[Birdtalk] CBC Tales

[Kristin Purdy]

I don't have any uber-rarites to report from my sector of Ogden's Christmas 
Bird Count yesterday, but my team (Jack Rensel and I) had some interesting 
sightings from the southeast part of the circle:

We began and ended with MERLINS. The first one was on the Weber River Trail 
south of Riverdale Road near the Riverdale City offices. This bird, a female 
or young prairie Merlin, was tearing up breakfast on a tall dead cottonwood 
along the river. Her prey species was either Utah's first record of a 
Streak-backed Oriole or an American Robin; we couldn't tell which.

We witnessed the tail end of an event neither of us have seen before--a 
magpie funeral. Jack and I were attracted to very loud magpie calling on the 
Ogden Country Club golf course, louder than any magpie mobbing calls I've 
heard. Thirteen magpies lifted into the surrounding trees once we were in 
sight of a magpie carcass on the snow. One magpie returned, landed near the 
carcass and inspected it; Jack suggested that bird was the chaplain 
officiating.

An extremely agitated Townsend's Solitaire trying to protect a healthy 
juniper berry crop on Adams Ave along the eastern edge of the country club. 
The trees were filled with Cedar and BOHEMIAN Waxwings, American Robins and 
starlings; the solitaire became positively apoplectic when scolding the 
robins and made a harsh call I've never heard before. I had to watch the 
juniper until the solitaire emerged to ID the bird; it sounded like an 
aggressive baby Corvid. The sound was not at all one I expected for a thrush 
known for its year-round melodious warble or high-pitch piping call.

The most enjoyable views of fruit-eaters in those junipers that I've had in 
a long time. The juniper berries were bright blue and a flock of 150 Cedar 
Waxwings and 2 Bohemians were ferrying back and forth into the trees to 
feed. It was such a picturesque sight--truly beautiful birds against the 
backdrop of evergreen junipers as they yanked those berries from their 
stems. I was standing on the opposite side of the street and felt like each 
waxwing strafed me in turn as they dropped out of the tree, flew low over my 
head and returned to the taller trees behind me from which the flock was 
staging.

A Western Screech-owl at Glasmann Park south of McKay-Dee Hospital Center. I 
always feel obligated to produce this species for the Ogden count because my 
sector includes several locations that are well known for them. I had two 
birds staked out in preparation; it was a thrill to see the Glasmann Park 
bird asleep in a snag facing into the cold western sunlight. That sighting 
got a high-five. Two other species were highlights because our sector is not 
known for birds of open spaces. A Prairie Falcon rested on a power pole 
along the Adams Ave Parkway toll road and two American Pipits circled 
overhead at the same location.

The last Merlin of the day might have been more satisfying than the first. 
Both Jack and I have seen Merlins in the past on power poles above Weber 
State, so we decided to take that route as we approached the border of our 
area. We saw him in the waning light of day, a male Prairie Merlin surveying 
his kingdom from atop a pole. He was, of course, waiting for us to pull 
over, scope him, admire his beauty and congratulate ourselves for our 
brilliance in searching there for him. It was a good way to end the count.

Kris