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Riverdale Parkway in Weber County is a
fantastic old-growth riparian habitat that offers good access and a nice smooth
path. I birded there from 8:30 to 2:00 today and was overcome with the
fantastic number of birds I saw and heard there. In addition to
the earlier birdnet report of a Red-eyed Vireo, I saw lots of other great
birds. In the interest of brevity (Ha!) ohmygosh, I feel a list coming
on:
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Double-crested Cormorant
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Spotted Sandpiper
California Gull
Mourning Dove
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker feeding young at a nest
cavity
Western Wood-breer, oops, I mean
Wood-pewee
Warbling Vireo
American Magpie
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee feeding young in a nest
cavity
American Robin
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
In the interest of verbosity (back to the real me),
I'll share my favorite sighting of the day. While I was loitering on the
second footbridge working a Red-eyed Vireo charlie horse out of my neck, I
became aware that a female hummer was loitering in the area as well. She
landed on a tiny branch over my head and I saw that she was a
Black-chinned...and then, Egad! She was covered in spider webs. I
was concerned for her because I've heard that sometimes hummers die when they
get stuck in spider webs. I concluded she was nest-building.
She dropped off the perch and across the footbridge in front of me to the
railing on the opposite side. She proceeded to harvest spider webs
from under the railing and between the uprights. A couple times, she
opened her gape to an unbelievable width and her mandibles formed a sharp
"V".
To reach Riverdale Parkway, take I-15 to exit 342,
Riverdale. Drive east 1.3 miles and turn left (north) at 700W. Drive
.4 miles and turn right (east) on 4300S, and left (north) on 600W. You'll
see several places to access the trail either south a block to 4400S, or north a
couple blocks to 4080S.
Kris
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