A Day and a Half in Southwestern Utah

I had some fun experiences during the day and a half I spent recently in the St George area of Utah. I was going to create a few posts from the trip, but I decided to simply share random images of birds, scenery, mammals, and plants from the trip. I saw over 100 species of birds so only a few are included in this post. While I am not including images, I did see two Roadrunners during my trip. I've learned to not look for them because they appear when you don't expect them. If you look for them you'll never see them. That's been my experience with them.

I spent about an hour at Tonaquint Park as soon as I arrived in St George. I needed to burn some time while waiting for other birders to get into town. The red on the face of this Western Tanager is naturally occurring, part of its plumage. The red on the bill, however, is staining from the mulberries he was enjoying in that tree.

Western Tanager at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT

Lesser Goldfinch at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT

Rock Squirrel at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT

Yellow Warbler at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT

I had dinner with a birding friend, Eric Peterson, and two of his friends who flew in from Wisconsin to experience southwest birding. We had some good Mexican Food and shared some good birding and nature stories before heading to bed for the night.

We started our full day together at Lytle Ranch, a must-visit birding oasis in the middle of the desert near the Utah-Nevada border. We saw a number of birds, many of which were life birds for our Wisconsin friends, birds that they were seeing for the first time in their lives.

This is the best view and photo I've gotten thus far of a Bell's Vireo that was singing excitedly as we came upon it.

Bell's Vireo at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

Eric Peterson's eagle eye caught the presence of a male Costa's Hummingbird. I love their long purple gorget feathers. All of the feathers on the head, face and throat will shine a bright purple in the right lighting. These images give a hint of the bright coloring.

Costa's Hummingbird at Lytle Ranch in St George, UT

Costa's Hummingbird at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

Phainopepla at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

Lucy's Warblers were everywhere, but they were always dodging the camera and this was the best I could come away with. At least you can see the touch of head they have on the tops of their heads. Otherwise they are plain looking little warblers.

Lucy's Warbler at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

Yellow-breasted Chat at Lytle Ranch Washington County, UT

We birded along the eleven-mile road out of the remote ranch to the main highway (Hwy 91), picking up more life birds for our Wisconsin friends. We then drove about twenty minutes up to Gunlock Reservoir State Park.

Western Kingbird Minus its Tail--Near Gunlock Reservoir Washington County, UT

I think the White-tailed Antelope Squirrels are my favorite of the ground squirrels. That little white tail seems to be constantly at attention. I think their pattern and coloring are really cool.

White-tailed Antelope Squirrel Gunlock Reservoir State Park Gunlock, UT

I really need to spend more time photographing the plants of Utah. I love seeing bright flowers coming from prickly and arid circumstances.

Spring Blossom on a Hedgehog Cactus Growing on Rock Near Gunlock Reservoir State Park

When the heat started picking up in the lowland desert habitats we drove into the mountains near Zion National Park. We took Kolob Terrace Road up to Lava Point Campground. The temperature was about 25 degrees cooler in the mountains. We enjoyed the scenery and birds of several habitats such as pinyon-juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Aspen at the higher elevations.

Red Rock Cliffs Along Kolob Terrace Road Washington County, UT

Looking Back While Ascending Kolob Terrace Road in Washington County, UT

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Along Kolob Terrace Road in Washington County, UT

We saw Lewis's Woodpeckers, but I didn't get photographs since I'd seen them a number of times before. Now I wish I had captured some, but I did capture a few decent images of a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers. There aren't too many places to see these woodpeckers in Utah, but spots along Kolob Terrace Road are pretty reliable for these funny-faced woodpeckers.

One of Two Acorn Woodpeckers Along Kolob Terrace Road in Washington County, UT

One of Two Acorn Woodpeckers Along Kolob Terrace Road in Washington County, UT

Spring Blossom of Prickly Pear Cactus Along Kolob Terrace Road in Washington County, UT

Virginia's Warbler Kolob Terrace Road Washington County, UT

White-breasted Nuthatch at Lava Point Campground Washington County, UT

Grace's Warbler is not very common, but they are a little more common at Lava Point Campground this time of year. I wish this one would have come into the light and closer. It is a beautiful warbler and this picture doesn't do it justice.

Grace's Warbler at Lava Point Campground in Washington County, UT

And the highlight of the trip was observing a Common Black-Hawk that is nowhere near being Common in Utah.

Common Black-Hawk in Washington County, UT

Wanted Not Dead But Alive: Costa's Hummingbird

I had high hopes of locating and photographing at least one male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, Arizona last week. They were being reported in areas near my daughter's home in Gilbert so I was confident I'd find at least one during our five-day visit. I spent my first morning of birding at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. I saw lots of hummingbirds, but they mostly Anna's and a couple of Black-chinned Hummingbirds. I went to Veteran's Oasis Park on my second morning in Gilbert. I spoke to a local birder who got my hopes up when she said she thought she saw a Costa's Hummingbird on "the other end of the park". I looked in that area and failed again to see one. Two strikes in two days got my determination level to rise. I was not going to go a full five days in Gilbert without seeing what was supposed to be a relatively easy bird to find.

I skipped birding Sunday morning to attend church with family, but I took my three-year-old grandson, Graham, with me for my second visit to Veteran's Oasis Park. We walked along a trail for about five minutes and followed a "bunny rabbit" that caught Graham's attention. After looking at the rabbit I noticed something odd on a nearby cactus. A double take made me realize it was a hummingbird, but there was something really odd about how the hummingbird was on the cactus. It was impaled and deceased. It was a male Costa's Hummingbird and that was NOT how I wanted to see my first one. I wondered if a Loggerhead Shrike was the perpetrator because impaling prey on sharp objects is a behavior associated with Shrikes. The truth is I'll never know what really happened to that unfortunate bird.

Deceased Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Deceased Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

We had just gotten to the other side of the park when Graham declared, "I'm done with the park, Papa Jeff!" It was time to head back to the car. I did not want the only male Costa's Hummingbird I photographed on the trip to be a dead one. I couldn't change the fact that it was the first one, but I was determined to do all I could to find one flying and perching during my last two days in Gilbert.

I noticed one last hummingbird just as we arrived back at the car. I almost ignored it, but decided to take a look through the binoculars. Lucky for me it was a male Costa's Hummingbird. It was a bit high in the tree and didn't allow the perspective I would have preferred, but with the luck I'd experienced to that point I was happy to see one from any angle.

The sun was directly overhead and sending harsh light on the bird, washing out the shiny green feathers on the upper side of the bird. No matter which way I tried I either ended up seeing the face with no light reflecting off the iridescent gorget or I got part of the gorget to shine purple while having a hard time seeing the eyes of the bird. I had to settle for these images with a determination to try again during my next visit to Gilbert.

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ