[Birdnet] White-winged Dove on Dugway

[Zaffisc at aol.com]

Hi all,  a quick report from the West Desert....
 
I last time I saw a WWD in my yard on Dugway on 20 May 2007.  And  I just 
saw one a few minutes ago.  Very cool!!  I got a good 3-4  minute view in 
binocs of the beautiful blue eye-ring and white on the  leading edge of its 
wings.  By the time I got my camera... it was gone (of  course).   It was at 
least 3 weeks earlier than I've seen  one before.
 
This weekend the Brewer's Blackbird have also returned, a week later than  
last year.  Still no Hummingbirds or Lazuli Buntings.  I did have a  flock 
of Cedar Waxwings on March 6th which are always fun to watch.   The Barn 
Swallows returned 2 days earlier than last year (13 Apr), and a pair of  Says 
Phoebe were here on 18 April, which was a week later than last year.   
Yellow-headed blackbirds were also 3 days later than last year (18 Apr).   The 
brown-headed cowbirds were a week earlier than last year, but I could live  
without them!!  The Sage Thrashers are back and they are also fun to  watch.  
And the goldfinch are getting their beautiful yellow mating colors  now.  I've 
had both Cassin's and House finches all winter long, along with  a single 
Townsend's Solitare.  He'd (She'd) swoop in quickly for a  drink at the 
heated waterbath.  Unfortunately, the House Sparrow's are  everywhere.  I still 
have a resident flock of about a dozen  of Eurasian Collared doves.  The 
Mourning Doves appeared again a  couple weeks ago.  The Meadowlarks have also 
been here a couple weeks (love  their voice).  I hear a couple Great-horned 
Owls, but haven't seen them  yet.  The Golden Eagles are here year-round, of 
course.  One of my  co-workers SWEARS he saw a Bald Eagle.  Could be... I saw 
one adult a  couple years ago about this time.
 
On post, the Kestrals have been pairing up for the last few weeks and  
checking out the nesting boxes.  The boxes are located about every 20  telephone 
poles.  It's fun to watch them as I drive back and forth from  work.  I 
also have at least 2 Shrikes that live around the building where I  work.  They 
are hunting all year long, which is also interesting to  observe.  I've 
seen Prairie Falcons and 1 Peregrine as  well.  The Peregrine freaked out my 
parrot as it was hunting/diving in my  back yard, so I got a good look at it.  
I could swear I saw a Long-billed  Curlew on Skull Valley, but I was 
driving too quickly to positively confirm...  not that I EVER Speed!!!  :-)  That 
monster curved-beak  is hard to confuse with anything else.
 
One noted exception I've never seen in the almost 4 years on Dugway is a  
Chickadee.  I love those little birds and have only seen them at Clover  
Springs and Desert Peak.  NEVER once have I seen them on Dugway.  How  odd is 
that!!  They are on the published DPG checklist, so perhaps I don't  go into 
the areas they inhabit.
 
Oh, I won't mention the local wild herd of horses that are bringing us cute 
 Colts.  And several coyotes that HAVE to wake us up at 2am with their  
vocalizations.  Bunny rabbits are everywhere, as are the gophers.  The  
Open-range cattle have Calves everywhere.  They dart in front of every  on-coming 
car, just for sport.  Don't you just HAVE to love Utah!!!
 
Well, that's it for now.  I was just excited about the White-winged  Dove 
and had to share.
 
Have fun with Spring Migration... Everyone.
 
Candy Zaffis (at Dguway)
 
 
 
 
 
 


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