Mirror Lake Specialties

["Kristin Purdy" <kristinpurdy at comcast dot net>]

Jack Clark, Pomera Fronce and I visited the Mirror Lake area yesterday 
and came up with a few specialties of the high country--AMERICAN 
THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS, a WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER, GRAY JAYS, and a PINE 
GROSBEAK.

We heard drumming from the Highline Trail parking lot almost immediately 
and got a brief look at a woodpecker we believed was the female 
Three-toed a short distance down the trail.  But no worries about the 
brevity of the sighting, because we got better looks at the female and 
subsequently the male on and off down the trail almost as far as the 
first substantial pond on the left.  At one point the male "drew" us in 
by drumming high on a dead tree right next to the trail.  We were able 
to observe him ramming his beak into the trunk at an increasing tempo, 
something like a bouncing ball.  

The Williamson's Sapsucker was a surprise.  We saw a shadow bound up a 
tree trunk and fool around in one of those big, messy blobs of old pine 
needles or branches.  Then he hopped back to the trunk and the ID was 
very clear.  A pair of Gray Jays hopped through an area of felled logs 
on the downslope side of the trail and didn't say a word!  They were 
very quiet yesterday.  

Finally, the Pine Grosbeak, a male, was right where Pomera said it was 
supposed to be--along the meadows area between the picnic area parking 
lot and the Monte Cristo Ranger Station building.  He tantalized us a 
couple times with his "Chur-dih-lee"! call, but we eventually saw him 
out in the open and enjoyed his gray, formal tux-with-tails look topped 
with that rosy head.  

The remainder of our sightings were expected for the area, and because I 
took too long to post, I can't remember what they were.  Oops!  

If you head for the Highline Trail, be advised that the mosquitos were 
positively carnivorous along the portion of the trail bordered with 
small ponds.  Once we passed the ponds on the way back to the trailhead, 
the mosquitos lost interest.

Mirror Lake is located about 25 miles east of Kamas along SR-150 near 
the Wasatch, Summit, and Duchesne County lines.  

Kris

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