[Birdnet] Hermit warbler & Zone-tailed hawk in Washington Co.

[David Wheeler]

Hello, everyone.  I hope this message makes it through, as I am
accessing my account remotely, and my account is acting odd.

There was a female/immature HERMIT WARBLER in Pine Park (SW of
Enterprise on a long dirt road) yesterday at 10:10 am.  It was in part
of a large mixed species flock working the Ponderosa pines in the
general area of the bathrooms.  The flock consisted of Bustits (lots),
White-breasted nuthatches, Grace's warblers (lots), Mtn. chickadees, 
Plumbeous vireo, and some other species.  One nice thing about this area
is that the search area is small.  There was but one flock, and it is
impossible to miss because it can't go very far.  So if the warbler
sticks around, it should be relatively easy to find (compared to some
places like Pine Valley where the habitat is so extensive that there
could be twenty in the valley without being obvious).  The bad news is
the drive there is long & bumpy.

Since I got my nemesis bird (the warbler) within about 10-15 minutes of
arriving at my first location, I had the entire day to kill [Larene,
Mark, the pressure's on!  I pass the mantle of nemesisitude on to you
two.  No need to thank me.].  I went up the Kolob Terraces road into
Zion NP & beyond.  I saw a ZONE-TAILED HAWK soaring above cabins just
beyond where Kolob Creek crosses the highway.  This has been a good area
for them over recent years.

I got a chance to see one of the CALIFORNIA CONDORS (an adult named #50)
soaring above me at Kolob Reservoir.  Wow....  The wingtip "fingers"
were amazing.  Later, I was shown where the birds roost north of Lava
Point (distant) and got an opportunity to scope an immature and adult
perched in dead trees afar.

At Lava Point I was only able to encounter one "flock", and the only
warblers in that were a Virginia's warbler and Audubon's warblers.  The
local birds go bananas for even lousy immitations of a small owl, so I
had chickadees and nuthatches just a few feet away.  It's a truly
beautiful area.

By the way, since everyone seems so interested in Rufous hummingbirds of
late, they have recently been all over in the highlands, from the Ruby
Mts in Nevada to Pine Valley and Kolob area of Zion.

Happy birding

David Wheeler