[Birdtalk] Trip to Uintahs on 8/8/2006

[Glenn B. Barlow]

Yesterday four intrepid UCBers met in the parking lot at the mouth of Provo
Canyon at 6 a.m., for a trip to the Mirror Lake area.  The party consisted
of Reed and Kay Stone, Bonnie Williams, and yours truly.  Everyone’s target
birds were either a Gray Jay or Pine Grosbeak.  We experienced only partial
success.  We drove through the campground and finally parked in the lot
where the Highline Trail begins.  Almost  immediately we spotted a
woodpecker that we initially thought was a Hairy.  However, after it flew to
a large dead tree, just below the parking area, and across the stream from
the lake, our further looks revealed it was a American Three-toed
Woodpecker.  It was the female.  Perhaps the hole is on the back side of the
large dead tree, but it didn’t seem to want to leave the tree.  So, that
appears to be an “easy” place to see a 3-toed, if you need to see one.
While driving through the campround we saw many Clark’s Nutcrackers.  One
let us study it quite closely, for sometime.  Lovely bird!  

 

Kay and I walked up the trail for some time, but not to the small lake, and
found it was pretty “birdy.”  Again, we saw many Clark’s Nutcrakers.  One
surprise sighting was a Common Nighthawk flying over the trail in broad
daylight.  But, no Gray Jay or Pine Grosbeak for us.  While we were away
from the parking lot, where Bonnie and Reed stayed, either a female or
immature Pine Grosbeak flew into a nearby tree.  So they both got one of the
target birds.

 

A list of birds seen included:

 

Summit County

Sandhill Crane (on the road west of Francis, just before the wood processing
plant)

Black-billed Magpie.

 

Mirror Lake Area

Yellow-rumped Warbler (quite a few)

Clark’s Nutcracker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Pine Siskin

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Dark-eyed Junco

American Robin

Chipping Sparrow

Common Raven

Northern Flicker

Cassin’s Finch (many in the meadows.  The brilliant males were a pleasure to
see.)

Mountain Chickadee

Common Nighthawk

Red-breasted Nuthatch, and

White-crowned Sparrow.

 

We later on stopped at Big Springs Park, up South Fork, so I could try for a
Swainson’s Thrush.  While I was searching up the dirt road, the other three
who stayed behind saw a Gray Catbird and Sharp-shinned Hawk.  I did not find
the thrush.

 

But it was a great day of birding with great people in beautiful
surroundings.

 

Glenn

 


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.10.8/415 - Release Date: 8/9/2006
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://secureserver.securesites.net/pipermail/birdtalk/attachments/20060809/86137951/attachment.htm