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Powder Mountain Ski Area in Weber County
provided superlative mountain birding today. I marveled at how
beneficial last week's rain/snow was for the higher elevations. For the
first time in a long time, the ground was moist and cool instead of dry and
dusty. The wildflowers are OUT and it's a great time to go wildflowering,
too.
Since the day provided superlative birding,
I'll describe the birding with superlatives:
Best bird: A Red Crossbill that alerted
me to its presence with a "Kip-kip!" "Kip-kip-kip!" The
rosy/red-flecked male teed up on a tall conifer and I got a quick look before he
departed for other opportunities. I heard one other individual and another
small flock, but never saw either.
Most devoted dad: A Mountain Bluebird that
exited a nest cavity carrying a fecal sac. The electric-blue bird landed
on a dead aspen limb, set the sac on the limb, and quickly swiped his beak as if
he was thinking, "The things I do for my kids!" I later saw him
carrying an exceptionally fat and pendulous caterpillar back into the
cavity.
Most frequently heard-but-not-seen species:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet. That little bugger. Do I have to wait until
they descend from the tallest conifers in the fall to see one
again?!?!?
Most unexpected species: Four American White
Pelicans circling over the main lodge's parking lot. Maybe they were
transiting from Hyrum Reservoir to Pineview?
Most disappointing sighting: Two Clark's
Nutcrackers at a long distance, gliding down a draw in great swoops.
Later, I heard one much closer, but never saw it.
Most inexplicable results: Few
woodpeckers. I saw several Northern Flickers, heard a Downy, and briefly
saw a large black-and-white woodpecker. I didn't see any sapsuckers,
unless the mystery woodpecker was a sapsucker.
Funniest sighting: The tent caterpillars
frenetically break dancing in their silvery tents in the Chokecherry
bushes.
Most interesting sighting: A Blue Grouse that
crossed my path slowly, deliberately, but with a wide and wary eye looking at
me. I was half-turned and didn't see him until he was part way across the
trail. He was only 20-25 feet away. He never changed his pace or
tail-slightly-fanned-and-cocked posture. Interestingly, his eyebrow was
red--not yellow. I'm not implying the grouse was anything other than
a Blue; it's just that his eyebrow was the wrong color.
Most disquieting sighting: The tick crawling
up my pant leg. That's the fifth one I've seen heading north on clothing
this year. Last year I didn't see even one.
Best view: Northwest sweeping down into Cache
Valley as far as the pyramid-shaped Little Mountain...or was it southeast to the
snow-capped Uintas...or was it southwest through North Ogden Divide to see
Fremont Island and Great Salt Lake surrounding the island...or was it south to
Ogden Valley and blue-blue-blue Pineview Reservoir and Trapper's Loop snaking
through emerald meadows away from the valley...or was it...
Other birds: Golden Eagle, American Kestrel,
Black-chinned Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Olive-sided Flycatcher,
Hammond's Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, Common
Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Rock Wren, House Wren, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Orange-crowned
Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Western
Tanager, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer's Sparrow, Fox Sparrow,
White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Lazuli Bunting, Western
Meadowlark, Cassin's Finch, and Pine Siskin.
For directions and information about Powder
Mountain Ski Area, launch the link below, select "P" from the alphabetical
index, and then select Powder Mountain.
Finally, add me to the growing list of birders
who have seen ducks that are classified as rare summer
residents. I saw three female Common Mergansers
near the Pineview dam today. What could all these sightings
portend? An early winter ;^D? Or are they just lazy
ducks?
Kris
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