[Birdnet] American Redstart at Willard Bay

[Connie McManus]

Kristin,
Thanks for this report! I really enjoyed reading it.  Willard Bay is one of
our favorite places to recreate.  Bill (my husband) & I have always wanted
to take the nature trail, but haven't done so.  You give me incentive to go
there -- NOT this weekend -- but soon.  I think it will be a good stop off
on my commute home.

Connie McManus
from beautiful downtown Nibley (Cache Valley)

On 8/28/07, Kristin Purdy <kristinpurdy at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Hit-or-miss Willard Bay State Park in Box Elder County was a hit today
> with
> nine species of warblers including a female AMERICAN REDSTART. She was
> foraging like a flycatcher and flutter-dropping in the trees over the
> stream
> channel south of the nature trail parking lot. I saw her only briefly
> along
> a trail that leads to Eagle Beach; later I saw her again and was able to
> watch her until a Gray Catbird chased her deep into a hawthorne. Darn
> catbird!
>
> The path I mentioned above is a don't-miss spot when you visit the park.
> >From the nature trail parking lot, take the gravel path that leads west
> until it curves south and T-bones; turn left (south). From there to Eagle
> Beach has always been very productive for me, especially around the stream
> channel.
>
> Another highlight was a surprising Red-breasted Nuthatch; it seems early
> for
> this species to be so low in elevation. I can easily say this was the
> richest-colored nuthatch I've seen; his breast was nearly as red as a
> robin's and his black, blue and white head pattern contrasted strongly. I
> also saw a Bewick's Wren at the west end of the path where the shoreline
> used to be before the reservoir dropped so precipitously. Don't laugh, but
> I
> can't remember seeing a Bewick's Wren in Utah before, so the bird was a
> real
> treat. I was pishing to bring out of the tall alfalfa a skulker that I
> thought was a Song Sparrow. The pishing first brought out a Green-tailed
> Towhee, then the Bewick's Wren, then a House Wren, and then a Song Sparrow
> skeddadled out of sight again.
>
> The other eight warbler species I saw in the park today included:
>
> Orange-crowned Warbler (just one)
> Nashville Warbler (3)
> Yellow Warbler (15-20)
> Yellow-rumped Warbler (a few)
> Townsend's Warbler (1, who found what must be the only juniper in the park
> at campsite Cottonwood Campground's campsite #23 where I watched her for
> 10-15 minutes)
> MacGillivray's Warbler (6-7)
> Common Yellowthroat (2)
> Wilson's Warbler (20-25)
>
> Other birds in the riparian area:
>
> Ring-necked Pheasant
> Mourning Doves
> Belted Kingfisher
> Downy Woodpecker
> Northern Flicker
> presumed Hammond's Flycatcher
> Western Wood-pewee
> Warbling Vireos
> Black-billed Magpies
> Barn Swallows
> Northern Rough-winged Swallows
> Black-capped Chickadees
> American Robins
> Gray Catbirds (loads)
> Cedar Waxwings
> Western Tanagers (loads)
> Chipping Sparrows
> Song Sparrows
> Lazuli Buntings
> House Finches
> American Goldfinches
>
> A brief scan along the shoreline produced:
>
> Canada Geese
> Western and Clark's Grebes
> American White Pelicans
> Double-crested Cormorants
> Great Blue Herons
> GREAT EGRET
> Snowy Egrets
> White-faced Ibis
> Killdeer
> Spotted Sandpipers
> Least Sandpipers
> Gull sp.
> Caspian Tern
> Forster's Terns
>
> And finally, no trip to Willard Bay would be complete without a stop at
> the
> Flying
> J at to watch the Great-tailed Grackles investigate the trash at the
> picnic
> area.
>
> The main entrance to Willard Bay State Park is located west of I-15 at
> exit
> 357.
>
> Kris
>
>
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>



-- 
Connie McManus
Nibley, Cache County, Utah
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