Day Two in Utah

On Tuesday night after checking in to the motel near Panguitch, Utah, I decided to take advantage of the remaining daylight and walk around checking out the birds.  We were staying a few miles from town and the opportunity to search for birds was too great to pass up.  And in that short amount of time I was able to photograph a few of the birds that were there.  Mountain Bluebirds, a Sage Thrasher, a Red-tailed Hawk, and a couple of Black-billed Magpies made their presence known. 

 Mountain Bluebird

 Sage Thrasher

 Red-tailed Hawk

Black-billed Magpie

The next morning we headed north and east and I had a couple spots in mind to stop for birding and one of them was Otter Creek Reservoir.  But on the way there we had to yield the right of way on the highway to a herd of sheep!  You know you are in the country when that happens!

Otter Creek Reservoir is almost 5 miles long and one could spend the whole day there birding and with a spotting scope I am quite sure I could have found a lot more birds.  Most certainly, I was not at all disappointed with what I found.  Many of the birds were too far out in the water for photos, such as the American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Mergansers with young, and Clark's Grebes with young.  At least one of the Clark's Grebe was close enough to get some identifiable photos.  

Clark's Grebe

Birds were also plentiful along the shores and in the vegetation surrounding the shoreline. Chipping Sparrow juveniles were very common as well as Lazuli Buntings.  Also had a Yellow Warbler foraging in the short shrubs and some Black-billed Magpies scavenging around the picnic area.

 Chipping Sparrow - Juvenile

 Lazuli Bnting

 Yellow Warbler

Black-billed Magpie

After about 2 hours at the park, we had to move on as our goal was to arrive in Torrey, Utah before noon.  Once we headed east on Highway 24 towards Torrey and Capital Reef National Park, at one point about 3 miles west of the small town of Loa, UT, I had to hit the brakes and turn around because of something that I noticed.  Common Ravens were quite common everywhere along the roads and at first glance I thought just another raven, but as I got closer, I knew it was definitely something different; it was too big to be a raven.  Perched in a short tree on the north side of the road was a majestic Golden Eagle.  I got turned around and was driving back towards it as I wanted a photo of this beautiful bird perched, but alas, my camera strap got tangled in the seat belt of the car and the bird took flight before I could get untangled.  So I had to settle for a couple of flight shots as it flew away.  But what a magnificent bird this is.  Was definitely the closest I have seen one in the wild.

 Golden Eagle

Golden Eagle

After that encounter, everything else seemed a little less significant.  But once I arrived in Torrey and found my relatives house, I had one more bird close out my amazing day of birds; a Pinyon Jay flew in to their property.  Always a fun bird to find and see and unfortunately, I don't always find them in Arizona as often as I would like.

 Pinyon Jay

Pinyon Jay

So ended day number 2 and some amazing birds.  

A Little Bit of AZ & UT

When Tuesday arrived, we headed north and west from Jacob Lake, AZ with a lot of ground to cover in one day.  I had found a spot on eBird that had a fairly substantial bird list, but a place that would be quite easy to drive right by.  Pipe Spring National Monument is a fairly small area where a natural spring exists and provides and small but continual flow of water.  It did not go unnoticed by the natives that lived here in years past and was also discovered and used by some of the first settlers once they discovered this source of water in the high desert.  Of course the water supply provided a great trap for migrants. I highly recommend anyone traveling by this spot on Highway 389 to stop in and check it out for birds.  I am sure that different times of the year will result in totally different species.  

Some of the highlights that I found on this day included a first year juvenile Cedar Waxwing.  Their breeding range is much further north and most generally we only see these birds in winter in their adult plumage.  Was interesting to see one with streaks on its breast and sides.  But that profile is definitely a Cedar Waxwing.  

Cedar Waxwing - Juvenile

Other birds that I was able to photograph included a posing and cute little Wilson's Warbler, some Western Tanagers, and some Brewer's Sparrows.

Wilson's Warbler

Western Tanager

Brewer's Sparrow

From there we headed to Zion National Park in Utah.  Great place for scenery, but the birding there did not appeal to me especially due to the large crowds and not having enough time to really explore the place to find some welcoming spots.  

Zion National Park

The next stop is a lesser known spot; Cedar Breaks National Monument.  Obviously it is on a much smaller scale than a national park, but the scenery here was outstanding.  Birding was not so great here either so we did not linger, but I was able to photograph a 'Gray-headed' Dark-eyed Junco and a couple of new butterflies.

Dark-eyed Junco

Hoary Comma Butterfly

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Next stop, Bryce Canyon National Park and this turned out to be my favorite stop.  Awesome scenery and some awesome birds including the Clark's Nutcracker.  This time this bird just flew into the pines at one of the viewing points where I stopped and put on quite a show for me.  Was quite fun to watch their antics and feeding on seeds from pine cones.  They can be quite the acrobats.

 Clark's Nutcracker

 Yep, still more of the Clark's Nutcracker

Common Ravens were evident everywhere and at one stop, there was a pair that had no fear of humans and I suspect they were used to many handouts by visitors as they waited for their next meal.  In the close-up photo, notice the bristles on the upper beak and how far down it extends on the beak.

 Common Raven

Common Raven, note the bristles on the upper mandible

Bryce Canyon National Park was also a fabulous place to find some really cool mammals.  Of course Elk are always awesome to see and this is probably the closest I have been able to get to them for decent photos.

Elk

But the most exciting was the small heard of Pronghorn that we found along the highway and they crossed the highway right in front of us while we sat in the car and watched.  The herd consisted mostly of females with a couple of young and one adult male that crossed the highway last after the rest of the herd went first.  Usually an animal that bolts at the sight of a human, but this herd might not spook so easily since they are on National Park land and hunting is not allowed.

 Pronghorn - Female

Pronghorn - Juvenile

 Pronghorn - Male

The second day was a full day and we covered a lot of ground, but it was definitely a day to remember.  More to come on future posts.  

  

Kaibab Plateau, Arizona

Starting on Labor Day, Chuck Hoppe and I took a 5 day vacation to visit my cousin in Utah and we began the first day with an early start and arrived in the Kaibab Plateau area near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Jacob Lake and the North Rim and the highway between the 2 areas provided the content for this first post.  

Jacob Lake had an abundant amount of Red Crossbills and provided some of my best photo opportunities for this bird I have ever had.  As their name suggests, they have a crossed bill tip, which they use to extract seeds from various pine cones.  They are erratic wanderers and often are found in various places as they wander about searching for their favorite food sources.  The adult males are red, but younger males have varying amounts of red mixed with yellows, golds and even olive green.  This was quite evident in the photos along with their unique crossed bill tips.

 Red Crossbill

Red Crosbill in front and Western Bluebird in the back

Other birds that were seen in and around Jacob Lake included the Pygmy Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, American Robin, and Pine Siskin.

 Pygmy Nuthatch

Western Bluebird in the wind

 American Robin

Pine Siskin

A visit to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon produced a very inquisitive and cooperative Warbling Vireo.  For a few minutes it was playing hard to get, but not leaving the tree it was foraging in.  With patience, it finally came to the front and allowed several nice photos.

 Warbling Vireo

Also had a Willow Flycatcher making a brief appearance.  Since it did not want to show itself well, the identification took a bit longer as some of those flycatchers can be a difficult bird to get a correct identification, especially if it is one of the several Empidonix flycatchers

Willow Flycatcher

As we headed back to Jacob Lake for the first night, the local herd of Bison were seen from the road, which created a fitting ending for day one of this 5 day trip.

Bison