[Birdtalk] "New" Purple Martins in Rich County

[Kristin Purdy]

I birded Monte Cristo Range in Rich County today with four target species in mind: Williamson's Sapsucker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Red Crossbill, and Purple Martin. My results couldn't have been more mixed.

First, the Williamson's Sapsuckers. I cheated and found two. I returned to the site of one of last year's nest cavities to determine where the birds were nesting this year. Glenn Barlow and I saw the male there on June 30, but we couldn't stay long enough to watch for the nest cavity. The birds are nesting in the same aspen snag as last year, about 20 feet lower and on the south side of the tree this time instead of on the east side. The nest cavity is about 25 feet high and much more secluded than last year's cavity. The tree's location is .2 miles north of Monte Cristo Campground next to a gravel pit; reply for specific directions. The GPS coords of the snag are N41*27.922'  W111*29.471. Both woodpeckers entered the cavity to drop off their beakfuls of red ants slimed with sap. I could hear gentle peeping from inside when I stood close to the tree. 

Second, the American Three-toed Woodpecker. I struck out completely, utterly, and profoundly.

Third, the Red Crossbill. I heard just one bird kip-kipping and as usual, and didn't get my eyeballs on it. The bird landed in the top of a spruce tree at the base of a slope just east of the group use areas of Monte Cristo Campground. 

Finally, the Purple Martins. I found two males perching on the top branch of an aspen near the intersection of SR-39 and Curtis Creek Road, east of the highway and 250-300 yards out in a field. I don't think this location has been reported in the past. The bad news is that the sky was rumbling, threatening, and spitting and I couldn't stay long enough to determine if the perch tree or  nearby snags hosted their nest cavities and mates. But one or both birds was present for most of the half-hour I was there. 

The snag is fairly easy to find. Park on the west side of the highway at Curtis Creek Road (between mile 49 and 50, SR-39). I tied pink-lavendar surveyor's tape on a snowplow marker on the east side of the road; you'll see another strand of pink tape tied to a small aspen to the east. Look through the line of aspens to the field behind it. A very tall, dead, isolated white aspen is out in the field a couple hundred yards; that's the martin's tree. I tied pink tape around the tree, too. If the martin(s) are present you can see them while standing on pavement. A scope is helpful.

I had only seen one male by the time I was out at the tree, bear hugging the snag to loop the tape around. The sky was gray and mean-looking and I didn't want to be standing next to an isolated tree in a field for very long while hearing thunder. The Purple Martin at the top began to warble and tell me how lovely I was; I looked up and saw a second male had landed on a branch. Dang! They were actually talking to each other and not about me. But I was happy to see a second martin. The snag's coordinates are N41*28.477'  W111*29.009'.

Other species at Monte Cristo Campground or around the gravel pit .2 miles north of the campground included:

Turkey Vulture
American Kestrel
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-pewee
Dusky Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Clark's Nutcracker
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Western Tanager
Green-tailed Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Lazuli Bunting
Cassin's Finch (female gathering nest material, male acting as sentry)
Pine Siskin
Two fine-looking bull moose at Wasatch Ridge

I also stopped at the Lewis's Woodpecker nest tree at mile 27.1 in Weber County. Today I saw two woodpeckers at the same time along the powerline, but never both at the nest tree at the same time.

Monte Cristo Campground is located at mile 47.7 of SR-39. 

Kris
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