[Birdtalk] Mona and Elberta birds

[Lu Giddings]

I made the loop this morning from Santaquin through Mona and around the 
reservoir into Elberta and Goshen. The reservoir was quiet. Lots of 
coots but not many waterfowl. There was a dead swan out in the mud but I 
couldn't identify it as to specie. I spotted ferruginous hawks near 
Santaquin, Mona, and Elberta. Two merlins were seen in Elberta, one at 
the church farm and the other on the west side of the valley. I watched 
the church farm bird buzz the 500+ rock pigeons that were trying to 
feed. It didn't seem to be too interested in serious hunting. It would 
swoop down, get the birds in the air and chase them in circles a few 
times, then fly back to its perch and wait a few minutes to start the 
process again. Or perhaps this is part of its hunting strategy? It was 
also interesting to note that pigeons, blackbirds, and other smaller 
birds all responded when the merlin dove at them, but the ravens seemed 
completely disinterested, I suppose sufficiently self-aware to realize 
that they're out of a merlin's league.

Lu Giddings

Total Count: 37 species
 
Gadwall
Mallard
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
American Coot
Killdeer
Californian Gull
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Great Horned Owl
Northern Flicker
Western Scrub-Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
European Starling
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow