A Short Stroll in the Park

I was loading the last few dirty dishes into the washer this evening when I glanced out the kitchen window to check the position of the sun. I could see that daylight was short, but I figured I might be able to fit in a few minutes of checking for migrating warblers at Highland Glen Park.

The park is just five minutes from my home and right behind the local high school. It just so happened that there was a home football game getting ready to start so the road to the park was quite congested. The slow-moving swarm of cars near the school caused me to lose more light than I hoped. Fortunately, the first movement I saw in the trees when I arrived at the park turned out to be an unexpected species--White-breasted Nuthatch. That's a great bird for that park and it took less than ten seconds to spot.

I watched tonight's nuthatch forage along the trunk and major branches of the trees near the parking lot. I heard another one calling and realized there were at least two making a pit stop in the park as they were heading to their final destinations. The image I captured tonight (right) caught the bird moving up the tree. The more typical view of a White-breasted Nuthatch can be seen in the image below. I captured this image during a previous encounter with the species.



As I was watching the nuthatches and hearing other birds call from their various positions around the parking lot a Western Scrub-Jay flew into my view.  I immediately noticed that the Jay was missing all of its tail feathers.

I and other people who spend time birding occasionally run across birds missing their tail feathers. Sometimes the lack of tail feathers is a result of molting. Sometimes it is a result of predation, losing the tail feathers as a result of being attacked by a predator. It could be some sort of disease or other cause as well. I've never really noticed much of a struggle to fly for any of the tail-less birds I've encountered. The image to the right shows the typical tail for a Western Scrub-Jay. I captured this image when a Jay perched above one of my backyard feeders.

I strolled up to the pond just as the sun dropped below the horizon tonight. Along the way I heard the celebration that erupted from the home team crowd as a touch down was scored. I saw small groups of teenagers flirting with one another. It was obvious they were on their way to the football game with their school shirts and painted faces, but they had become distracted by their fascination with one another. Flirting was prioritized over football. And who can blame them? Families and individuals were fishing and walking around the park. I stopped my stroll, looked toward the sunset, and realized it was a beautiful backdrop to happy people enjoying the local park.

Mountain Landscape or Goshawk? You Decide

I was driving into the Timpooneke Campground area (Utah County, Utah) with one of my married twin sons this afternoon as part of our plan to scout out some camping areas. I related to my son that I had a close encounter with a Northern Goshawk in the area a couple of years ago, but I missed the photo op because I was taking pictures of a silly little Mountain Chickadee. I had just finished capturing a few images of the chickadee and then lowered the lens to preview the images on the screen. Right then an adult Goshawk passed just ten feet away from me. It disappeared within seconds. I couldn't believe I missed a Goshawk for a chickadee.

Anyway, just after my son and I pulled into the campground today he was marveling over the awesome mountain scenery. We pulled over to take a look and capture some images. I decided to leave my camera with the zoom lens in the truck and take my backup camera with the wide angle lens to capture a landscape scene. I captured one image and reviewed it for exposure. I didn't like it so I tried again with a few setting changes. The north peak of Mount Timpanogos, the icon of Utah County mountains, is almost disappearing in the heavy cloud cover in the background.

Timpooneke Campground with North Peak of Mount Timpanogos in Background--Utah County, UT

I heard a Raven calling from behind us and ignored it. My non-birding son noticed the raven when he saw it fly along the tree line to the left of the meadow shown above. He pointed up and asked, "What is that?" I looked up from the camera and said, "That's a raven." I was just about to look away and resume photographing the landscape when we both noticed something large and rather white looking land on a limb just outside the left edge of the scene you see above. I stopped what I was doing and honed in on what that thing was. I noticed a limb still bouncing a little and wasn't sure if the bird we saw had landed there or launched from there and disappeared into the trees. I noticed a large whitish belly showing between some branches. A second later my brain made the connection and I said, "Oh my gosh(hawk)! That's a goshawk!" I now had a choice to make. Take pictures of a mountain landscape or try to capture an image of a rare hawk. I didn't even have to think before I started running toward my truck to retrieve my better camera with the zoom lens. The truck happened to be in the same general area as the hawk. I hoped the hawk wouldn't fly before I could get my camera with the zoom lens. I also hoped my running in its general direction wouldn't spook it off. With one eye toward the bird and one toward the backseat of the truck (meaning I was really watching the bird and blindly grabbing inside the truck), I managed to get the camera and turn it on. The bird began to look like it was going to fly so I hoped the existing camera settings were ideal for the circumstances, pointed, and released the shutter a few times just before it flew. I lowered the lens and watched in awe as the hawk flew right in front of me and across the meadow. It did a quick turn and then flew down the gravel road and out of sight. My son and I shared a moment that impressed him as much as it did me.

Well, I was unprepared again when a Goshawk in the same general area (maybe even the same hawk) presented itself. I'll just tell people I was photographing a conifer when a rare Northern Goshawk happened to photo bomb that lovely image. That's why the bird was not in focus.

Northern Goshawk at Timpooneke Campground in Utah County, UT
(It took flight before I could get a tight focus on the bird rather than the branch)

Pishing Above Aspen Grove & Sundance Ski Resort

You may be wondering, "What in the heck in "Pishing? Is that a typo?"  Pishing is a sound some birders make with their mouths when they suspect small "tweety" birds are hiding nearby in dense brush or foliage. The sound draws the attention of some small birds to the point of bringing them out of their hiding places.

When I first rekindled my interest in birds a few years ago I had two broad categories for them. Raptors were the cool birds, of course. Tweety birds were all the little singing birds. Needless to say, my interest in and fascination with birds has grown to include and appreciate every species I encounter. Consequently, I've added "pishing" to my tool bag for locating, identifying, and photographing the tweety birds.

I attended a  purchasing conference at Aspen Grove, near Sundance Ski Resort in Utah County, a little over a week ago. It was a Friday and the first winter-ish storm of the season had passed through the area and left a thin blanket of snow in some of the higher elevations. The sun was still hidden by clouds, but I captured a few images looking up from Aspen Grove before leaving the conference.

Fall View From Aspen Grove Lodge in Utah County, UT

View Toward Mount Timpanogos From Aspen Grove Lodge in Utah County, UT

Aspen Grove is on the other side of the mountain, so to speak, from my home so I drove back up and over the top of the mountain to return home. As I was starting that drive I looked back and admired a scene of mixed seasons. The light layer of snow revealed some of the lower runs of the Sundance Ski Resort in the distance. Maples turning orange-red, evergreens, and deciduous trees that were still showing green leaves added color to the scene.

View of Aspen Grove From Alpine Loop Road in Utah County, UT

Driving a little farther and higher took me to a vantage point allowing a better view of the ski resort as it was beginning to be shrouded by heavy clouds.

View of Sundance Ski Resort From Alpine Loop Road in Utah County, UT

While admiring the scenery I heard sporadic "peeps" coming from the trees on the hillside below me so I decided to give "pishing" a whirl.  And out came some cute little tweety birds! Black-capped Chickadees showed themselves first, but it was the Mountain Chickadees I decided to photograph since I was enjoying time in the mountains, after all. This one struck a nice pose as it came up for a look at the "pishing" guy.

Mountain Chickadee Above Sundance and Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Within a few minutes several more Mountain Chickadees were curious enough to fly in from their hiding places. One particular bird was drawn more to plucking some seeds from the blossom of a Mullein plant. I've heard most people pronounce that as "mool-uhn."

Several Ruby-crowned Kinglets made their way into nearby cover and slowly gained the courage or enough curiosity to move into the open. This little guy is really only about four inches long from head to tip of tail. He came close, but kept his ruby-colored crown feathers well hidden except for a tiny red dot that can be seen near the center of his crown. If you are like me you'll need reading glasses to see that tiny dot of red.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Above Sundance and Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Here's an image I captured previously in southern Utah just to give you an idea of how much red was hidden by the bird above. During breeding season these males can reveal red feathers that cover nearly a third of their crown.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Tonaquint Park in St George, UT

Red-breasted Nuthatches were last on the scene. They are, in my experience, often the last to arrive at the pishing parties.

Red-breasted Nuthatch Above Sundance and Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

I think it was coincidental that a Steller's Jay passed through and landed on the bare branches of a nearby tree. They don't generally respond to strange people making "pishing" sounds on a hillside. I always enjoy seeing these black, white, and mostly bright blue jays. They are generally found at the higher elevations of coniferous and mixed wood mountain forests.

Steller's Jay Along Alpine Loop Road Above Sundance and Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

Steller's Jay Along Alpine Loop Road Above Sundance and Aspen Grove in Utah County, UT

The conference I attended was fun and inspirational. The drive home was peaceful. The world is a wonderful place because of good people and the beauties of nature. I felt blessed when I returned home to family after a wonderful Friday.