[Birdtalk] Brow-capped Rosy-Finch musings

[Connie McManus]

TIm,this sounds like a really excellent idea.  If an outing is scheduled, I
am interested in joining, if for no other reason than I really want to get
out with experienced birders.  Since the appearance of a Gray-crowned
Rosy-Finch at my feeder yesterday, I'm very excited about the Rosy-Finches
and want to see more of them and learn more about them.

Connie McManus
Nibley, Cache, UT
where the cake is definitely a lie

On Mon, Dec 22, 2008 at 8:24 PM, Bryant Olsen <bryant_olsen at yahoo.com>wrote:

>  I agree that the La Sal Mnts. and Southeastern Utah are pretty neglected
> and I too have a lot of questions about bird distribution in that part of
> the state. I have seen Gray Jays in the La Sal's , and it makes me wonder
> how many other subalpine-alpine species are there. From the crest of the
> range you can look right across the Colorado border at the lofty hights of
> the San Juan Mnts., one of the largest chunks of alpine tundra and mountain
> forests south of Canada, and its only a short flight for any bird(50 miles
> tops). A very isolated population of Pika live in the La Sal's, the only one
> in SE Utah, and they can't even fly. Of course the mother of all alpine
> birds, the White-Tailed Ptarmigan, are abundant in the San Juans, so its OK
> to fanticize about seeing one in the Las Sals isn't it? I know I have.
> Brown-capped Rosey Finch seem a good canidate too. I have heard other
> reports of birds down in the canyon country that intrige me. Apparently
> Gambel's Quail at least used to occur as far north as Green River, but may
> have died off? Are there any NATIVE Turkey in the Ponderosa Pine forests.
> What about the status of Raptors. Do or do not Ferruginous Hawk nest there.
> the habitat seems to exist, but I can find no nesting record anywere.Same
> goes for Northern Harriers and Long and Short Eared Owls. Its amazing that a
> place with more National Parks and Monuments than anywere else in the
> country, if not the world, could hold so many mysteries. I would definatly
> like to see more birding reports come from down there. Count me in Tim
> Bryant Olsen
>
> --- On *Mon, 12/22/08, Tim Avery <western.tanager at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
> From: Tim Avery <western.tanager at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Birdtalk] Brow-capped Rosy-Finch musings
> To: birdtalk at utahbirds.org
> Date: Monday, December 22, 2008, 11:07 AM
>
>
> The sighting of multiple Brown-capped Rosy-Finches in Moab this month got
> me thinking more about the actual occurrence of this species in Utah.
> Despite the fact that this will be the 1st accepted sighting of this species
> in state, it has been pondered by I am sure many, whether or not this
> species may actually breed in southeast Utah and to what extent is their
> winter range into lower elevations in this part of the state?  Coverage of
> this enormous southeast area as always seems to be the biggest problem.
> There aren't nearly enough birders to adequately cover such a large area,
> and there isn't as much draw to bring birders from northern Utah down to
> this area, as there is to southwest Utah.  Lu Giddings over the past several
> years has done an enormous service to birding in San Juan County by making
> his outings and conducting the first Bluff CBC, etc.  And Chuck LaRue over
> the years has contributed quite a bit in his studies of birds in the
> region.  But outside of this, the average birder doesn't make it to this
> area often, and the unique placement in the state means that there are
> probably a number of species going un-noticed in this area.
>
> Scaled Quail, Canyon Towhee, Hepatic Tanager, Olive Warbler, Sprague's
> Pipit, Mountain Plover, Longspur's, etc.  There are a number of species
> which very likely may inhabit or migrate through this area that simply go
> unnoticed.  The Rosy-Finches are a great example, and lead me to the point
> of this email.  In the past few years in Wyoming there have been "surveys"
> to locate nesting Brow-capped in the Snowy range in southeastern Wyoming.
> Nests have been successfully found in the area, and this makes me think this
> could be an interesting outing in Utah.  Why not plan a late June or early
> July outing to the La Sal Mountains for a weekend to search out nests for
> this species?  With peaks over 12,000' feet isolated  and surrounded by
> desert, the rocky crags above treeline provide what would seem like adequate
> habitat for this species to nest.  This would be the perfect opportunity for
> northern Utah birders and birding groups, along with DWR, and the local Moab
> Audubon Society to get together and not only do something for citizen
> science, but to also connect this isolated area with the rest of the state.
> Besides searching for this species, general bird distribution in the La Sals
> seems to be a bit of a mystery.  Paul Lehman actually asked this question
> last year at the ABA conference, curious about the distribution of
> high-elevation conifer residents such as crossbills, Evening Grosbeak,
> American Three-toed Woodpecker, etc., because in most field guides it is
> sort of a "black hole".
>
> With this said is there any interest from Utah birders to do such a
> "research trip"?  I am more than willing to try and put something together,
> with the help of anyone interested, as I believe this would not only be a
> fun trip, but also could contribute quite a bit to science for this area of
> the state!
>
> Not to mention, I wouldn't mind getting Brown-capped Rosy-Finch in Utah ;)
>
> So, any thoughts or interest?
>
> Good Birding
>
> Tim
>
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