Two Mornings in the Utah County Desert

Utah has three major biomes--deserts, forests, and wetlands. Being able to enjoy the plants, wildlife, and scenery of each biome in a single day makes Utah a unique and wonderful place to live. For the past two Saturday mornings I have been able to leave home before sunlight to go explore some of the desert wildlife of Utah County with my friend Eric Peterson. Eric and I share a love for exploring the outdoors and photography so it's practically guaranteed we'll discover something fascinating to observe, enjoy, photograph, and share with others.

This past Saturday... 

We were on our way to search for some Short-eared Owls in what we locally call the West Desert.  It was about 6 AM when we noticed the rising sun was working its magic on the clouds behind us so we stopped to take a look.

Sunrise Seen From Cedar Valley in Utah County, UT

We made our way to some desert farmland and quickly found our first Short-eared Owl of the day. He was perched on a stick at the edge of the road. He flew across the field and away from us before we were able to get a close look. We continued along the road where we got much closer looks at a female Short-eared Owl. She was standing on the edge of the road near some tumbleweed.

Short-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

Short-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

We saw a handful of these owls in the fields bordering the road. Some flew across the road a head of us and circled above us.

Short-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

I'm still trying to figure out how to get my new 80-400mm lens to work as well as my previous 300mm prime lens when it comes to birds in flight so I didn't get the quality of image I desired for the flight shots. These two will suffice for now.

Short-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

Short-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

During one of our stops for photographs I decided to capture an image of the habitat through which we were passing. The first one looks north and the second one south. It gives a feel for where the Short-eared Owls were living and hunting. They simply need a place to roost/rest/nest, generally on the ground, and open spaces for hunting. These owls are much more active than other owls during daylight hours, but dusk and dawn are the ideal times to see them in the right locations.

Looking Northward in Short-eared Owl Habitat--Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Looking Southward in Short-eared Owl Habitat--Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

There were Western Meadowlarks, loads of Horned Larks, Northern Harriers, and a family of Loggerhead Shrikes breeding and thriving in this habitat. Some Pronghorns were successfully raising young ones in the area as well. My reading has taught me that Pronghorns are not true Antelope. In fact there are no antelopes native to North America.  However, locals refer to them as antelopes. We actually have a state park called Antelope Island in northern Utah. I guess Antelope has a better ring to it than Pronghorn Island State Park.

Pronghorn Family in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

We discovered a number of raptors in the area, especially where we came across some trees or farm equipment and structures. One Prairie Falcon flew by early in the morning, but it was the number of Swainson's Hawks that I enjoyed. I've always wanted to get close looks at light-morph juvenile Swainson's Hawks. We ran across a few of them. One in particular allowed me a close approach and put on a bit of a show as it stretched its tail and left wing. Among Swainson's Hawks, only the young light morphs show the white head. As adults they all have dark heads. This one will eventually develop a dark head and a dark bib over the chest area.

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Light Juvenile Swainson's Hawk in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

After spending a little time watching the Swainson's Hawk we decided to try to focus on the Short-eared Owls again. As we were driving along the road I noticed some wings fluttering above the grass line of a field off to our left. We were curious to know what it was so we got out of the truck and walked toward the area. We expected a bird to take flight as we approached, but it was as if the bird we had briefly glimpsed suddenly disappeared. All we saw was an open field.

Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

We moved forward a little more and before we knew it we were looking down at a Northern Harrier Nest. It was completely unexpected and the first time either of us had happened upon a harrier nest site. There were at least four young birds present. All were sort of tucked inside grass and facing a central spot where the grass was pressed flat from roosting and feeding. 

Fledgling Northern Harrier in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

A Long-billed Curlew began calling from behind us. It flew directly over our heads as it continued to call.

Long-billed Curlew over Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

Looking back toward the nest I noticed the remains of what appeared to be a Kangaroo Rat. The blood was fresh so it was a recent kill and mill for the fledglings. Mom and dad were nowhere to be seen when we stumbled upon the nest site.

Remains of Kangaroo Rat at Northern Harrier Nest Site in Cedar Valley, Utah County, UT

We left the nest site after a few images and continued our search for owls and raptors. We were fortunate to locate a total of four owl species for the day. We saw Short-eared, Great Horned, Barn, and a few Long-eared Owls.

We moved to a different location with a few trees and observed some type of moth caterpillar that was suspended in the air by a single thread that hung from a tree. I think you can call this an inchworm, but it was about three inches long. It will likely turn into a large moth. The sun was bright and washing out the subtle colors of the worm with the first few images I tried. I turned down the exposure compensation and it seemed to do the trick. A few of the images turned out okay with that change.

You can barely see the silky thread in the image below. What a colorful little worm/caterpillar with what appears to be some sophisticated anatomical parts. My understanding is, however, that these worms can destroy the foliage of trees in a hurry if not kept in check.

Another highlight from this past weekend was a family of Long-eared Owls. The young ones were curious about us. The adults were a little more guarded.

Juvenile Long-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

Sibling Long-eared Owls Roosting in Utah County, UT

Juvenile Long-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

Secretive Adult Long-eared Owl in Utah County, UT

Two Saturdays Ago...

Eric and I were exploring around the Soldier Pass Road area of the desert west of Utah Lake. One of our target birds was the Gray Vireo. They are very rare for northern Utah, but they are common in this small area of Utah County. It didn't take us long to hear and see several individuals singing from juniper trees.

Gray Vireo in Utah County, UT

Gray Vireo in Utah County, UT

Gray flycatchers were breeding in the area. We came across a male and female in one location after we parked and walked along a hillside.

Gray Flycatcher in Utah County, UT

Gray Flycatcher in Utah County, UT

We encountered a number of bird species expected for the desert that day. We knew that Common Nighthawks were breeding in the area. We saw many of them flying around us. Nighthawks nest on the ground so when we saw an adult bird acting like it couldn't fly and hopping along the ground ahead of us we knew we were near its nest site or young. We didn't see signs of either and simply continued our short wandering through the desert, careful not to step on or disturb anything.

Lizards are common in our desert, but I had never really paid them much attention while birding. I changed that when we came upon some adult Western (Great Basin) Whiptails. I enjoyed a short photo session with a couple of them as they moved between juniper trees. These lizards were about 10-12 inches long from nose to tip of tail.

Western (Great Basin) Whiptail in Utah County, UT

Western (Great Basin) Whiptail in Utah County, UT

Western (Great Basin) Whiptail in Utah County, UT

Western (Great Basin) Whiptail in Utah County, UT

The Utah County desert awaits you. Go and explore it. And be aware that what is amazing about nature can also hurt you. We do have rattlesnakes and some cacti and other plants will poke you so give proper respect and you'll have a great time.

Eric and Jeff After Exploring Utah County's West Desert

Cooper's Hawk Family Update

I shared a post on April 24th that announced a new generation of Cooper's Hawks. Click here to see that post.

I have some good news regarding one of the nest sites that I've followed since that time. I got my first look at chicks when I checked on the nest Thursday after work. I was shocked to suddenly see three fluffy white chicks standing nearly six inches beyond the top of the nest. I later realized there were actually four chicks. I had checked several times recently because I knew the timing for the eggs being laid and when they'd hatch. I knew chicks were growing inside the nest when the mother hawk stopped sitting in the nest and starting standing at the edge of the nest. The image below shows two of the four chicks.  You can see that the one on the right probably hatched before the one on the left since it has some juvenile feathers coming in on the chest, shoulders and wings.

The female hawk went from standing at the nest to sitting on the nest on April 23rd. I figured that was probably when she started incubating eggs. I calculated that chicks would start hatching around Memorial Day weekend since the incubation period is 30-36 days for Cooper's Hawk eggs. Chicks are usually in the nest for about 30-35 days after hatching so I estimated that the young birds might start to fledge around the end of June. It seems we are right on schedule.

I didn't visit the nest much during the incubation period, but I did check as I thought hatching may be taking place. I was hoping to see dad bring food to mom and babies, but I never saw that during my brief visits. I guess I didn't show up during feeding times. The next image is typical of what I saw as the chicks were newly hatched inside the nest. Mom would stand at a close guard.

At some point along the way the mother hawk gave up her space in the nest for the growing chicks. I was hopeful I'd see chicks peeking over the edge of the nest during several visits, but the mother continued to be the only visible hawk. I saw dad one day, but he didn't stick around long enough for a photo. Mom, on the other hand provided lots of convenient poses for my lens.

Thursday provided a new and exciting series of events. I stopped by the site after work. I parked my truck and began walking to the stand of trees that housed the nest. I got my first glance of the chicks and could not believe how tall they were standing in the nest. It was as if the nest went from empty to three large chicks overnight. Where were those big chicks hiding all this time?

I looked to my left and mom was in her usual spot, keeping watch over the nest from about 30 yards away. What a beautiful hawk! I couldn't help but wonder,however, "Where on earth was dad? When was he going to appear in his role of provider for these four hungry birds, mom and three hungry chicks?

After admiring mom for a while I turned my attention back to the chicks in the nest. That was until I heard mom start making a few quiet noises. I looked back at her and noticed she was looking to her left. She gave a couple of louder "kak" calls and then flew to where she was looking. That's when I noticed she flew to the male that was waiting in a spruce tree. The two sort of collided with each other a couple feet away from the spruce. Mom flew back toward me and dad moved farther away. I wanted to get an image of dad so I walked his way. I couldn't find him so I turned back toward mom. That's when I realized that dad had actually delivered some prey when the two birds collided near the spruce. Mom was now perched on a branch and plucking downy feathers from what turned out to be a baby bird (Cooper's Hawks primarily eat other birds). She was preparing the prey for delivery to one of her own chicks.

You can see a couple of the plucked downy feathers dropping down to the left of the image below. She would pluck and throw the feathers to one side or other with her beak.

I switched my camera to video mode and captured two short videos while hand-holding the lens fully zoomed to 400mm. It is really hard to hold the lens still and not have the image shake when capturing video. That's what tripods are for, but I didn't have one at the time. The videos actually turned out fairly well.

Here's some short video clips of mom plucking downy feathers from a chick of another bird species before she delivered the flesh to her own chick in the nest.

This short clip is right before mom flies with the prey to the nest.

One chick enjoyed the prey while mom and the other chicks sat contently on my side of the nest. I am fascinated by how mom and dad play their respective roles so well in caring for and raising their young ones. Mom and dad won't eat until after the chicks have eaten and dad will likely deliver a meal to mom before eating his own. Mom is not hunting right now because she is feeding the young and watching over the nest site. Dad will be a busy hawk until the young ones fledge and learn to catch their own prey.

A Short Visit to the W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary

It's been a busy two weeks since I last posted. During that time I spent a long weekend visiting my mom and other family members in the area of Battle Creek, Michigan. I spent a couple of hours one morning exploring the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary near Hickory Corners. The sanctuary is owned by Michigan State University and open year round. I wish I could have spent a little more time at the Sanctuary, but it didn't open until 9 and I had to leave by 10. I wandered the area outside the sanctuary for about an hour before it opened and found a few colorful birds.

Common Yellowthroat at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Common Yellowthroat at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Common Yellowthroat at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Blue Jay at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Blue Jay at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

The light was harsh so it washed out the color of this Northern Cardinal, but I had to include at least one image of a Cardinal in this post. It's the state bird for my home state of Kentucky and I never see them in Utah.

Northern Cardinal at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

What sounded like a group of unskilled, beginning brass players from outside the Sanctuary turned out to be Trumpeter Swans, Michigan's largest native waterfowl species. They have wingspans up to 80"--about the same wingspan as Bald and Golden Eagles.

Trumpeter Swan at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Trumpeter Swan at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

I ran across a Red Fox, White-tailed Deer, Wood Ducks, Kingfishers, Flycatchers, Woodpeckers, Catbirds, Indigo Buntings, and a number of other expected bird species. This little Mallard family was quite content as I passed by them while walking a short trail.

Mallard Family at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

I started to take the 3/4-mile Lake Loop trail around Wintergreen Lake and ran out of time so I had to turn around just after getting on my belly to capture an image of some mushrooms on the trail.

Spring Mushrooms at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

I stopped for a few moments outside the entrance to the Sanctuary to observe a few squirrels and chipmunks feeding around some bird feeders. I think mammals are fascinating and need to include more in my future blog posts.

Eastern Chipmunk at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Black squirrels, which are abundant in the Battle Creek area, are actually a melanistic (black pigmented) subgroup of the Eastern Gray Squirrel. I had to remove a tick from my leg after spending some time in Utah mountains a couple of weeks ago so I couldn't help but notice the squirrel below had a tick latched onto the inside of its ear.

Black (Melanistic) Eastern Gray Squirrel at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Here's a super-cropped image of the same squirrel showing the tick in its ear. It's pretty common for ticks to latch onto flesh of mammals that live in the woods.

Black (Melanistic) Eastern Gray Squirrel with Tick in Ear at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Near Hickory Corners, MI

While we don't see black squirrels in Utah, we certainly have our share of American Red Squirrels. It was a familiar sight when the Red Squirrel below scampered up a tree and perched just above me. These are the smallest tree squirrels in North America.

Red Squirrel at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

Red Squirrel at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Hickory Corners, MI

I missed a lot of good birding opportunities during my short visit to Battle Creek, but I enjoyed the short time I had at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary.