Since April, I have seen a flock of at least 20 turkey vultures soaring in the thermals above East Bay. We had a pair of quail stop by near the feeder with their brood of four youngsters. The male was perched on a pipe that is near where we store our bikes, watching over the female and the young as they pecked at the seed on the ground. It was as if the parents were showing off their family for us, as I am certain that the parents had visited us numerous times during the spring. We have at least one Scrub Jay that is a regular visitor, never failing to greet us with it's raucous squawk. I saw a Cassin's Finch singing away in a ponderosa pine at my parent's house. We also saw Snowy Egret's out at the lake.
It has been a good summer for birds, considering that the heat has kept us away from Utah Lake and we have not made many trips specifically to see birds. This month we have planned a trip down to Capital Reef and I have high hopes for a few new sightings there.
Merilee and I have discovered a new place we like to go when we are both up early enough to enjoy it. There is a small wildlife management area near where Hobble Creek enters Utah Lake, and it can be a very good spot to see wildlife. On one trip we saw huge carp moving up the creek, getting ready to spawn. We also saw a Belted Kingfisher and watched him hunting for a meal more his size.
As well as a Spotted Sandpiper perched on a log looking for a meal of its own.
In this same area we saw a group of male Brown-headed Cowbirds vying for the attentions of a female who appeared rather disinterested in all the attention.
It's a fun place to go and we are looking forward to visiting the area during the fall migration to see what we can spot. We always see something exciting.
One of my favorite sighting of the summer occurred while we were on a casual walk along the Provo River trail. With the trees and the water so close to the trail, we always seem to see Yellow Warblers, or at least the flash of yellow as they streak from tree to tree, as well as Song Sparrows and a few Mallards lounging in the calmer areas of the river. On this trip, we saw something new. As we were walking along a shady part of the trail, I heard what sounded like a cat mewing in the growth along the river. It kept getting louder as we walked, until we reached a spot where it seemed to be coming from right beside the path. I saw this bird perched on a branch about eye level, but could not see a cat anywhere. That is when I realized that the mewing was coming not from a feline lurking in the bushes, but from the bird perched nearby. I carefully watched it as it's beak opened and cat noises came out. We watched it for a few minutes until a bike scared it down into the undergrowth. I thought for certain we had seen the last of it, but soon it had flown onto another branch not four feet away and it sat and watched us, apparently as curious about us as we were about it. It was not long before another bike came along and it flew off again. At first I thought it was a mockingbird, but when I got home and looked at the photos, I realized it was something else; a Gray Catbird.
Further down the trail, I also got a photo of a Yellow Warbler that I rather like, almost as much for the spider webs in the branches as the warbler.
So there you have a little bit of what the summer has been like. With the approach of autumn and a couple of camping trips, I hope to see a few more to add to the list this year. The life list I started not too long ago is up to 125 species, and I have seen 84 so far this year. Spring migration seemed a little sparse by the lake, but we have high hopes for more birds soon. I also have every intention not to let this go for so long without writing again. Here's hoping I don't need a second-hand fire truck and asbestos suit any time soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment