[Birdtalk] Lytle Ranch and St George

[Steve Coleman]

My Family went to St George Thursday Friday and Saturday of last week for my son's wedding. I squeezed as much birding in as I could in between wedding activities including my first trip ever to Lytle Ranch.

I have often heard it said that birding is serendipitous, well yet again I have proven that is true. I passed the turn off from the old highway to Lytle Ranch and went 20 or 30 miles further than I needed to go. We were almost in Arizona when I finally decided I had gone too far and I turned around to head back. About 100 yards after we turned around I saw a small sign that I had missed that said "Beaver Dam Wash", so I turned off and followed the very rugged dirt road. First we came upon a water tank and there were many Black Phoebes which was exciting because it was only my second sighting of Black Phoebes. About another mile down this road I saw one of the most spectacular bird phenomenon I have ever witnessed. Literally hundreds of Pinyon Jays leap frogging through the Joshua Trees in a line along a small ridge, it seemed like a never ending line of them moving through. I observed Stellers Jays doing this same thing just east of Cedar City a couple of years ago and was awe struck, it was really neat to witness Pinyon Jays exhibiting this behavior and had I taken the correct turn off to Lytle I would have missed them. This was only my second sighting of Pinyon Jays as well. My morning was already made, I told my dad if we don't find the ranch I have already had a spectacular morning. Eventually we did find the Ranch with only an hour an a half left to bird before heading back.
Birds seen were at Lytle Ranch
Crissal Thrasher (life bird)
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (life bird)
Bewick's Wren (Life Bird)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
American Gold Finch 
a very surprising Pine Siskin feeding with the Goldfinches on sunflowers
Red Shafted Flicker
House finch
Yellow-rumped Warblers
and I think I saw a Brown Creeper, the coloring and behavior were correct but I couldn't see the bill before it moved up the trunk and out of sight. 

A lady we met said she saw a male Summer Tanager in the cottonwoods near the parking lot but I wasn't able to get that one.

Saturday morning while my family was sleeping in, I went over to Tonaquint park to look for Abert's Towhee there were many very active in the garden area. The Abert's Towhee was another life bird making a total of 4 for the trip.
Other birds seen were about the same as at Lytle Ranch and we saw a Golden Eagle just outside of town on our way back north.

Happy birding
Steve
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