[Birdtalk] More Lewis's Woodpeckers in Weber County

[Kristin Purdy]

A funny thing happened on the way to an appointment in Eden, Ogden Valley, 
Weber County, this morning. I heard a raptor vocalizing in the distance, 
scanned a line of dead cottonwoods along the North Fork of the Ogden River 
for the bird, confirmed the screamer was a Red-tail, and then saw a LEWIS'S 
WOODPECKER sally out from the same tree. And then I saw another, and then 
another, and then another.

Generally speaking, the location is upstream from The North Arm Natural Area 
by at least a half mile and the bad news is that it's not accessible from 
any public road with a good view, even for a birder with a scope. Private 
land lines the river on both sides far to the north and south. The closest I 
was able to get was behind (west of) Snowcrest Junior High School, through 
the school's grasshopper-infested field and along the chain link fence back 
there. I was using a scope to see better, but it was still a heat 
wave-filled view hundreds of yards away. It was at least good enough to see 
that one of the four woodpeckers was an adult when it flared my way and I 
could see the bird's pink belly. The young are pretty dull and dusky right 
now with nary a hint of pink bellies.

The Lewis's Woodpeckers a few miles further upstream near North Fork Park in 
Liberty are a better bet for watching. I visited them a week or two ago and 
saw at least three birds; that included one adult and two juveniles.

Snowcrest Jr. High School is located on SR-162, .9 miles west of the 
intersection with SR-158.

Kris