[Birdtalk] Lack of mtn birds in mtns?

[mjw22 at comcast.net]

Colby & all,
   They're in Midvale. OK, perhaps not all of them.  Over the weekend, my wife and I had 2 Mountain Chickadees as regular feeder visitors....with only 1 Black-capped.  We had 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches as well.  Non-montane species included Mourning Doves, House Finches and California Quail.
    On Sunday at about 8, I had a flyover PINE SISKIN at the LDS Chapel off of 13th East, just south of I-215.  There was also a small flock of ~15 Cedar Waxwings with no sign of Bohemian.   Just north of I-215 (Technically in Murray, I think), at about 1000 E, I saw at least 15 Black-billed Magpies.  There have also been some pretty big flocks of American Robins in the neighborhood.  Last weekend, I saw at least 30 flying over.
    And, purely anecdotal, my wife and I found Soapstone Basin very quiet on Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) while we were "Vegetarian Hunting" (cutting a Christmas Tree).

Good Birding,
Matt Williams
Midvale

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Colby Neuman" <colby.neuman at gmail.com>
> Hi all,
> 
> I was skiing in the Grizzly Gulch and Twin Lakes Pass (Big and Little
> Cottonwood divide - Salt Lake County) area on Saturday.  The only birds seen
> were these flying through the snow or at least trying to...
> 
> http://www.picasaweb.google.com/colby.neuman/GrizzlyGulch12_8_07
> 
> In all seriousness, I only heard two Mountain Chickadees the whole day.  No
> flyover rosy-finches, siskens, finches, crossbills, etc..  It will be
> interesting to see if the trend continues this winter.  In years such as
> this where 'mountain' birds erupt into the valleys, I always wonder the
> break down of birds exhibiting altitudinal vs. latitudinal migration or some
> combination of both.  There are a number of obvious variables and
> complications that make the problem quite difficult to solve, but I guess
> the first step to trying to gain some insight is noting the abundances of
> 'mountain' birds actually present in the mountains here in Utah.
> 
> Colby


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From: "Colby Neuman" <colby.neuman at gmail.com>
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