Utah County Birders Newsletter
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Contents
May Meeting
Upcoming Field Trips
Captain’s Log
Bird of the Month
Field Trip
Report - South Utah County
Backyard Bird of the Month
April Hotline Highlights
MAY MEETING:
Thursday, May 14th,
2015 - 7:00 pm
Keeli Marvel will give a presentation on
birding in England and the Netherlands.
Meet at 7:00 pm at the Monte L. Bean Museum. 645 East 1430
North, Provo, UT http://mlbean.byu.edu/
Saturday, May 9th, 2015. Bird walk - 8am-11am. Skipper Bay and Provo River Trails. Led by Keeli Marvel. Meet at Skipper Bay trail. http://www.utahbirds.org/counties/utahco/SkipperBayTrail.htm
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Possible Lytle
Trip May 29th-31st or June 5th-7th. Looking
for anyone who has a higher clearance vehicle and would be willing to drive.
Email Keeli if interested/willing to drive.
We are actively recruiting people to lead local half-day field
trips, any time, any place. If you would like to lead a field trip or if you
have any ideas for this year’s field trips, please contact Bryan Shirley at -
bt_shirley@hotmail.com
Utah County Birders Captain’s Log:
May 2015
by Keeli Marvel
Sorry for the short message but I am currently
writing this from a small, rainy, coastal town in Cornwall, England. The
Blackbirds are singing outside just like our robins at home, and the Carrion
Crows are calling from the trees next door. Hope you all are enjoying the spring
birding! I'll report back on my trip at this month's meeting. Happy Birding and
Happy May Day to you all!
Keeli
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Barred Owlet
(first downy owlet) |
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Barred Owlet
(second larger owlet) |
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Barred Owl
(adult) |
Barred Owl
Strix varia
by Machelle Johnson
The Barred Owl has been on my must-see and must-hear list for a long time. I was
finally able to see and hear one on a recent trip to Florida with my friend
Sheryl. We planned this trip last September and went in early April. Wow, so
many birds! It was an awesome trip! We had been watching a couple of Face Book
pages and getting ideas of where we wanted to go, and after our first day in the
Tampa area, we saw a post of a place called Lettuce Lake that was only 5 miles
North of our hotel. The post was about Barred owlets that were close to
fledging. We went to Lettuce Lake the next day and were able to find the place
where the owlets were. There was already a couple there and they were able to
point out one owlet. They hadn’t been able to spot the second one, or an adult.
If they hadn’t been there to show us the owlet I doubt we would have seen it. It
was very still and looked like a clump of Spanish moss. (See photo 1) After a
time of looking unsuccessfully for the second owlet we went on birding around
the lake. Later on we saw the couple that had first pointed it out to us and
they said the second owlet had been found, so we went back and were able to see
it as well. It was larger and not as downy. (See photo 2). We really wanted to
see an adult and it was getting to be late afternoon, so we decided to go to the
hotel to rest up a bit. We went back to the lake around 6pm. As we were walking
to the trail we heard some hooting, it didn’t really sound like a Barred owl,
but it could have been, we weren’t quite sure, but we were hopeful. We got to
the owlet spot and saw both owlets in basically the same place as before. This
time the older owlet was hissing. We looked in the direction it seemed to be
hissing and spotted the adult. (See photo 3) Wow, that was so awesome! A Barred
Owl family, just sitting there looking at us! How cool is that! Sheryl was able
to get these great photos. (We were able to really hear a Barred Owl hoot when
we went to the Orlando Wetlands.)
I enjoy Pete Dunne’s description of the Barred Owl. First of all, he calls it
the ‘Maniacal Forest Owl’, because in addition to the classic two-part series:
“Who cooks for you; who cooks for YOU All?”, “the birds also (and commonly) emit
a varied and maniacal cacophony of barks, laughs, cackles, and hooted guffaws.
Such recitals often engage multiple pairs.” Go to this Cornell site to listen to
the various sounds:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/barred_owl/sounds
Dunne describes it as “A big, imposing, barrel-shaped, somber-eyed owl that
looks like it’s wearing a shabby stain-streaked coat with a closed fur collar.
In flight it looks like a greyish brown barrel with broad blunt wings. Flight is
quick and surprisingly nimble, with birds commonly maneuvering around brush.”
They are common and widespread residents of mature forest, found across the
entire Eastern US and Canada, as well as the Pacific North West. They prefer
mature deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. Most partial to
extensive closed canopy and mature or old-growth forest near water. They like
big trees and sturdy limbs beneath a shadowy canopy. They usually perch high in
trees close to the trunk.
They hunt primarily from perches that may be at times less than 10 ft. from the
forest floor. A great variety of animals is taken, among them mice and voles and
other mammals, birds up to the size of a Ruffed Grouse, amphibians (which may be
hunted on foot) and reptiles, and numerous invertebrates, including crayfish,
which, along with fish, may be caught by wading in shallow water. The bird is
also fond of bathing.
Owls continue to fascinate me and I hope to see and hear more in the future!
References
Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion
Field Guide to Owls of California and the West, Hans Peeters
Cornell All About Birds website
Photos by Sheryl Serrano
If you would like to
write an article for the Bird of the Month, please contact
Machelle -
machelle13johnson@yahoo.com
Click here for past 'Birds of the Month'.
Field Trip Report
South Utah County Hotspots
- April 18, 2015
by Keeli Marvel
It was a beautiful morning for a birding trip
today. We spent the morning birding Lincoln Beach, Benjamin Slough, and Sandy
Beach at River Lane today. Highlights were Snowy Plover, Willet, Marbled Godwit,
American Avocet, Least Sandpipers, and Black-necked Stilts at Lincoln Beach,
Wilson's Snipe and Virginia Rail in the marshy fields south of Lincoln Beach, an
Osprey, Semi-palmated Plover, Willet, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilts,
Franklin's and Bonaparte's Gulls, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a very confiding
Lincoln's Sparrow at Sandy Beach at the end of River Lane. The water was
dismally low at Benhamin Slough.
Thanks to all who joined us! It was nice to get some FOY birds and to see some I
don't get to see all the time. Complete checklists for each site are below.
Happy Birding!
Keeli
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Lincoln Beach -- Boat Launch Area, Utah, US-UT
Apr 18, 2015 8:35 AM - 9:32 AM
Protocol: Traveling 2.5 mile(s)
Comments: UCB field trip
30 species
Canada Goose 3
Cinnamon Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 7
Green-winged Teal 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 1
Virginia Rail 1 Heard only in marsh south of Lincoln beach
Sandhill Crane 1
Black-necked Stilt 4
American Avocet 6
Snowy Plover 8
Killdeer 3
Willet 3
Marbled Godwit 1
Least Sandpiper 12
Wilson's Snipe 3 Seen in marsh south of Lincoln beach. 2 seen, 1 heard only
California Gull 1
Prairie Falcon 1
Say's Phoebe 1
Black-billed Magpie 2
Tree Swallow 20
Violet-green Swallow 1
Bank Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 5
Rock Wren 1 Heard only
Marsh Wren 3
American Robin 1
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Western Meadowlark 2
Yellow-headed Blackbird 4
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22922485
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Benjamin Slough, Utah, US-UT
Apr 18, 2015 9:44 AM - 10:03 AM
Protocol: Stationary
19 species
Canada Goose 10
Gadwall 4
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 4
Cinnamon Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 12
Green-winged Teal 10
Swainson's Hawk 1
American Coot 1
Sandhill Crane 1
Black-necked Stilt 50
American Avocet 10
Killdeer 4
Say's Phoebe 1
Black-billed Magpie 2
European Starling 2
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Western Meadowlark 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird 3
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22922843
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River Lane -- Sandy Beach, Utah, US-UT
Apr 18, 2015 10:28 AM - 11:18 AM
Protocol: Traveling 0.25 mile(s)
Comments: Birding around the beach at the end of River Lane
27 species
Cinnamon Teal 4
California Quail 3
Ring-necked Pheasant 1 Heard only
Osprey 1
American Coot 6
Sandhill Crane 2 Heard only
Black-necked Stilt 2
American Avocet 5
Semipalmated Plover 3 Confirmed with scope by several members of the group
Killdeer 6
Willet 6
Marbled Godwit 2
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Franklin's Gull 2
California Gull 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Heard only
American Robin 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Spotted Towhee 1 Heard only
Song Sparrow 3
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 11
Lesser Goldfinch 1
View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S22924422
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American Kestrels in
nest box |
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Nest box |
April 2015
Jack Binch - Sandy
The male Kestrel chased my owl away, but at least they decided to nest here. Two eggs so far.
Lyle Bingham - Payson
Lazuli Bunting males arrived 20 April.
Herb Clayson - Salem
Lazuli Bunting, first ever in my yard, just installed 6' tall feeder to
dissuade cats.
Jeff Cooper - Pleasant Grove
Two Franklin's Gulls flew over my yard in a very buoyant manner.
Eric Huish - Pleasant Grove
Townsend's Solitaire - There were so many fun birds to choose from this
month. My favorite was probably the Solitaire feeding on crabapples just a
few feet from my bedroom window in early April!
Bruce Robinson - West Jordan
Swainson's Hawks - I'm hoping they nest here again.
Dennis Shirley - Shemya Island, Western Aleutians, Alaska
My best Big Back Yard Birds here on Shemya Island, Western Aleutians, Alaska, so
far (4/29 &4/30) have been - Smew, Tufted Duck, and
Black-headed Gull - none of which are new ABA birds, but still dynamite
birds.
Alton Thygerson - Provo
California Quail - While a neighbor a block away living next to a large
gully/ravine has 25-30 quail at a time, only four make it to my backyard.
Report your favorite backyard bird
each month to Eric Huish at 801-360-8777 or
erichuish@gmail.com
The Utah County Birders Newsletter is now online only/mostly.
We've decided to stop the regular paper mail version of the UCB Newsletter. This will save our club on Printing, Postage and Paper. If you would like an email notice each month when the Newsletter is posted online please send an email to Eric Huish at erichuish@gmail.com.
We are willing to print the online version of the newsletter and mail it out to anyone who still wants a paper copy or who doesn't have internet access. If you know of anyone who enjoys the UCB Newsletter but doesn't have internet access please let Eric Huish or Keeli Marvel know and we will make sure they get a copy.
Printable Version of this UCB Newsletter