Tim Avery Birding Blog

Chicago's Lincoln Park

2008-04-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

When I planned this months trip to Chicago for work I had hoped to get out late enough in April for some early warblers (Palm, Pine, etc), as well as Vireos, and especially spring sparrows (LeConte's and Henslow's). But, I had to make the trip out a week earlier then planned, and only stayed 4 nights, as opposed to the 7 last month. I decided not to bring my binocs, and figured that at best I might stroll over to the actual Lincoln Park on the lakefront a couple mornings. Unfortunately, it was windy as hell every morning keeping me from doing so. It was kind of a downer reading the posts on IBET about what was being seen at Montrose and elsewhere nearby, but in the end the only one to blame is myself... ugh.

Last month, like this month, I just kept my ears open and eyes to the sky in hopes of picking up some year birds, and some of the midwestern species we don't see in Utah. On Monday, I heard several Cardinals singing in the vicinity of my office, and had flyover TV as well as crows, and all the other regular city going species. Today, however seemed to bring a new wave of birds. In the morning a flock of Robins were working the corner near work, and the Cardinals were out in force, as I heard 4 or 5 before the end of the day. While working with the window open I heard a song that I recognized and after listening to it 3 or 4 times I realized it was a Tufted Titmouse, a species I hadn't seen in well over a year. At lunch out on the street a Brown Creeper came flying into the tree just outside the door and started wheezing heavily from the tree tops. And finally, during an afternoon stroll to the store, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flew off the trunk of a tree as I passed.

Sadly I will miss the brunt of warbler and songbird migration, but when I am back at the end of May I will probably be able to take a weekend and go after a couple lifers I am still missing from the area (I guess we'll see what happens). Oh well, not a bad week, for not having left the city to look for birds!

Back to Birding

2008-04-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

It seems like I dropped off the face of the birding planet in February... I haven't posted here in months, and didn't go birding in March til the 30th... Then it hit, like wildfire! Spring birding at my front door, well almost. I managed to get out to some Salt Lake County locales at the end of March and got my fair share of spring migrants. The first Snowy Egret of the year, my first non-wintering shorebirds. Savannah Sparrows, Bonaparte's Gulls, and tons of waterfowl. Then I headed to St. George and the Washington County area with Colby Neuman, Jeff Bilsky and Carl Ingwell and jsut like that the fire is lit and I am once again back into it.

It's hard to believe the year is a 1/4 of the way over already. It seems like just yesterday I was finishing up my big year, and now here I am flying through 2008. An interesting comparison. On April 7, 2007 I had tallied 190 species of bird in Utah for the year. However, in 2008 I have seen 194 species thus far... WTF? How did that happen? I haven't been chasing, I haven't gone on any specialty trips for rare local birds... Its truly odd!

In any event this past weekends trip to the "dirty south" was a productive one at that. I added Band-tailed Pigeon to my Lyte Ranch List, and got some great photos. We had several very early returning migrants, or at least seemingly early, and definitely the first reports of the year. Scott's Oriole seemed to be the stunner for me, almost a month earlier than I would expect them. We had poorwill, black-hawk, Ash-throated Flycatcher, as well 5 species of warbler, including this beautiful male Painted Redstart form Zion Canyon...

Painted Redstart, Zion National Park, Utah. April 6, 2008

We ended up tallying around 125 species for the weekend, including 95 on Saturday, not a bad day seeing as we just pitter pattered around most of the day.

In any event, now I'm back in Salt Lake and looking forward to doing some shorebirding this weekend and seeing what I might be able to turn up! Bring it on full throttle!

What a difference a year makes.

2008-01-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

During 2007 people often asked if I was "burnt-out" yet. Had the year of chasing birds, going on ridiculous 800 mile roundtrips for single species of birds, missing some of those birds, and just the constant time in the field taken its toll yet. I had talked to people who had started such quests and given up part way through because it just became too much. But, all I thought about as the year went on was how quickly time was going and how soon it would all be over. All I wanted was to see another species of bird and keep my number growing as each day passed. I think this kept me sane during the 217 days I spent birding for at least an hour in 2007. But what a difference a year can make. Here I sit on a Sunday morning, looking at the neighbors feeders, relaxing in the warmth of a house, no need to go chase a bird, and in all honesty I don;t have that itch to get out and go look for birds right now. It took a year but that burnt-out feeling caught up.

Granted I have been out birding this year, I haven't gone to southern Utah. I haven't birded outside of Salt Lake County in fact. I don't despise birding, and I do enjoy being in the field. But at this point it's hard to look forward and think where do I have to go from here? How will birding Utah continue to be exciting after 2007? I guess we will just have to see what 2008 brings and what hooks me back in to obsession. My guess is it won't take much, and as this winter funk leaves and the warmth of the spring arrives I will be right back where I was a year ago, the crazy guy chasing rare birds because he wants to, not for some record (okay I did want to chase those birds last year, it was a lot of fun!).

Salt Lake County January Big Day - 77 Species

2008-01-13T20:56:00.001-08:00

This morning (Sunday 01/13), Steve and Cindy Sommerfeld and I set out to do a sort of Salt Lake County Big Day. Minus of course the owling, and a drive up to Alta for Rosy-Finches. We started in Murray and visited Old Farm, where no Wood Ducks were found. We headed to Decker Lake which was abuzz with activity, the highlight being an adult MEW GULL on the south half of the lake. The bird wasn’t really associating with any of the other gulls. Several GREATER YELLOWLEGS were also present as well as 2 HERRING GULL.

Mew Gull at Lee Kay Ponds, 01/13/08

We made the quick jaunt over to the Jordan River at about 2400 South where we were skunked by Barrow’s Goldeneye. Fortunately, we made a 2^nd stop at 2100 South where both a male and female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE as well as the only BUFFLEHEADS of the day were found. At Lee Kay Ponds were very few gulls that luckily had a single adult THAYER’S GULL mixed in. Along the frontage road to Saltair from 7200 West we struck out on Horned Larks, but were treated to a PEREGRINE FALCON perched on a pole out in the mud. Saltair was it’s usual dead self.

Peregrine Falcon near Saltair, 01/13/08

We traveled down 8400 West which was socked in with fog for most of the drive along the west bench. In one of the only patches of clear we had a PRAIRIE FALCON fly right up the road and over the car… and still no Horned Lark. In Herriman Steve spotted a TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE in some pines on a private drive. The EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES are taking over the area, where at least 15 were seen.

We moved up Rose Canyon and called in 6 JUNIPER TITMOUSE, which brought with several MOUNTAIN and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE as well as a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

Juniper Titmouse in Rose Canyon, 01/13/08

After leaving Rose Canyon we headed east on 12600 South, where we finally had a few HORNED LARKS fly past the car. We scanned through what was about 100 birds before continuing on. It couldn’t have even been 5 minutes when Steve pulled over and said he thought he saw something. The something was a cloud of HORNED LARKS swirling over a field to the north of 12600 South at about 5000 West (from the light at 4570 West travel west about ½ a mile till you reach the fields on the north and the housing development to the south). We turned around and pulled off to start trying to look through the birds. At first glance it looked like a couple thousand birds. But as we got out and started watching, it was apparent that this flock was much much larger. Wetried to scan as much as we could with the moving swarm, luckily on several occasions, LAPLAND LONGSPUR could be heard rattling against the chatter of the Larks. I saw 2 or 3 single longspurs in flight, and Steve saw several others. At one point a small group of 12-15 longspurs passed on the tail end of a flock. We roughly estimated that the flock numbered around 7,500 birds, by far the largest flock of larks any of us had seen. I called Colby Neuman who headed out to try for Longspur, and later said that 7,500 was probably conservative, and 10,000 seemed likely.

As we drove along 12600 South at about 1800 West I spotted a flock of incoming birds, as they passed over the roof I looked through the sun roof and saw the rufous undertail and yellow tips of around 100 BOHEMIAN WAXWING. We again turned around and drove in the direction the birds flew. It only took a few minutes to track down the flock which also sported a few CEDAR WAXWING. The birds were hanging out at about 2025 West and 12405 South feeding on berries on the ground and in the trees.

Cedar (left) and Bohemian (right) Waxwings in South Jordan, 01/13/08

We made a quick stop at the Jordan River where we picked up 2 AMERICAN PIPIT, MARSH WREN and around 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. The highlight here were 2 CINNAMON TEAL on the north side of 12600 South, and a flock of 500~ CANADA GEESE coming in to land to the south of the road. We left the river and headed back north, deciding to head to Fairmont Park and Forest Dale Golf Course, which lacked our birds of need. From here it was up to the Cemetery to try for a few montane species. We were able to find about 40 RED CROSSBILL, 15 PINE SISKIN, 2 CASSIN’S FINCH, a few BROWN CREEPER and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and a calling Quail, the only of the day.

Red Crossbills in Salt Lake City, 01/13/08

We scoured the avenues in search of Steller’s Jay, but instead found a MERLIN near the Foothills “protected area”. After working west through the hills tyring to find Rosy-Finches up on the slopes, we went to City Creek Canyon where we were greeted by a STELLER’S JAY and a flyover GREAT BLUE HERON. At the entrance station were 3 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, 6 BROWN CREEPER, a WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, DOWNY WOODPECKER and surprise SONG SPARROW.

Finally we went back south to Old Farm again, and again, no Wood Duck. I thought I heard a Ruby-crowned Kinglet as we left, but the bird didn’t respond to pishing, this being probably one of our bigger misses during the day. Our last birds were 8 MOURNING DOVE in the Sommerfeld’s yard just before it got dark. We missed the kinglet, Pied-billed Grebe, Redhead, and a number of other species that are currently around. Not a bad day with 77 species tallied in the county in 9 hours.

2008 Off to a Good Start

2008-01-06T12:29:00.001-08:00

Six (6) days into 2008 and it has thus far been a good week. Although I'm not out to see 350 species in Utah this year, I am working on my Salt Lake County list and have been working on picking up some of the winter specialty birds. I didn't go biridng at all on the 1st or 2nd, and my first bird of the year on the 3rd was a California Gull, followed by the other typical finds at Lee Kay Ponds. However, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Glaucous-winged and Thayer's Gulls all were present and were the highlights.

On the 4th I was able to pick up Bohemian Waxwing near the mouth of Parleys Canyon, at Foothill Drive and Parley's Way, where a flock of 70 were foraging in some ornamental juniper.

On the 5th I headed back out to Lee Kay and added Mew Gull for the year, before heading out to the Kennecott ISSR to conduct a survey where I picked up a Northern Shrike.

Northern Shrike at the ISSR, January 5, 2008

Before January is over I need to find a Merlin as well as Rosy-finches, plus spend some time looking for other winter specialties. Not a bad start at all to 2008!

2007.. A Year for the books!

2008-01-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Wow. I think that pretty much sums up 2007 in one very compact word. It’s hard to believe that 365 days could pass by so quickly and just like that the year is over. When I started my big year on January 1^st, 2007 I never imagined it turning into what it turned into. Looking back at the past 7 years there were on average around 350 species of birds recorded annually in Utah. When I set out on my quest I had hoped to see 325 species in Utah during the year, and beef up my Utah life list a little. And I did that, the only problem was that it was the first week in September when I saw #325, a Neotropic Cormorant at Quichipa Lake in Iron County. From there I can only say that it was an incredible fall and winter, and one that I imagine may go unrivaled ever.

Pine Valley Mountains and the Red Cliffs, December 2007

In 2007 birders across Utah reported 382 species of birds in the state. 380 of those could be classified as wild, naturally occurring, or introduced and self sustaining by most birding standards. California Condor and Spotted Dove were reported in Utah in 2007, I saw the first species, but am not counting as part of my big year. I am not sure, but I believe this may be the most species of bird ever reported in the state in a single year. Blame it on Global Warming, blame it on strange weather, blame it on whatever, 2007 produced more great birds in Utah than any time in recent history.

Long-tailed Jaeger compilation, Quail Creek Reservoir, October 2007

Back at the end of 2006 when I was still living in Indiana, I thought my chance at a Utah Big Year would have to wait until 2008, when I could make it back for a full 12 months. But on December 28, 2006 I found an opening at a small web marketing company in Orem that was in need of a designer. I called on the 29th and managed to get an interview that afternoon. With birds on my brain, I managed to seal the deal by 4:00 pm that day, and thus the planning began. Going back to Indy, wrapping up my job there, moving home, and making up for the 2 weeks I would miss in early January as I pursued Dennis Shirley and his imposing 332 species from 2004. I started the year out in Salt Lake County, the first bird being a Canada Goose at Lee Kay Ponds. On that first day I missed all the winter gulls I had hoped to find, especially the Western Gull. I chose to go to Antelope Island and try for Scoters and Long-tailed Duck instead of chase a Swamp Sparrow in Utah County. By the end of the day I started to think I may have started off completely wrong. No Long-tailed Ducks, the Swamp Sparrow was seen, and the gulls were a no show. It was starting to look like maybe 2007 was a bad year to try a big year… I left for Indiana the next day to pack up my apartment, and put in a couple more days of work. It was hard sitting in a cubicle 1500 miles away when the report of Scaled Quail came in. It was even harder driving the 1500 miles back thinking about what those 2 weeks I missed would mean in the end… Looking back now, they obviously didn't impact my year, and the worrying was for nothing. Everything just seemed to fall into place. Rarities stuck around long enough for the chase. When I chased I had a very high success rate. And talk about being in the right place at the right time. Philadelphia Vireo, Dickcissel, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Pine, Blackpoll, Prothonotary, and Palm Warbler all self found. Owls called on command. Hawks hung around Lytle on two occasions as needed. The causeway produced, and produced and produced. More jaegers this fall than the past 10 combined. Washington County was hot… And not just 112 degrees this July (during a survey on the Santa Clara River), but the birding was hot. It seemed like every trip down I pulled out a good bird, form what seemed like nowhere. I drove 340 miles a week after a Lawrence's Goldfinch had been seen, and it came to me after watching a feeder for 4 hours. I played an Elf Owl tape without luck, only to have a bird start calling ten minutes later within 100 feet of my camp. I missed Swamp Sparrow, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Least Flycatcher, and Golden-crowned Sparrow (among others) only to find or chase others successfully later in the year. Did I mention that the causeway produced, and produced and produced (I know I did, I just wanted to push that point again.). Garr Ranch was impeccable this fall, it rarely failed me. We discovered a new hot spot in the Salt Lake International Center. White-winged Crossbills were an easy chase near Mirror Lake, the winter brought an invasion of Waxwings, and every piece of the puzzle just fell into place. It almost seems surreal.

Red-breasted Sapscuker at Lytle Ranch, February 2007

Looking back I can say that the year really couldn’t have turned out any better that it did. Well, I could have seen 100% of the species reported in 2007, but that is just improbable. I only worked 4 months in an office full time. I was able to spend 3 months living in the field watching birds, and the other 5 months, were spent birding and just living out a dream. It isn’t something I will be able to do again any time soon, if ever, and it was the best decision I have ever made.

So here are the numbers!

355 - Number of Species seen and/or heard
330 - Number of Species photographed
217 - Number of days where I birded at least 1 hour
1843 - Total estimated number of hours spent birding
40,440 - Number of miles driven (My vehicle, work vehicle, others vehicles)
389 - Number of miles birding by foot
Wouldn’t you like to know? - Total Fiscal contribution to birding
0 - Regrets (well not quite, but you get the idea)

This all means that:

I saw an average of .97 species per day in 2007
I saw an average of 1.64 species per day birded in 2007
I saw an average of .19 species per hour birded in 2007
I saw an average of .0087 species per mile traveled in 2007 or 1 species every 113.9 miles

By Month I saw the following number of species in Utah:

122 – January (in 9 days of birding)
124 - February (in 9 days of birding)
151 - March (in 10 days of birding)
216 - April (in 15 days of birding)
231 - May (in 23 days of birding)
210 - June (in 24 days of birding)
201 - July (in 23 days of birding)
235 - August (in 20 days of birding)
232 - September (in 25 days of birding)
201 - October (in 26 days of birding)
157 - November (in 17 days of birding)
124 - December (in 16 days of birding)

Surprisingly I never had a real "big day", being I never recorded more than 100 species in a single day this year.

Some more numbers. Before 2007 I had seen 322 species in Utah. I was able to add an astonishing 44 species to my Utah list this year, including 11 life birds.

I was lucky enough to see a number of state firsts this year, including: Western Gull, Painted Bunting, Neotropic Cormorant, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Pine Warbler.

Western Gull at Farmington Bay WMA, March 2007

And I am sure there are 100's of other numbers I could come up with or go back and compute. But I won't I will simply sit back and enjoy a much needed break from chasing birds, and beating up my car. With any big year there are people who helped and I have a long list of those people who in some way contributed to my Big Year. And below is that list…

Stephen Peterson, Ryan O'Donnell, Jerry Ligouri, Paul Higgins, Betsy Beneke, Jim Lofthouse, Eric Huish, Lu Giddings, Bruce Robinson, David Wheeler, Mark Stackhouse, Glenn Barlow, Steve Coleman, Pomera Fronce, Bridget Olson, Diane Penttila, Carol Gwynn, Bryan Shirley, Matt Williams, Cliff and Lisa Weisse, Geoff Hardies, Jack Binch, Weston Smith, Stephen T. Carlile, Sylvia Gray, Deedee O'Brien, Milt Moody, Merrill Webb, Ed Leite, Matt Mills, Hillary White, Dave Hanscom, Alona Huffaker, Brian Maxfield,Josh Kreitzer, Ned Bixler, Bob Lawson, Buck Russell,Brian Currie, Glenda Cotter, Steve Carr, Stacie Schoppman, KC Childs, Kevin Wheeler, Donna Thorum, Keith Evans, Jim and Cindy Summerhill, Jeff Bilsky, Carl Ingwell, Paul Lombardi, Kent Morby, and I am sure there are numerous others that I have forgotten to put on this list. There were so many people who contributed information, help, time, encouragement, etc that it is hard to keep track. I also have to thank my family, and non-birding friends who often wondered what I was thinking running off on idiot missions to see a single bird, 330 miles away in the southwest corner of the state.

And I know some of you are thinking I forgot you, but I didn't. There were several people that without, I would not have been able to complete this year, and they get special thanks.

First, I have to thank Ann Neville for her encouragement, and tips on good birds, as well as her taking me onto Kennecott property on several occasions to look for birds.

Bill Fenimore always had a hot tip and without his connection to the backyard birders across northern Utah, I would have missed at least one great year bird in Blue Jay, so thank you Bill.

Larry Tripp and Rick Fridell. Without these two 352 wouldn’t even be a possibility. Whenever my cell phone rang and I saw that it was Rick, I knew he had a good bird and was trying to get me to come down and see it. Most of the time I did, and it was well worth the drive. These two are the connection in Washington County that relays what's happening down there to the rest of us. They are great birders and great people, that I owe a lot to this year, so thank you. And Rick, especially thank you, for always being up to just shoot-the-sh*t about birds, and share your vast knowledge, I've learned a lot from you.

Joel and Kathy Beyer are probably two of the most persistent birders in Utah, and I can't count how many birds they found that I later chased. The Beyer's always seemed to find a bird that I was in need of, at a time when I could actually go look for it. They were always encouraging and good for talking birds with wherever I ran into them, be it the causeway, Garr Ranch, Farmington Bay or even Lytle Ranch. Thank You two!

When chasing a record you are following in the footsteps of others, and I had some great footsteps to follow. Larene Wyss ticked off 327 species in 2001, a record that many thought would be unbreakable. Larene broke the record at a time when the internet hadn't quite picked up as a valuable source for sharing bird sightings. I birded with Larene on several occasions this year, and she shared her wisdom with me on each occasion. When I hit 327 I felt honored to be in the company of such a wonderful, and insightful birder.

I never thought that when I started this year 332 species would be possible. My initial goal was for 325 species, and it wasn't until I was in that arena that I decided 333 was a possibility. Only one person had previously recorded more than 327 species of birds, and that person was Dennis Shirley. Dennis is the kind of birder that everyone should strive to be. Not only is he a gifted field birder, but he is friendly, witty, and always willing to help others when it comes to finding birds. Sadly, I only ran into Dennis one time this year, and it was as I sat at 331 species as I walked around Garr Ranch in search of a Magnolia Warbler. Never in my life have I met someone that was as encouraging as Dennis was with me at his heels. He congratulated me for my year and wished me luck with the remaining months. Although I never found that Magnolia Warbler, it is one day this year I won’t forget. Thank you Dennis, for giving me something to go after, and your encouragement as I closed in.

Steve and Cindy Sommerfeld are by far the most enthusiastic birders I know, and over the past year we have become good friends through birding. The Sommerfeld's are one of three people I call when I hear about a rare bird, or find something good. They are almost always up for a chase, and several 1,000 miles traveled this year were with them. Not only are they great company, but they shed a bit of humor on every birding adventure. Steve will speak his mind, and Cindy will shake her head as if on cue. These two also fed me much needed information for birds. I chased numerous birds based off their phone calls. I especially enjoy Steve asking me if I am up yet when he calls at 1 in the afternoon about a good bird. Most of the time the answer was yes. Thank you two for everything this year.

David Slager. Most of you don’t know Dave, or never got to meet him. Dave was something else… to say the least. Colby Neuman joked that the three of us must be a sight when birding. I am just huge, standing at 6'4", and tipping the scales in the high 200's… Colby stands just over 6' and often hasn't shaved in weeks… Dave is about the same height as me, but probably only weighs 160… He is that tallest skinniest person I know. He is also a tremendous birder, knowledgeable environmentalist, and burrito lover extraordinair. Dave left Utah in August and wasn't able to help me finish out the year, but up till that point had been along on many an idiot mission. Dave was always good for an argument, always up for doing something stupid, and always pushing me to "take my big year seriously". Even after Dave left Utah I received emails telling me I had to go chase birds, or I wasn't doing enough, etc… I even received a phone call late one night in November as I drove through Washington County. He was calling with info about a bird sighting to try and help me out. Dave traveled several 1,000 miles with me this year, to San Juan County and Washington alike, and was always encouraging me to keep going. Thank you Dave, for all your help this year, you were a huge help.

Kris Purdy. Kris is by far the most observant birder I know. She is also one hell of a birder, comedian, teacher, writer, etc, etc, etc. Kris was my sounding board for much of 2007, often emailing back and forth late at night, discussing happenings with birds, field marks, and everything that is birds. Kris was also the first to call on too many occasions to count, with information about a new or hot bird for the year. Kris may have very well single handedly helped me see more rarities in 2007 thank anyone else. She was responsible for finding my first Utah Ruddy Turnstone, knocking off a nemesis bird, and also getting me to drive all the way from Leidy Peak to Bear River NWR all in one day for that bird. Kris, also relayed a number of sightings from me to the lists, as well as actually chased a report or two. For those of you that know Kris, she doesn't chase birds J . Kris, told me from the get go she would help me as often as she could, and every email and phone call was informative, helpful, and a joy. Kris helped me find number 333 this year in White's Valley. After 2 unsuccessful trips for Gray Partridge, Kris and I saw over 50 in one morning. Thank you Kris, for all your help this year, I wouldn’t have been able to see everything I did without your help.

And finally, as if most of you don't know, my biggest thanks has to go to someone I consider a very good friend. Most of you know Colby Neuman, but what most of you don’t know is Colby is the person who got me interested in birding back when I was 12 years old. At the time I knew a little about birds and was mostly interested in ducks, as my family was big into hunting. Colby sparked my interest in other birds when he produced a beaten up Peterson Field Guide from his backpack one day. Although we didn't do much birding together till college, I do have to thank him for that spark… BAG (a little inside joke). Throughout 2007 Colby was always encouraging me to keep going, to chase those rarities, to find new birds, and birding with me along the way. Colby was like a birding consultant, helping plan trips to southern Utah, to look for birds in eastern Utah, in the mountains, to go owling, etc. He also was my life line this summer, telling me about rare birds over the phone as I worked in some remote areas of southern Utah. He also posted sightings for me, and went on more idiot missions for birds than I can count. St. George, Nine Mile Flat, Leidy Peak, The West Desert, Fish Springs, etc, etc etc. I can't count how many miles we drove looking for birds, but it had to be close to 10,000. Colby was there to laugh at me when I got pulled over for speeding in Rich County in the middle of the night after walking all over Beaver Mountain trying to get a Boreal Owl for the year. He also found it funny when I got my second flat tire in 24 hours near Lucin. Colby helped me keep my head on straight this year, and make my way to where I'm at now. I have learned more about birds from him, than I have from any other person, and owe him a lot for this year. I imagine along the way he has to have seen around 300 birds this year, not a bad little take on his part. So thank you for your help and encouragement this year… 84112

And that’s it. 2007 is over, and my big year is done. Looking back its hard to believe that 365 days have passed so quickly, and at the same time I am relieved to be done. Now I can take some time and work on my photography, and work slowly towards my next goal, of seeing 400 species in Utah. I only have 34 to go, but it will likely be 34 years before I see that many new species in Utah. Thanks again to everyone who helped an encouraged me this year, I appreciated every phone call, pat on the back and email I received. It has been a journey!

Me on Leidy Peak, August 2007

Slaty-backed Gull?

2007-12-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

Yep, that is a question mark. Today, Lee Kay Ponds showed why it is the new Utah gulling hot spot with at least 9 species of gull present, including an adult Western Gull (probably the same bird from last year), at least 3, and maybe 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Mew Gulls, 1 Glaucous-winged Gull, 1 Glaucous Gull, 4 Thayer's Gulls, 115 Herring Gulls, 750 Ring-billed Gulls, and ~2500 California Gulls.

However, the most interesting bird was a 3rd winter gull that I think is a Slaty-backed Gull. However, since I have never seen one, and haven't spent a great deal of time studying this species, I am unsure of a few field marks which were off. In any event I will try to get back out there the next couple days to look around some more.

possible Slaty-backed Gull at Lee Kay Ponds. December 29, 2007

If it isn't a Slaty-backed, then it is a Western Gull, so a good bird, none-the-less!

353... 354.. and 355!?!?!

2007-12-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so when I left Salt Lake on Thursday morning for my final trip to Washington County for 2007, I had one goal in mind, and that was finally pinning down a Vermilion Flycatcher, by far the biggest miss on Utah resident species to date. Thanks to Marilyn and Keith Davis for providing the location of a bird found on the 26th during the St. George CBC, I was able to track a female bird down within 20 minutes of arriving in St. George.

Female Vermilion Flycatcher in Bloomington, Utah. December 27, 2007

It would have been great to get a male and end the year on such a beautiful bird, but at this point its kind of hard to complain about any new bird. So I drove 300 miles and saw the bird, now what? I birded Tonaquint Park where the appeared to be a GadwallxMallard Hybrid or the most screwed up Gadwall I have ever seen. I swung by Southgate Golf Course, and then headed out of town to try and bird Lytle before it got dark. I arrived just after 4:00pm giving me about an hour of sun light, and I used it to walk up through the orchard and around the housing and picnic areas. Unfortunately, the wind was howling down the wash and bird life was fairly dead. By the time I got to one of my usual camp sites, I decided it was too cold to camp out, so I headed to Mesquite, NV to spend the night.

Friday morning started early and cold. I headed across the Beaver Dam Slope in the early morning gloom. There were some clouds, but the sun hadn't yet peaked above the Beaver Dams onto the slope. The wash to the south in Arizona was lit up and made for some great pictures. It was an odd feeling (yesterday too) driving across the desert through the Joshua Trees, and seeing snow on the ground. I mean this is par tof the Mojave desert... snow! In any event I arrived at the ranch with most of the area still in shadows, sun barely hitting the tree tops. I birded all the way to the north end of the ranch, before hitting Beaver Dam Creek and following it back down stream to the actual Beaver Dam near the parking area. Highlights included a very cooperative Black-tailed Gnatcatcher as well as 2 "Myrtle's" Yellow-rumped Warbler, numerous Phainopepla, and Crissal Thrashers.

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher at Lytle Ranch. December 28, 2007

I started birding the camping area when I got glimpse of what appeared to be a Sapsucker in a very juvenile plumage. Being late December this was intriguing as most Red-naped have lost this plumage by this time. The bird flew before I could get great looks so I followed it around. It ended up in the pine trees at the kiosk in the parking area. When I finally caught up I got my binoculars on not a Yellow-bellied or Red-naped, but instead a Red-breasted Sapsucker. It flew out of the pine and dropped into a fruit tree below, and was immediately followed by the juvenile Sapsucker, and an adult female Red-naped Sapsucker. For about 5 seconds all three birds were together in one tree, not something you see everyday in Utah.

I approached the birds, and they flew up into the cottonwoods above. I was able to get my binoculars ont eh juvenile bird confirming my suspicion that it was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The bird had basically no red on the top of the head yet, and none on the throat, leading me to believe it was a female bird. It showed nice tracking on the back and have olive and brown stains over most of the white feathering on the body.

1st winter Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Lytle Ranch. December 28, 2007

Just about this time, Larry Tripp walked in the front gate and had seen the Red-breasted before it jettisoned. I pointed out the Yellow-bellied, but it decided to fly just as he got his eyes on it. We spent about an hour trying to track down the bird, but did not see it or the Red-breasted again. It is amazing how some birds just fade away into the ranch and wash despite their obvious nature.

I headed back towards St. George and made my way to the Hurricane SR-9 ponds to check out the waterfowl, before stopping at Sand Hollow State Park to scan the lake. 3 Tundra Swan were feeding along the south side of the reservoir. I worked my way through the dunes on the loop, into Hurricane Fields. I spent some time trying to look for the Lark Bunting that Rick Fridell had found about a month ago, that I am assuming is wintering in the area. I didn't find it, but there were two "Prairie" race Merlin harassing American Pipits out over the fields. I also saw Ferruginous, Rough-legged, and Red-tailed Hawks as well as Northern Harrier and American Kestrel in the area.

As I was leaving on the main east-west route (3000 South I believe), I came into a large flock, of around 1,500 Red-winged Blackbird, with smaller numbers of Starlings, Cowbirds, and Brewer's Blackbirds. I spent some time looking through these birds, when I noticed a large group of 90 or so Brewer's Blackbirds sitting on some fencing around a corral a littler further east. I drove up and parked on the other side of the road and almost immediately was drawn to a female bird that looked to be a Rusty Blackbird. I was thinking there is no way that I am seeing this, but there it was a beautiful, rust stained female bird.

Female Rusty Blackbird in the Hurricane Fields. December 28, 2007

After I got my fix, I rove through Hurricane to Stratton Pond to finish up my birding for the trip. I opted to come home a day early as it looked like the weather would be a little nicer than on Saturday. Now, with 61 hours left in 2007, I will try my luck at one more year bird on Sunday... Who knows, with my luck I might turn up 2 more year birds! What a year.

The Final Week

2007-12-24T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here it is, Christmas Eve, December 24th... The final week of 2007. It's almost hard to believe that it has been 358 days, and that the year will be over, and my big year will be coming to an end. It seems almost too soon, and yet at the same time, couldn't get here any quicker. I've often heard that after doing big years, many birders are simply worn out, burned out, or just plain sick of birding. I for one promised myself that wouldn't be the case.. Ha ha. Yet when December rolled around I can honestly say I was burned out. I spent the first week of the month in New York City, and enjoyed several days of birding, of course I was seeing lifers and nemesis birds, so it was a different story. When I got back to Utah I should have hopped in my car and went out to find that next rarity. Instead, I sat on the couch and worked on my website... I spent time with many of the friends I've neglected over the past 11 months... And in all honesty, just took a break. A mush needed rest.

I don't have the numbers right in front of me, and I also want to hold off till I do a recap of the year next week, but needless to say I have spent more than 150 days birding this year, and drove well over 30,000 miles. It will be fun to see what the true totals end up being. Anywho, back to December. It should have been a December to remember, with a large invasion of Bohemian Waxwing, a CBC where I was fortunate to find an Anna's Hummingbird, and a smattering of winter gulls showing up. But, it really did finally catch up to me. When I got word of the Chestnut-collared Longspur last week, instead of running home to get my equipment and hurrying up, I caught a ride with the Sommerfeld's. I was a sight for sore eyes, standing in the cold, freezing in a hoody and tennis shoes. No camera... No binoculars... And a general lack in spirit. I must say it isn't the me that I am.

So with a week left, I am making a pact... to myself. I will end the year with a BANG! I plan on birding for at least 1 hour every day till the year is over. More so, I will find or see at least 1 more year bird, so I can end with at least 353 species for my Utah big year. And finally, I will go back and thank EVERYONE, every single person who in some way encouraged me, pushed me, cheered me on, cheered me up, found me birds, found me something to drink, called me with info, called me just to say hi, drove me, drove with me, slept while I drove, talked turkey with, talked gulls with, camped out with, dragged along, made me smile, helped me financially, went owling, went to the dump, walked in the snow, hiked in the heat, or in some way impacted my 2007.

It has been quite a year, and will hopefully go out with a bang. I have seen a lot this year, I have learned more, and have been grateful for all the help along the way. It will be something to remember, and not something I do again, any time soon. So here is to the final week of 2007, one hell of a year!

#352 with 10 days to go

2007-12-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

As I spent the afternoon trying to finish up with my Christmas shopping for 2007, I didn't expect to do any birding until the weekend... But when my phone rang and Bryan Shirley explained that he had a Chestnut-collared Longspur at Farmington Bay WMA, I knew that I needed to get up there as fast as I could to not only tick the bird off my year list, but add it to my Utah life list. I called Colby Neuman to see if he was up for it but got no answer, so I called the Sommerfeld's who just so happened to be home and wanted to go. I just so happened to be a few blocks away and asked if I could tag along. Of course I had no camera equipment or optics, so I was going into it blind.

In any event we made it up but found out as we were arriving that Bryan had lost track of the bird as it finally flew off due to the traffic on the rather busy dirt road at the bay. He said it had come back each time it left earlier so we had high hopes. We were soon joined by Paul Higgins, and later both Larene Wyss and Pat Jividen. For about an hour and a half, Paul, the Sommerfeld's and I worked our way around Egg Island, up and down the main dike at the bay and checked out every Song, White-crowned and American Tree Sparrow, as well as a number of Pipits and a lone Horned Lark looking for the bird... unsuccessfully...

Finally, we decided to head towards Glovers Lane as the bird was last seen flying out around the northwest side of Egg Island. We drove out to the ponds, and then up to the turn around at the north end near the giant "ball". We flipped around and headed back south towards the 90 degree turn onto Glovers Lane. As we got to the corner a small bird took off, with the white tail edging flashing. I yelled to stop the car and managed to wiggle out and see the bird land behind the car behind us which had Larene Wyss in it. I managed to get up to Larene and get her on the the bird as Steve tried to get Cindy on the bird, while Paul got his looks in. At this point we took to watching the bird while Paul started shooting away. The bird was amazingly cooperative and didn't seem to mind the group of people that were watching it. Paul being the generous guy he is, allowed me to shoot several shots through his camera, so I could have one for my big year. A big thanks to Paul for that, and thanks to Steve and Cindy for the ride, and of course thanks to Bryan for a great find and my 352nd species for 2007 in Utah!

Chestnut-collared Longspur at Farmington Bay WMA, 12-21-07

600 Waxwings in Bountiful

2007-12-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

I was doing a little scouting this morning for the North Salt Lake Bountiful quad of the Salt Lake CBC. There wasn't much out and about... except for WAXWINGS! Several blocks from where Jeff Bilsky reported them last week, I found a flock that I estimated had around 400 birds in it. However, being curious I decided to count the birds in a flight shot I took and came up wit at least 553 individuals in the flock, with a 10:1 ratio for Bohemian to Cedars, not a bad little flock.

Bohemian Waxwings in Bountiful, Utah December 14, 2007

This area was between Davis Boulevard and 400 East, from 2450 South to 2600 South. The birds were moving between several yards, and trees, and often worked in smaller flocks. Several blocks away I had another flock of about 50 Bohemian Waxwing feeding in a crab apple tree. And out of the Cont Circle on Mills Drive/Lane 13 Bohemian Waxwing were in an ornamental Juniper.

Other birds of note included 25 RED CROSSBILL at the Bountiful Cemetery, several STELLER'S JAYS around the bountiful bench, at least 20 WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, and a couple small coveys of CALIFORNIA QUAIL...

Red Crossbill at the Bountiful Cemetery, Bountiful, Utah, December 14, 2007

Purple Sandpipers in Brooklyn

2007-12-05T22:13:00.001-08:00

Just finsished setting up my new blog so I decided to try a quick post here. This morning I went over to the Lower New York Bay along the I guess east side of the Verrazano Narrows just to the south of the Verrazano Bridge to look for Purple Sandpiper again. Earlier in the week the wind was gusting to 40mph and the waves were smashing into the sea wall making it difficult to look for the birds. Today the wind was calm as were the seas. And as if that wasn't going to help the birds literally were waiting for me when I got there. As I walked up to the railing along the sea wall and started looking at a Great Black-backed Gull, I caught some movement in the rocks about 30 feet away and found myself looking at a Purple Sandpiper. I moved towards the bird and soon found 6 more in the rocks with it! What a great way to finally come across this species after being skunked time and time again on Lake Michigan.

Purple Sandpiper in Brooklyn, NY. 12/05/07

I spent about an hour photographing the birds, and in that time had another flock of 15-20 birds fly past me. What awesome birds! There were also numerous Brant and Ring-billed Gull. A lone 2nd winter GBBG mentioned above, American Black Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers and the usual city fare.