[bcbirdclub] Re: Spring Weather Birding in January
- From: Daniel Kendrick <kendridge@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Roger Mayhorn <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>, buchanan county bird club <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:16:16 -0500
Roger,Glad about your and Don's success yesterday. We've been getting
exceptionally chilly weather here in Utah. A week ago however, I saw a couple
of White-throated Swifts here (around 3000 ft) which is extremely unusual for
here at this time of year. I also found a Greater Yellowlegs here at our little
Reservior. It was around for at least 3 days.Yesterday I went to Gunlock
Reservior and found a couple of Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers and lots
of Ruddy Ducks. Our Christmas bird count (Dec. 26th) yielded 103 species. My
favs were Townsend Solitare, Orange-crowned Warbler, Ferruginous Hawk.On a
different count 3 days later in an area near Leeds, Utah (4,000-7,000 ft), we
had Red-naped Sapsucker, Gambel Quail, Black and Say's Phoebe, Juniper
Titmouse, Rock and Canyon Wrens, Mountain Bluebirds, American and Bald Eagle.I
love getting the eastern reports as I miss seeing even the most common of your
birds. Hope to make a trip or 2 back your way this year. Dan
From: rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx
To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Spring Weather Birding in January
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2013 05:59:09 -0500
Yesterday Don Carrier and I took advantage of the unusual
weather (71°) to do some birding around Buchanan County. Don started
the day off right by finding an overwintering Brown Thrasher here on Compton
Mt.
This is one of only a few Brown Thasher sightings we have ever
recorded for Compton Mt during the month of January. They have been
occasionally
found down in nearby valleys during the winter, but not usually at
this elevation, 2400 ft.
After birding Compton Mt where we found plenty of
activity, including Eastern Bluebirds, 8 Pine Siskins and 32 Northern
Cardinals, we headed for Enoch's Branch near Grundy. A Great Blue Heron on
Slate Creek was a nice surprise, and a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches at
Enoch's Branch park was even better. While at the park we counted 4
Red-shouldered Hawks and one Red-tail. In the same area a Common Raven
croaked its way across the sky.
From Enoch's Branch under gathering clouds we headed
for Poplar Gap Park. There we were treated to a female Northern Harrier
floating effortlessly on the wind as it hunted the open grassy areas. Even
though I have seen it numerous times it was amazing to see this raptor
just hang in the air a few feet off the ground as it searched for small rodents
in the grass.
While at the park we finally located one of our target
species for the day, Horned Larks. A pair landed only a few feet from us, and
we had close-up looks at the male with his yellow throat and his horns
(small black feathers that stick up from the top of his head).
We had a total of 35 species for the day and we were
able to enjoy spring weather in January. It doesn't get better
than that. Below is the day's complete species list.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Compton
Mt
Wild Turkey 1f
Mourning Dove 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1m
Downy Woodpecker 2 (1m, 2f)
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 2
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 5
Eastern Bluebird 3 (1m, 2f)
Brown Thrasher
1
European Starling 3
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Northern Cardinal 32
American Goldfinch 6
House Finch 5 (2m, 3f)
Pine Siskin 8 (6 Loggy Bottom) (2
Mayhorns')
Enoch's
Branch
Great Blue Heron 1 (Slate
Creek)
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Downy Woodpecker 2 (1m, 1f)
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 1
Common Raven 1
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 (1m,
1f)
Carolina Wren 3
Winter Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 7
European Starling 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Field Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 18
Northern Cardinal 15
American Goldfinch 1
Poplar Gap
Park
Northern Harrier
1f
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Mourning Dove 65
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 10
Eastern Bluebird 2
Song Sparrow 1
Horned Lark 3 (2m,
1f)
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