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        President's Message - Nov 2022  

                    by Machelle Johnson

The year is winding down, or maybe winding up considering 'The Holidays' are upon us! We have one last field trip to check off counties, so make your list and check it twice!

This has been a fun challenge, and I've enjoyed going to the various counties either on my own or on a field trip. The board is accumulating prizes so we would like to have an idea of what level you think you will accomplish.

Please send us an email with the number of counties you expect to complete by the end of the year. If you already have 22 counties for the gold level, let us know right away! ucbirders@utahbirds.org

Mark your calendar for our January 12th meeting where we'll announce the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal winners!
  

              Thanks,
             Machelle
                    ,__,   
                   (0,0)    
                    /)_)
                    ""     

 
 
The 2022 Birding Challenge

Prinout with the details
(PDF file)

BIRD OF THE MONTH:
    

Back around the first of the month of October, within a week’s time, we had two exciting Flycatchers show up in our state. First was a Great-crested Flycatcher along the Spanish Fork River at River Lane. The second was a Thick-billed Kingbird at the Salt Lake International Center west of the Salt Lake Airport. Both are extremely rare in the West and especially in Utah, having only been seen in the state two or three times prior. I thought it would be fun and exciting to look at this group of birds and not just a single bird of the month.

Tyrant Flycatchers are the largest world bird family with 435 species. They are found only in the New World – North and South America. Included in this family are the Flycatchers known as the Kingbirds (genus Tyranus) Kingbirds range as far north as Alaska (rarely) to the Patagonian Steppes of Southern Argentina and even the Falkland Islands. There are 13 species of Kingbirds of which 10 have been recorded in North America north of Mexico. Six have been found in Utah. The six include Western, Eastern, Cassin’s, Tropical, Thick-billed, and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. The rarest of these six is the Thick-billed Kingbird which has only been seen three times including the recent Salt Lake County bird. Three kingbirds are known to breed in Utah – Western, Eastern, and Cassin’s.

Kingbirds are a popular group of birds because they are easy to see, most of the time perching in the open on wires, fences, posts, or dead branches of trees. They are conspicuous when they fly out and back from their exposed perch, catching flying insects. They are true tyrants of the bird world because they are afraid of no one and aggressively chase much larger birds, including birds of prey, out of their territories. I once observed a Western Kingbird actually land on the back of a flying Red-tailed Hawk and pull out several of its back feathers. They are truly fearless.

The Thick-billed Kingbird (Tyranus crassirostris) which refers to its large, conspicuous bill, is way out of its normal range when it is in Utah. Its normal range is in the hot desert areas of Mexico to Guatemala. It does, however, occasionally occur along the southeastern Arizona/Mexico border during breeding season. It is known to occasionally have juvenile first-year birds apparently get mixed up and “migrate” north instead of south. Rarities have been recorded in the fall in California, Colorado, southern British Columbia, and now in Utah. All three of Utah’s records occurred in the month of October (2009, 2013, 2022) and all were believed to be first-year juveniles.

First-year juveniles are brighter yellow in the breast than adults, have a cinnamon-colored edging to the wing coverts, and have a conspicuous white throat. Both adults and juveniles have a thick, dark, heavy bill from which the bird gets its name.

Just a note: the Great-crested Flycatcher, which occurred on River Lane, is not a true kingbird, even though its appearance tends to make it look so. It is a Myiarchus Flycatcher. This group also includes other Utah Flycatchers such as Ash-throated and Brown-crested. They are similar to kingbirds but are generally smaller, longer tailed, and tend to fly catch more inside the cover of tree canopies. This is exactly what the bird on River Lane was observed doing while it was seen over the few days it was there. On the other hand, the Thick-billed Kingbird in Salt Lake was conspicuously perched in wide open spots and was easily seen.

It’s always fun and exciting to go on a rare bird chase in the state and run into fellow birders whom you may not have seen for a while. Such was the case with both the Great-crested Flycatcher and Thick-billed Kingbird. It’s almost just as enjoyable to visit socially with friends as it is to successfully get the bird, almost.
 

Pop Quiz:  Can you ID the six "Kingbirds" found in Utah?

A	B	C
D	E	F

[See the answers at the bottom on the newsletter]

     
  
       [See past Bird of the Month articles] 
  

Capital Reef
  
 

Capital Reef/ Wayne County Fieldtrip    22 Oct 2022 by Suzi Holt

  
 

The BIG SIT-Provo Airport Dike    8 Oct 2022 by Suzi Holt

A couple Northern Harrier's were hunting over the marsh and a flock of White-faced Ibis and American Avocets were flying over the Utah Lake shoreline. About then Steve and a new birding friend Chuck Carn that he picked up along the road showed up. American Robins, and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers flew into the Cottonwood trees. Lots of Barn Swallows and a lone Tree Swallow flew by catching breakfast on the wing. There was a Orange-crowned Warbler and a couple Dark-eyed Juncos in the trees close to us.
  

  
We found a couple Franklin's Gulls mixed in with the other gulls out on the lake, and a few Double-crested Cormorants were flying towards Bird Island.
Keeli spotted a Fox on the taxi way! That was a fun find!
We heard a Marsh Wren, saw and heard White-crowned Sparrows. As Tammy and Lonny arrived some Snowy Egrets flew out of the moat. Then Andrea, Kayla and Esther arrived. Kayla showed us a few butterflies and a praying mantis eating a grasshopper.
A little later a couple Red-tailed Hawks were soaring above the trees, and a Green-winged and Cinnamon Teal flew by.
In the heat of the day the only other species we were able to add was a Woodhouse's Scrub Jay!
  

Around 2 pm the Shirley's arrived. We stayed with them for about a hour but we only added to our tallys not species. About 3 pm Amanda and the littles and I decided to get out of the heat. The Shirley's stayed til 4 pm without adding anything else. It was just too hot, a big change from the ice covered puddles and rain from 2021.
Our Big Sit ended with 46 Species! Not too bad considering the water levels in the lake and the moat!

Thanks to everyone who helped!

        Answers to the "Pop Quiz":

A - Eastern Kingbird   by Kendall Brown l ©Kendall W. Brown
B - Thick-billed Kingbird    by Mike Hearell ©Mike Hearell
C - Tropical Kindbird    by John Crawley  ©John Crawley
D - Western Kindbird    by John Crawley  ©John Crawley
E - Scissor-tailed Flycatcheri    by Kendall Brown l ©Kendall W. Brown
F - Cassin's Kingbird   by Rick Fridell  ©Rick Fridell

*  Photos were taken by local photographers and are in the Utah Birds Photo Gallery

 
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