Cast Your Vote For Utah's Top Ten Birds

So I recently completed a survey that asked me to rank my top ten Utah birds based on birds I've personally observed in Utah. The point of the survey is to list birds that are representative of birding in Utah, not necessarily rare ones. I found it a difficult task to rank my top ten birds because my opinion changes from day to day, habitat to habitat, and season to season. I often think the coolest bird is the one I just observed and/or photographed. In order to simplify the task I decided to pretend I was going to guide a tour for a birder from the eastern US states. I then asked, "What birds have I seen in Utah that I would like to show an out of state visitor? What birds would they possibly need to add to their life list while visiting Utah? I had to remember to list birds I've personally observed.

I'm going to share my top ten with brief explanations, a link toward the survey, and images of my top ten birds. I'm not trying to influence anyone. I am trying to pique your interest in completing the survey so your opinion influences and becomes part of the final results. I also want to spark some thinking before you complete the survey. A personal top ten should be based on personal experience, not the experience of others.

1. Prairie Falcon: I'm a raptor lover and the Prairie Falcon is unique to Utah and other western states.
2. Flammulated Owl: I'm an owl lover. Owls are cool birds rarely seen by the average person and "Flammies" can be found in our Utah mountains fairly easily during the spring and summer months. Everyone is shocked when they see such a small owl for the first time.
3. American Dipper: A western bird found in our fast moving mountain streams. How many other passerine-looking birds go under water to find food?
4. Clark's Nutcracker: An icon of Utah's high elevations. Campers call them camp robbers. They cache thousands of nuts so they can return and eat them during the winter months. You can hear them calling from a mile away!
5. Steller's Jay: A strikingly colorful jay of Utah's mountains. They are loud and proud!
6. Rufous Hummingbird: Gotta have a hummer in this list and this one is colorful in terms of plumage and behavior. Love to see them show up en masse during their fall migration, which is more like a late summer migration from a Utahn's perspective.
7. Blue Grosbeak: My favorite summertime passerine because of their cool song and being dressed in my favorite bird color, blue.
8. Western Tanager: They add the splendid red and yellow colors to Utah during the spring and summer months. Love to hear them sing and then find them in the our mixed coniferous and deciduous mountains.
9. Loggerhead Shrike: Okay, you can see these in the east, but they are a cross between a passerine and a raptor and they seem to be easier to find here in Utah. Love the masked bandit that takes on insects and small mammals.
10. Greater Roadrunner: This really is a cool bird, but since it is isolated to southwestern Utah its going to carry less weight for me in this list. When I'm in southern Utah, however, its definitely at the top of my target list.

Here is the link so you can complete the survey and add to the pool of surveys. This is the last week to cast your vote. I hope you complete a survey to help us see a more complete summary of the top ten representative birds of Utah--according to the people who bird Utah.

The Link: http://utahbirders.blogspot.com/2013/11/top-ten-utah-birds.html

Images of my top ten

       

   

   

  

 

A Few of The "Great" Ones

I've encountered a few of the "great ones" lately. And they really are great from what I can tell.

This past Saturday my wife and I spent most of the day winterizing the home and yard and preparing for a large gathering of family for the Thanksgiving holiday. That's really "the" greatest--fun times with family, especially our two little grandchildren who will be coming from Arizona. After a long day of work around the home and shopping I had about 90 minutes to venture out before the sun went down.

I decided to drive down to the Provo Airport Dike in Provo, Utah. Upon my arrival I found a very quiet place. Birds and animals were nigh unto completely-absent. The sky was filled with heavy cloud cover, no rays of sunlight were penetrating the clouds anywhere, and there was a slow steady breeze that was rather chilly. Fifteen minutes into my adventure I began to think I'd have to go on an owl hunt. With birds and wildlife hunkering down I figured my best bet would be to go after a large bird with fewer hiding places than usual due to many of the leaves having fallen from the trees for the winter. I parked my truck and began to walk southward with the waters of Utah Lake to my right and very tall phragmite and woods to my left. I was scanning the wooded area where I had hopes of finding a Great Horned Owl.

When I go looking for owls I try to get multiple views of every likely hiding place. Yesterday, I made my first pass with no luck. However, on the second pass coming from a different angle I saw the shape of a Great Horned Owl. I don't know how to express that feeling of such a discovery in the wild.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

This owl was very content in his hiding place away from the beaten path. He remained perched so I took a few other photos.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

I'm including the image below because it shows a bit of the white trim on the half-blinked right eye of the owl.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

The profile below provides a nice look at the ear tufts that give the owl its common name of "Great Horned" Owl.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

Some people confuse Great Horned with Long-eared Owl because both have long tufts and yellow around their eyes. However, the Great Horned Owl shows more of a white throat and barring on the belly where Long-eared shows more of a bark-looking belly.

Great Horned on the left, Long-eared on the right.

            

The perspective below shows how multiple feathers create the tuft of Great Horned Owls.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

On my way off the dike I caught a quick glance of what looked like the tufts of a Great Horned Owl. I backed up the truck, pulled out the binoculars and found another Great Horned Owl. Considering how close these owls were in proximity causes me to believe they are a pair, which may likely begin mating as early as January. These owls tend to begin breeding during the winter months.

Great Horned Owl on Provo Airport Dike in Provo, UT

I had a close encounter of the "Great Blue" kind about a week ago when I dropped by Sandy Pond in Sandy, Utah on my way home from work. There is almost always a Great Blue Heron on that pond. I thought the clouds with a slight pink cast from the setting sun provided a subtle beauty to the background. If I were a PhotoShop user I'd probably like to enhance the pinkish color in the background.

Great Blue Heron at Sunset in Sandy, UT

Here are a few other images of Great Blue Herons I've seen along the way. The next two are of a young Great Blue Heron. Adults have white crowns, this one is essentially blue.

Young Great Blue Heron American Fork Marina American Fork, UT

Young Great Blue Heron American Fork Marina American Fork, UT

Here's an adult Great Blue Heron sporting it white crown.

Great Blue Heron Long Beach, CA

And another adult in flight.

Great Blue Heron in Flight St George, UT

Great Egrets are beautiful birds.

Great Egret Utah County, UT

Great Egret Chandler, AZ

Great Egret in Flight in Lehi, UT

Great Egret Hunting in Lehi, UT

Great Egrets in Flight Over Lehi, UT

Now, from the big "great ones" to a much smaller great one. This one is great because of the size of its tail--the Great-tailed Grackle. These birds remind me of magpies in that they tend to show up where people are (e.g. parking lots, beaches, fast food restaurants, etc.) primarily because people tend to leave enough scraps around for the birds to cleanup/eat.

Great-tailed Grackle Chandler, AZ

Great-tailed Grackle at Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

The young and female Great-tailed grackles don't have such great tails.

Great-tailed Grackle Utah County, UT

Great-tailed Grackle Parked By a Red Curb Drinking Water in Wickenberg, AZ

Moon to Loon: Am I a Loony Bird?

I've been fascinated with the moon recently. I'm not sure why, but I've found it fascinating. I've heard several times that "loony" is short for lunatic. Lunatic is associated with lunar, or the moon. In particular, a full moon brings the crazy out of some people. It's been more than once that people thought my birding and bird photography habits were a bit loony. Well this past week I've watched the moon wax through its phases until I was able to see my first Pacific Loon under the light of a full moon. Let's start with the moon and work our way to the loon.

Here are a few images of recent moon phases photographed from my front porch in Pleasant Grove, UT.

Sunday night I heard that a Pacific Loon was observed on a small pond in an area known as Lake Park in West Valley City, Utah. I crossed my fingers and hoped it would remain overnight so I could see it before work and count it as a life bird (first time seeing one). It's location was just minutes from my office.

I skipped on my usual van pool and drove myself to work very early "Moon"day morning. I noticed a full moon in the sky and hoped it would give me enough light to see the loon on the water before heading to work. I wasn't sure how much light I'd get for photography before going to work so I determined to visit the pond during my lunch break, if necessary, to get satisfactory images of the rare loon.

I saw the loon on the water upon my arrival so I quickly sent an email from my smart phone to the local birding listservs that read:

"Stopped on my way to work. Loon (the bird, not the crazy guy in the cold and dark) is still on the water."

Another local birder arrived and we chatted while waiting for the sun to rise above the mountains to the east. An immature Snow Goose mixed in a flock of Canada Geese flew in over our heads while we were talking. A starling (great mimics) was imitating an American Kestrel, a Common Nighthawk, and other birds. The nighthawk imitation by a Starling was a first for me.  I began to wonder if I might really be going loony at that point.

The sun slowly rose much like watching a pot of water boil. It always takes longer when you are intently dependent on and waiting for the event to occur. Here are some images I captured of the Pacific Loon as the pink/orange light from the rising sun was bouncing off the clouds.

Pacific Loon in Early Morning Sun at Lake Park in West Valley City, UT (Extremely rare for Salt Lake County, UT)

Pacific Loon in Early Morning Sun at Lake Park in West Valley City, UT (Extremely rare for Salt Lake County, UT)

With a little more sunlight the hues changed from the pink/orange color to more of the natural color of the loon.

Pacific Loon at Lake Park in West Valley City, UT (Extremely rare for Salt Lake County, UT)

Pacific Loon at Lake Park in West Valley City, UT (Extremely rare for Salt Lake County, UT)

Thank you, Moon, for turning me loony in recent weeks. Thank you, Loon, for straying from your normal migratory course and gracing crazy bird people in Salt Lake County, Utah with your unique presence.

A 360° View of a Peregrine Falcon With and Without Prey

It was a wintry day in Utah County today--not the best for wildlife photography. It was cold, overcast, and garnished with mixes of light rain and snow. It was not looking good for my planned raptor outing when I left home this morning. However, birds still need to eat so I set out with hopes of discovering new raptors in areas close to home. I drove to a few local fields and didn't see much more than the ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawks and one Prairie Merlin.

On my way home, however, I made a last minute decision to take a side road from Lehi's Main Street over to Pioneer Crossing. The road is called Mill Pond Road because it runs by Mill Pond. The pond is situated between I-15 and the Pioneer Crossing/American Fork Main Street off ramp. I was ecstatic to see an adult Peregrine Falcon (Anatum subspecies) perched on a power pole. It was feasting on what appeared to be the fresh remains of a pigeon or dove. The falcon was content and allowed me to photograph it from multiple vantage points. I remained inside my truck and used it as a mobile blind. The area was under construction so I eventually drove a complete circle around the bird over a fifteen minute period.

The crop was already quite full when I captured this first image. You can see the bulging feathers on the chest. The pinkish wash of the underside of the falcon is characteristic of the Anatum subspecies of Peregrine Falcons. This subspecies remains in Utah year round. Many of these falcons remain around their nesting areas without migrating like many other birds.

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Waterfowl, pigeons, doves, and other birds are staples in the diet of Peregrine Falcons. These falcons can reach speeds close to 200 miles an hour when they stoop to catch prey midair. It would have been interesting to see how this falcon captured its prey prior to taking it to the top of the pole. You can see blood on the bill and talons of the falcon. As the images progress you'll notice both the bill and the talons become free of the remains until there is no sign of the meal other than the enlarged crop.

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Prey in Lehi, UT

The falcon actually dropped the prey after I had been watching it for about ten minutes. It fell to the ground where I had a clear view.

Remains Dropped by a Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

The falcon looked like it might drop to the ground for a moment to retrieve the prey, but it chose to stay on its perch and clean up the scraps that remained at the top of the pole.

Peregrine Falcon Looking Down Toward Prey it Dropped in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

The falcon rubbed its talons to remove some feathers and other remains.

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Lehi, UT

The falcon commenced with the finishing touches of the clean up process by picking a few remaining feathers from its talons. This falcon seemed rather meticulous about cleaning up and then fluffing its feathers before it departed from its temporary perch.

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon Preening After Eating Prey in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Full Crop in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon With Full Crop in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT

Peregrine Falcon in Lehi, UT