St George Winter Bird Festival 2014

I participated in my first St George Winter Bird Festival this past weekend. I had thought about going for several years, but schedule conflicts prevented me from participating. This year, however, my wife and I combined the Winter Bird Festival with a weekend getaway.  I signed up for a couple of the festival's half-day field trips and spent the rest of the time shopping, going to a movie, and simply eating and hanging out with my wife. I wish I could have attended some of the festival presentations. Organizers had some great presenters lined up for participants. I appreciate all the time, talent, information, and energy volunteers shared to make the festival a benefit to all who participated.

As a photographer and blogger who wants to have close encounters with birds and wildlife I have generally chosen to bird solo or with another photographer over the past few years. Big groups and bird photography don't mix very well. Guided trips, however, have played an important role in helping me learn how to bird in new territory. Consequently, I signed up for my first festival field trip because I wanted to meet the guide in person and learn how he birds parts of southern Utah that I have not birded. I've admired the reports and photos Rick Fridell has shared from southern Utah over the past few years and he was the guide who led us to Quail Creek Reservoir, Stratton Pond, Sand Hollow State Park, and Hurricane Fields. "Hurricane" is pronounced "her-uh-kin" by locals. It sort of reminds me of the difference between how Americans would say "Briz-bain" when Australian's say "Briz-bin" for Brisbane.

I wasn't expecting to have good photo ops while birding with a large group so I left the camera in the car until Rick gave me a heads up that the Greater Scaups on Stratton Pond were very cooperative with photographers. He was right. Two males and a female came in to feed just like your average park Mallard. Greater Scaup show a sloping head from crown back where Lesser Scaup show a peak at the back of the head.

Female Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

Female Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

Male Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

The image below appears to be a stare down. Greater Scaup actually show the broader cheeks compared to Lesser Scaup.

Male Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

The next two images captured one of the males scratching its head. It's not often that you get to see the bottom side of a duck's bill.

Male Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

Male Greater Scaup on Stratton Pond Hurricane, UT

Sand Hollow State Park allowed us to see a Utah rarity, a Red-necked Grebe. We observed it through a scope along with several Common Loons. Seeing all three Mergansers (Hooded, Common, and Red-breasted) in one location was another highlight from Sand Hollow. While pulling into one of several parking areas from which we observed water fowl on the Sand Hollow reservoir my raptor radar detected a bird of interest. I caught a glimpse of a small raptor in a distant tree. While the rest of the group moved toward the reservoir and planted their scopes for viewing water fowl I walked in a different direction to identify the raptor. It turned out to be a Prairie Merlin. I captured a few distant images and cropped them. I think they turned out pretty well despite having to crop the images quite a bit.

Prairie Merlin at Sand Hollow State Park Near Hurricane, UT

Prairie Merlin at Sand Hollow State Park Near Hurricane, UT

After photographing the Merlin I headed back to join the group. That's when I saw a Bald Eagle fly toward a group of small rock cliffs and chase a Prairie Falcon from its perch. I shared what I observed with Rick and others and most were able to see both the Merlin and the Prairie Falcon. All were able to see the Bald Eagle since it remained on its perch.

I learned some neat things about the birds and habitat during the field trip with Rick. One thing I hadn't realized before was that Cactus Wrens often choose the Cholla (cho-ya) Cactus to hold their nests. The needles from these guys provide great protection from natural predators to the Cactus Wren. These are not friendly to people either. Steer clear of contact because once they embed in you they will end up leaving an irritating remnant under the skin that will fester for some time.

Cactus Wren Nest in Cholla Cactus Sand Hollow State Park Utah

The nest above is typical. It opens on the side of the cactus and goes back into the interior of the cactus, forming a tubular looking nest. The one below was actually on the surface of the cactus so I took a picture to show the length. The actual entrance is to the right of the cactus and not visible. The angle shows the side and rear of the nest.

Cactus Wren Nest in Cholla Cactus Sand Hollow State Park Utah

My first field trip of the St George Winter Bird Festival was very productive, informative, and memorable. It allowed me to bird new areas and was a great opportunity to meet some new people and reconnect with some old acquaintances. Rick was a great guide.

I returned to the hotel after my first field trip and cleaned up for a date with my wife. Before heading out for the afternoon and evening I captured images of our hotel's resident Northern Mockingbird. I wonder if this is the same mockingbird I see every time we stay at the hotel. I can't think of a time when I stayed at the hotel in St George and didn't see this or another mockingbird in the front parking area.

Northern Mockingbird St George, UT

Northern Mockingbird St George, UT

Saturday morning I walked Lytle Ranch with about 25 other birders. Lytle Ranch is about 30 miles west of St George and is a small oasis in the middle of the desert. It is a bird magnet, especially during spring and fall migrations. We were led by Larry Tripp, another southern Utah birder. I signed up for the Lytle Ranch trip to meet Larry in person and to see how a local birds the Ranch. Larry was very knowledgeable and helped our group pick up some desert specialties such as Phainopepla, Verdin, and Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. I and a few others were able to hear a Greater Roadrunner cooing on several occasions, but we could not get a visual. I was surprised to see two Rock Wrens in the middle of the dessert as we were making the 10 1/2 mile dirt road drive from the ranch back to the main road. I observed 36 species during our trip to Lytle Ranch.

My wife indulged me Sunday morning as we were leaving St George to return home. She said she'd join me for about an hour to see what would present itself in Washington Fields. I picked up another seven species for my year list. One of which was a Say's Phoebe that was fly catching from a low perch above an agricultural field.

Say's Phoebe in Washington City, UT

Say's Phoebe in Washington City, UT

Spring Estates Pond was on the way back to the Interstate. I took a quick five-minute look and found a resident Snow Goose along with at least two Cackling Geese, a subspecies of Canada Goose identified by it's smaller size and noticeably shorter bill. Cacking Geese often show a more rounded head, but that can be skewed depending on whether the goose is relaxed or stretching its neck while foraging, flying, etc. The images below allow the more rounded head and shorter bill to be seen well. The Cackling Goose's bill seems to have a length of bill that is usually less than about 1.5 times as long as it is high at the base.

Cackling Goose Amid Canada Geese Washington City, UT

Cackling Goose Amid Canada Geese Washington City, UT

By the end of the trip to St George I picked up 44 new species for my 2014 list of species observed. That took me to a total of 128 species for the year. I didn't capture as many photos as I would have had I been on my own, but I enjoyed the company of other birders and learned a bit from some experienced and talented people. It was nice to get out of the cold of northern Utah with a 3 1/2 hour drive to southern Utah. The red rock country and desert were welcomed changes of scenery.