue lines bordering the dark skin in front of the eyes.

Rare Glossy Ibis Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Rare Glossy Ibis Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

We saw other nice birds as we moved along Crawford Mountain Road, including several Wilson's Phalaropes.

Wilson's Phalarope Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

The adult Willet below was sending out an alarm call as we passed by in our van. Mark pointed our attention to the tall grass below where we observed several juvenile Willets and the reason for the alarmed adult as humans passed by.

Adult Willet Found Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Juvenile Willet Along Crawford Mountain Road Near Randolph, UT

Black Terns were flying quickly over the meadows, they were dark, and they were often casting shadows on themselves as they tilted and turned in flight. I'd love to get clearer and closer images, but these were the best I could get during this outing.

Black Tern Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Black Tern Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Violet-green Swallow Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Female Bullock's Oriole Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Some of the last birds I photographed for the day were the first American Avocet fledglings I'd ever seen. They were cute little fuzz balls showing the same colors as an adult in breeding plumage.

Juvenile American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

Juvenile American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

American Avocet Along Crawford Mountain Road Randolph, UT

I'll end this post with images captured as the sun was setting on an awesome day of company and birding. The artistry of nature can be fleeting so some moments have to be fully enjoyed while they last. We saw the beginning of what we knew would be a spectacular sunset so we began searching for a place to pull off the road. We wanted to see what colors the sun would reveal on a canvas of thick clouds. Mark pulled onto a dirt road marked by a sign that read, "Mount McKinnon." He navigated the road up a hill and presented us with an impressive, hill-top view of a sunset none of us will for forget.

The images begin with the scene we saw as we approached the crest of the hill. The sun painted the clouds with brilliant colors as the images progressed. It's last performance was a fiery orange as it disappeared from our view.

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT

Sunset Seen From Mount McKinnon Weber County, UT