[Birdtalk] Lots O' Birds at Garr Ranch

[Merrill Webb]

Birders,
This is a follow-up note to Kris's report.  Glen Barlow and I visited the island and especially Garr Ranch yesterday (Tuesday) and found empids everywhere, and all the Utah species were represented.  Wilson's Warblers were everywhere, especially in the grove of elm trees south of the main group of buildings.  Also saw MacGillivray's and Nashville Warblers, but missed the waterthrush.  If you want to test your ability to recognize empids now is the time to visit the ranch.  
On the way back we stopped at the bridge nearest the island.  Thousands of winter-plumaged Red-necked Phalaropes were gorging themselves on either brine shrimp or fly larvae.  It was a good day to be out and about.
Merrill Webb


--- On Mon, 9/1/08, Kristin Purdy <kristinpurdy at comcast.net> wrote:

> From: Kristin Purdy <kristinpurdy at comcast.net>
> Subject: [Birdtalk] Lots O' Birds at Garr Ranch
> To: "Bird Talk" <birdtalk at utahbirds.org>
> Date: Monday, September 1, 2008, 7:54 PM
> Since a couple from the east coast of Florida that I met at
> Garr Ranch today 
> described the high number of birds at Garr as fallout
> conditions, I'll take 
> their word that it was a good day.
> 
> Today's most numerous species at the ranch were
> Hammond's Flycatcher, 
> Western Wood-pewee and Wilson's Warbler. These three
> were everywhere. If 
> studying non-singing empids not on territory is your dream
> birding 
> experience, you shoulda been there! The celebrity bird of
> the day was a 
> NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH that used the spring channel from the
> spring house all 
> the way down to the phragmites, and the trees south of the
> fallen 
> cottonwoods. This bird chipped a lot and it was much louder
> than any other 
> species.
> 
> Other goodies at the ranch today included:
> 
> Black-chinned, Calliope, Broad-tailed, Rufous Hummingbirds
> The remaining Empids classified as common or fairly common:
> Willow, Gray, 
> Dusky, Cordilleran Flycatchers
> Say's Phoebe
> Warbling and CASSIN'S Vireos
> House and Marsh Wrens
> Nashville, Yellow, MacGillivray's Warblers
> Western Tanagers
> Lazuli Buntings
> Black-headed Grosbeaks
> Lincoln's Sparrow (another surprise; I don't know
> if the date is right for a 
> southbound Lincoln's or not; seems early)
> 
> I was surprised to see hummingbirds feeding from the
> sunflowers east of the 
> spring near the phragmites burn, only because I didn't
> know sunflowers were 
> decent nectar producers. At first I thought it was a fluke
> because the bird 
> I saw was low-hummer-on-the-totem-pole Calliope. I figured
> the bird didn't 
> like the competition at the feeders from the more
> aggressive species (even 
> though I also saw a Calliope there, too). But later I saw
> both Black-chinned 
> and a Broad-tailed using the sunflowers and they
> weren't just passing 
> through.
> 
> I also saw Burrowing Owls on the way home on the slope west
> of the Hollywood 
> Comes to Antelope Island sign (road to Garr) and at
> milepost 6 on the 
> causeway.
> 
> Kris 
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