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Utah co. birds and the Mirror Lake Highway

I spent much of yesterday birding Utah county. I began my day in Payson
canyon. It rained much of the time and snowed at elevations above 7,000
feet. Moderately dense fog was also common much of the morning. The road
is closed by deep snow about 18 miles outside of town, or, at about 0.7
miles above the Santaquin canyon road. I would guess that unless
snow-moving equipment is brought in, the Nebo loop will probably remain
closed until the last 7-10 days of June. Even that may be optimistic if
temperatures remain only moderate. Still, birds were present. Eight
sparrow species were observed. Lincoln's sparrows were common in the
brush along the stream that follows the road in the Payson lake
vicinity, as were song sparrows. A single fox sparrow was seen although
I know they are much more common up there when looked for in the proper
places. Remarkable by their absence: I did not see any swallows or
flycatchers although given the conditions, perhaps it should not be much
of a surprise after all.

I then travelled to and spent a few afternoon hours on the Provo airport
dike. While it was dry and warmer than up the canyon, gusty winds kept
things stirred up. It is always interesting to watch flying birds
attempt to compensate for windy conditions. It was nice to see the
eastern kingbirds that have finally arrived.

Finally. I spent last Saturday morning exploring the Mirror Lake
highway. The road was closed just above MM 21 at the Murdock Basin road.
I parked my truck and walked up the road to the Provo River Falls which
are just below MM 24. The road was dry and clear until just above the
supposedly out bridge, which lies between MM 23 and 24. The bridge was
mostly complete and, I would guess from the look of things, will
probably be open this weekend if in fact it is not open already. Patches
of snow began to be found on the road just above the bridge, and by MM
24 snow effectively will prevent travel in automobiles. Of course, this
has undoubtedly changed since last Saturday to some extent. Birding was
so-so; Jack and Bob had much better luck than I. But it was marvelous to
visit the falls and to see large volumes of water plummeting over it and
to look down into the Slate Gorge overlook and to see the run-off
surging through it. It's certainly worth a trip, assuming the road is
now open.

Lu Giddings

Payson Canyon birds
Turkey Vulture
 Mallard
 Red-tailed Hawk
 American Kestrel
 Wild Turkey
 Mourning Dove
 Broad-tailed Hummingbird
 Hairy Woodpecker
 Northern Flicker
 Plumbeous Vireo
 Warbling Vireo
 Common Raven
 Mountain Chickadee
 Red-breasted Nuthatch
 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
 Mountain Bluebird
 Hermit Thrush
 American Robin
 Orange-crowned Warbler
 Yellow Warbler
 Yellow-rumped Warbler
 Western Tanager
 Green-tailed Towhee
 Spotted Towhee
 Chipping Sparrow
 Fox Sparrow
 Song Sparrow
 Lincoln's Sparrow
 White-crowned Sparrow
 Dark-eyed Junco
 Black-headed Grosbeak
 Lazuli Bunting
 Pine Siskin

Provo Airport Dike birds
American White Pelican
 Great Blue Heron
 White-faced Ibis
 Canada Goose
 Gadwall
 Mallard
 Cinnamon Teal
 Ring-necked Pheasant
 California Quail
 Virginia Rail
 Sora
 American Coot
 Killdeer
 Mourning Dove
 Western Kingbird
 Eastern Kingbird
 Tree Swallow
 Cliff Swallow
 Barn Swallow
 Marsh Wren
 American Robin
 European Starling
 Yellow Warbler
 Common Yellowthroat
 Song Sparrow
 Red-winged Blackbird
 Western Meadowlark
 Yellow-headed Blackbird
 Brown-headed Cowbird
 Bullock's Oriole
 American Goldfinch
 House Sparrow

Mirror Lake highway birds
Northern Flicker
 Willow Flycatcher
 Warbling Vireo
 Violet-green Swallow
 Black-capped Chickadee
 Mountain Chickadee
 Red-breasted Nuthatch
 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
 Townsend's Solitaire
 Hermit Thrush
 American Robin
 Yellow-rumped Warbler
 Western Tanager
 Chipping Sparrow
 Dark-eyed Junco

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