[Birdtalk] Cemetery Birding

[Kristin Purdy]

I had a fun little birding walk through Willard Cemetery in Box Elder County 
this afternoon due to a good diversity of species. Most of the trees are 
junipers and a couple are heavily laden with berries, which attracted the 
fruit eaters. The other tree species are spruces and a fruiting tree along 
the west edge that I think is a type of hawthorne.

The birds:

A Sharp-shinned hawk that three magpies were escorting out of Dodge
Northern Flickers
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jays - the magpies also tried to escort them away, but the jays 
would have none of it and left on their own accord
Mountain and Black-capped Chickadees
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Townsend's Solitaires, at least five, always near the junipers or hawthornes 
and some were singing or squeaking the rusty wheel call
Hermit Thrushes
American Robins
Cedar Waxwings
Townsend's (1) and Yellow-rumped Warblers
White-crowned Sparrows
Dark-eyed Juncos
Pine Siskins
American Goldfinches

Willard Cemetery is east of US-89, .3 miles south of the junction road that 
connects US-89 to I-15 at exit 357.

I continued north to Brigham City and saw a group of Great-tailed Grackles 
at the Wal-Mart. They were taking baths in the rain gutters on the roof of 
the Garden Section. Is that the Wal-Mart effect that communities so dread--a 
new Wal-Mart is built and then it gets colonized by the trash birds?!?

Kris