[Birdtalk] San Juan county birds - May 2008

[Lu Giddings]

I had the chance to make a very quick trip to San Juan county, driving 
down late Sunday afternoon and returning late last night. Because of the 
short duration I only had time to bird along the San Juan River between 
Aneth and Bluff, in Montezuma canyon, and to make quick stops at 
Recapture Reservoir and Ken's Lake both coming and going. Spring is much 
more evident around Bluff then along the Wasatch front. The weather was 
excellent, warm and beautiful, and the black flies were not yet 
unpleasantly abundant. Note-worthy observations include, in no 
particular order:

- The red-red vireo seen yesterday at Recapture reservoir which I have 
posted at Birdnet.
- 10 double-crested cormorants were seen yesterday morning flying west 
down the San Juan river just outside of Montezuma Creek. This is of 
itself noteworthy, as the birds have an UT/RW status in San Juan county. 
These were the first I have seen in the area in nearly three years of 
study. Also of note was that one of the ten birds was mostly or 
completely white.
- a willow flycatcher was seen in Montezuma canyon, a bird with RS 
status in the county. Other noteworthy flycatchers include black phoebes 
seen in Montezuma canyon and also on the small pond on the Hatch 
property. The black phoebe found the previous two years at the McElmo 
creek bridge west of Aneth was neither seen or heard, nor was the bird I 
have often seen east of Bluff.
- a ferruginous hawk was seen yesterday atop a power pole along the 
Bluff cut-off road. This is noteworthy as the species has RS/RT status 
within the county. My previous county sightings of this species have 
always occurred between September and January.
- Lucy's warblers were once again fairly common in the Bluff area, and a 
nesting pair of summer tanagers has also returned.

Finally.  It occurs to me that there is a good possibility that hooded 
orioles may be found in San Juan county. This would place the birds well 
outside their described range. They would probably at best be a RS or OS 
species. Based on my limited understanding of the species it seems the 
most likely place for bird to be found would be in the cottonwood groves 
along the San Juan river. Yesterday afternoon I made six stops along a 
six mile stretch of the San Juan river between the (now defunct) 
swinging bridge and Sand Island and played the Stokes CD call several 
times at each stop. I received what seemed to be call-backs calls at two 
of the six stops; at one of these a pair of birds, one a brilliant 
orange, darted into the top of an adjacent cottonwood tree but I was 
never able to find it in the dense foliage. This is a bird to watch for 
if you travel south this summer.

Lu Giddings

Total Count: 98 species
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Redhead
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Prairie Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Franklin's Gull
Californian Gull
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Burrowing Owl
Common Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say's Phoebe
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Cassin's Kingbird
Western Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike
Plumbeous Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Rock Wren
Canyon Wren
Bewick's Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Mountain Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Sage Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Virginia's Warbler
Lucy's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow