1700 Miles, a Wedding, and Some Really Cool Birds

I drove from northern Utah to Long Beach, Los Angeles, and back this weekend so I could witness the marriage of my nephew to his beautiful bride. I took one of my son's and his wife along to keep me company. I warned them that there would be some birding, which didn't surprise them, so they couldn't really complain since I was doing the driving, paying for hotels, gas, and most of the food.

I decided to leave northern Utah Thursday night after work and drove about four hours to St George to check into a hotel. I got up early Friday morning and made a quick birding trip to Lytle Ranch while my son and his wife were sleeping. I picked up some fun desert birds. There was a leucistic Wild Turkey, Greater Roadrunner, Verdin, Bewick's Wren, and a number of other birds including Red-breasted, Red-naped, and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. The only bird with which I spent some time engaged in photography was a male Phainopepla. I captured a few images and a short video.

I captured the image below intending to have a red-rock cliff for the background. I moved my position to get some blue sky.

Male Phainopepla at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

Male Phainopepla at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

I wanted to show the upper side of the bird as well so I captured the image below.

Male Phainopepla at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

On the way out of Lytle Ranch I had a Greater Roadrunner dash across the gravel road just before I got back onto Highway 91. Just before getting into Santa Clara on my way back to the hotel in St George I stopped to photograph one of my favorite morphs of Red-tailed Hawk, the intermediate or rufous morph.

Intermediate/Rufous Morph Western Red-tailed Hawk Washington County, UT

Intermediate/Rufous Morph Western Red-tailed Hawk Washington County, UT

I made a one hour detour during our drive to Long Beach so my daughter in law could visit her great grandfather in Upland, California. As luck would have it, I spotted my lifer Red-shouldered Hawk perched on a pole along I-210 in Rancho Cucamonga. It was just two exits before where we'd stop to see my daughter-in-law's great grandfather. I dropped off my son and his wife for their visit and then drove back to look for the hawk before the sun set. Unfortunately, the hawk was gone.

My nephew's wedding was at the Latter-day Saint Temple in Los Angeles. The grounds of the temple are beautiful and draw some really nice birds, especially hummingbirds. While everyone was standing around after the wedding and waiting for photos to be done, I went to the trunk of my car and retrieved my camera to capture images of what I believe to be an Allen's Hummingbird based on field marks and location and time of year. These guys are very similar to Rufous Hummingbirds, but Rufous don't typically have green backs like the Allen's do. Allen's seem to show a little more of a curved bill and slightly shorter wings relative to the tip of the tail. This guy was very cooperative. I'm sharing a few different angles with focus on overall bird, head, eye, gorget, and back.

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

The green and red/orange of the Christmas light coordinated well with the green and orange of the little bird. Wouldn't it be nice to have hummingbirds adorn your Christmas lights? This individual is separate from the one pictured above.

Male Allen's Hummingbird on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Just before leaving the temple grounds I noticed a Say's Phoebe fly catching from some netted Bird of Paradise plants and captured a few images as the sun was lowering in the sky.

Say's Phoebe on Latter-day Saint Temple Grounds in Los Angeles, CA

Say's Phoebe Los Angeles, CA

We drove all the way from Long Beach back to Utah on Sunday. I tried to get a look at a Red-shouldered Hawk that had been reported near Highway 91 and Gunlock Road, outside of Santa Clara, Utah (near St George). I was unsuccessful on that attempt, but was graced by one of my favorite hawks, an adult light morph Ferruginous Hawk. I love the colors in the wings (rufous, grey/blue, and white) and the large, bright yellow gape and bill these birds display. A Ferruginous in flight is a hawk lover's delight.

Adult Light-Morph Ferruginous Hawk Near Santa Clara, UT

Adult Light-Morph Ferruginous Hawk Near Santa Clara, UT

Barrow's Goldeneye & Northern Pintail Taking Flight on Utah's Jordan River

So I've been hearing about a hot spot for ducks, especially Barrow's Goldeneyes, somewhere around 2300 South and the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. There aren't many reports of Barrow's Goldeneyes in Utah, but this location has been quite reliable since I starting birding several years ago. I've been working just ten minutes from that area for close to a year now so I finally made my way over to the area for about fifteen minutes during a lunch break. Our weather has been ugly in northern Utah for weeks so I timed my short visit to coincide with a little bit of sunshine.

I'll share an image of drake and hen Barrow's Goldeneyes and then images of a drake taking flight along the river in front of me. I'll conclude the images with a drake Northern Pintail on the water and then a few of the duck taking flight.

Drake and Hen Barrow's Goldeneyes on the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Barrow's Goldeneye Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Barrow's Goldeneye Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Barrow's Goldeneye Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

I've always thought the male Northern Pintail is a classy, nice looking duck. That's a Gadwall, by the way, in the background. Anyway, the images below turned out okay for me. I would have liked to have more contrast between the duck and the brown color reflecting on the water from the phragmites along the bank.

Drake Northern Pintail on the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Northern Pintail Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Northern Pintail Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Drake Northern Pintail Taking Flight Along the Jordan River in Salt Lake City, UT

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove: Images and Video

My birding friend, Carlos, agreed to help me cover a couple of count areas this morning as part of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for the Provo, Utah Count Circle. We started at 5:30 in the morning so we could attempt to locate a couple of owl species before sunrise. Snow was falling and it was about 24 degrees Fahrenheit, well below freezing. We struck out on our owl hunt. We verbalized that we must be crazy as we stood in falling snow and freezing temperatures while normal people were asleep in their warm beds.

We went to breakfast to wait for the sun to rise. We got off to a bang with our daylight census when we immediately saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Cooper's Hawk. However, the steady snow fall kept most birds in hiding. We were struggling to see more than Starlings, Robins, and House Finches. We eventually made our way to Provo Canyon, our second count area, and quickly found an adult Bald Eagle. We had the fortune of finding a nice raptor or two in both of our count areas, but the bird sightings quickly went down hill thereafter. The weather conditions made this year's CBC the least productive I've ever experienced. Amid the challenging circumstances Carlos and I hatched a plan make the most of our circumstances. Since we were already in Provo Canyon and less than 15 minutes from ideal habitat for Pygmy Owls and a possible Northern Goshawk, we diverted our attention from the CBC temporarily to go on a hunt at Aspen Grove, a Brigham Young University-owned mountain resort.

Our first pass through Aspen Grove was bird-less. However, just after we turned to head out Carlos and I simultaneously spotted a Northern Pygmy Owl high above us on a dead tree top. Pygmy Owls are less than seven inches long so we were seeing a small fur ball with a short tail from our vantage point. The owl flew from its original perch while both of us were looking down at our camera gear. Neither of us saw where it went. Talk about searching for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately, we relocated it atop a conifer. Again the owl flew as we were trying to get a closer look. This time it dropped out of sight, but I observed its general direction and followed it around some buildings and up a small hill. I was able to relocate it in a short Aspen Tree, about 12 feet above ground, right next to some cabins where families were playing in the snow. Carlos and I spent about twenty minutes observing, photographing, and sharing the owl with those who passed by us.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

The whitish look at the base of the owl's bill in this image is actually the result of a snowflake that was falling and in between me and the owl when the image was captured.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

 We wanted to see the bird at eye level so we took a few images from one of the cabins next to the owl.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Back down on the ground I wanted to be some closer images to see what detail could be captured despite the overcast skies. Turning up the exposure compensation helped quite a bit. I shoot .jpg files and use Google's Picasa to manage my images. That's pretty basic compared to many serious nature photographers. Consequently, all I've done with each of these images is crop, slightly sharpen, and darken them so they don't look overexposed. The bright white background is a result of increasing the exposure compensation with the camera in the field. I like the little snow crystals/flakes gathering on the side of the owl's back and head.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

The following images attempt to show basic traits of owls. I took the image below because I wanted to show the toes and talons of these fierce little owls. Owls have four toes. The outside toe for each foot can rotated from front to back as needed. By turning it back the owls can get a good grasp on its prey.

The Talons of a Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

This shot was an attempt to include a little more of the owl's brown coloring. It was too high to get a full image from the back side.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

With this image you see the eyelids of the owl. Owls and other birds have an extra eyelid called a nictitating membrane. You can see that membrane partially covering the eye in the second image below. The edge of the membrane is the dark line running mostly vertically on the eye. The main eyelid moves up and down, but the nictitating membrane moves more side to side. This membrane helps clean and protect the eyes.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

 Here's a perch more common than seeing a Pygmy on an Aspen Tree. We often find them perched atop conifers or on horizontal branches that reach over top a road or other open space. Pygmy Owls like to watch for mice and other small mammals to come into the open spaces below them. Pygmy Owls will also eat other small birds.

Northern Pygmy Owl at Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Just before we left the area I decided to make my second attempt at using the video functionality on my Nikon D7100. Lighting was not great, but the video turned out okay. This clip is less than a minute long, but it shows the tiny owl perched and looking around. You can see its chest moving as it breaths and you can see it retract its body feathers just before it takes flight. I included a slow motion replay of the owl taking flight from it's perch.

I've noticed that the sharpness of the video image is better if you click on the settings icon in the bottom, right-hand corner of the YouTube screen and select an HD setting. Otherwise, the image is a little blurry if you watch it in full screen mode.

Carlos had to end his birding activities after we left Aspen Grove. I returned to our first count area to count more birds in our first area. Once again, the first bird I spotted was a  raptor, a Merlin. Once again, the bird sightings went down hill again. I finished my assignment with the CBC and went home feeling good about completing my assigned counts, but I was really thrilled with the close encounter we had with the Pygmy Owl. 

Harlie, Sharpie, Harlie, Harlie!

Winter and cruising for raptors are a great combination, even if we are stuck in another "inversion", as was the case Saturday in Utah County. For those who don't know, an inversion occurs when we have high pressure sitting on top of our valleys and we become very aware of how much pollution we are putting out because it can't escape and dissipate into the skies above us. Smog simply builds up and severely limits sunlight and visibility. It's definitely not good for our health and is not ideal for long lens photography. However, I still make the most of what I can on my Saturday excursions.

My family and friends know that, for me, spending a couple of hours cruising the fields and open spaces of Utah County in my Toyota Tacoma on a Saturday morning or afternoon is hard to beat for getting a weekly boost of love for life and our amazing world. I've shared this before, but spotting a raptor in a naked deciduous tree is the start of what can turn into an exciting experience. Could it be a rare hawk? Which accipiter is that? Is that my first Bald Eagle of the season way over there? These are just a few of the questions that come into my mind and beg for an answer through further exploration and discovery. Well, I got my weekly fix Saturday after cleaning house and shopping for groceries and before assembling furniture with one of my sons.

Lehi has been a very productive area for me over the past couple of years in terms of raptor watching so I made my way around a number of its open fields and yet-to-be developed areas. One of my first discoveries was yet another Harlan's Hawk, or "Harlie" as some raptor folks call them. I believe we have more in Utah than local birders realize during our winter months, but I don't think birders are investigating deep enough to separate them from our usual Western Red-tailed Hawks. I'm trying to change that by documenting and sharing my sightings. You can learn more about the Harlan's race of Red-tailed Hawks by clicking here to see a post I did as winter was approaching and it was time to start looking for them to arrive from Alaska and the Yukon area again. I've already located four Harlan's Hawks in Utah County during this winter season so the one below becomes number five. I first noticed a hawk flying in the distance, put my binoculars on it, and caught a quick glimpse of what looked like more of a grayish rather than red color on the top side of the tail. That's a sure sign of an adult Harlan's Hawk, an expected red tail altered with whitish, grayish, or darkish coloring. I drove a maze of streets and relocated the hawk perched above a field next to a home.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

The hawk flew a short distance across the field just as I pulled off to the side of the road and landed in another tree, scaring off some smaller birds. Harlies seem very skittish and tend to flush at distances greater than Western Red-tailed Hawks. Colors on this hawk are muted due to the lack of sunlight and the haze. However, you can see the grayish upperside to the tail, the typical white streaking on the chest, and some mottling in the wings. Some remiges (wing or flight feathers) show little to no banding, another trait for adult Harlan's Hawks. The dark terminal band or border in the wings is indicative of an adult bird. Young birds don't show that dark terminal band in the wings. One other field mark I noticed about this Harlan's that I have yet to see on other Harlan's Hawks I've observed in the past few years is the rufous, rather than dark, colored undertail coverts.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

This image shows the tell-tale sign of an adult Harlan's Hawk--a tail that includes any combination of red, gray, white, and/or black.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

After observing and photographing the Harlie I noticed a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Sharpie) perched in a tree in the back yard of the home next to the field. The homeowner was preparing to hang some Christmas lights. We visited briefly and I told him about the Sharpie in his back yard. We both walked to the back of the house and talked about how lucky he was to have these two birds right in his yard--I wish I could add a Harlan's Hawk to my yard bird list. As we talked the homeowner pointed farther down his property to show me that his son had put out bird feeders. That's when I realized why the Sharpie was waiting patiently in the cover of the tree--he was waiting to ambush and eat an unsuspecting bird when it came to the feeders. I'm not sure how it happened between photographing the Harlie and the Sharpie, but the white balance on my camera went from the "cloudy" to the "incandescent" setting. Below is the result of that minor mishap--definitely not my desired outcome in terms of color.

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk Lehi, UT

Fortunately, I checked my initial images on the display and noticed the problem. As I was looking down at the camera to make the adjustments to the white balance the hawk left its perch and made a weak attempt at chasing another bird. It re-established a perch to watch the feeders. I captured the images below as it waited. The smoothly rounded and downward sloping crown and smallish bill shown in the image below are traits of a Sharpie. The larger and similar-looking Cooper's Hawk would show more of an angular or blocky looking head profile, possibly with a more squared crown. Sharpies never show a raised crown. Coarse, rather than more thin dark, streaking is a Sharpie trait. The brown back and yellow eyes indicate a young bird, but you can see adult-like plumage on the belly (rufous barring) along with juvenile plumage on the chest and nape (brown streaking).  I was able to compare the size of the hawk to a nearby Brewer's Blackbird and ventured a guess that it was a male since it was relatively small, about 9-10 inches from head to tip of tail. Males are smaller than females. This hawk's tail feathers are worn at the tips so using tail tip shape and length of outer tail feathers alone is not a good way to distinguish between a Sharp-shinned and a Cooper's Hawk.

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk Lehi, UT

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk Lehi, UT

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk Lehi, UT

This is the classic "small head with bug eyes" appearance that many people associate with Sharp-shinned Hawks. I like seeing the mix of juvenile and adult plumage again on this fierce little hawk.

Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk Lehi, UT

I could tell the Sharpie had food in its crop (bulging chest feathers on its left side) and some blood on the cere (skin at top of bill next to forehead). Apparently, however, it was still hungry because it dove right over my head and took out a House Sparrow in another yard. I watched it chase the poor sparrow through bushes before killing it inside an evergreen. I was not able to see anything from that point on so I thanked the homeowner and made my way to other fields in Lehi.

I checked on the location for another Harlan's I'd observed in recent weeks. It was occupying its previous perch. I captured some images of that bird as it stretched its tail feathers. I'd been wanting to see this birds tail pattern for a couple of weeks. After a couple of minutes the hawk flew just to my left and over my head. The lighting, again, was poor, but the field marks for identifying these hawks can be seen in these images--overall dark Red-tailed Hawk with white streaking in the chest, mottling in the tail and wings, many flight feathers showing little to no barring (an adult Harlan's trait) on the underside.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

This is the same bird as above after it landed on an evergreen. White streaking can also be seen in the head.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

On my way home I passed my third Harlie of the day. It was perched in a tree far from the road, but I'll finish this "Harlie, Sharpie, Harlie, Harlie" post with one image of the third Harlie of the day--gotta be true to the title of the post. This one had a fairly white chest, but that is not shown in this particular image since we are looking at its back. It had a mostly dark brown/black tail. It's hard to see in the image, but this one also has white feathers at the bridge of the bill, another Harlie trait.

Adult Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk Lehi, UT

I'm looking forward to discovering more Harlies in the coming months and I'm really hoping to get good looks at a Northern Goshawk this winter. That would be a real treat for this raptor-loving birder.