[redcliffs] Zion Trip Report

Thu May 31 11:05:37 MDT 2007

My wife Diane and I recently made a trip to the Southwest to celebrate
our 25th wedding anniversary. Diane is not a birder (though she's found
me some nice birds), and I happily accepted the fact that I would have
little time in which to give my undivided attention to winged creatures.
Zion, where Diane and I spent May 17-21, promised to be the birdiest
place in what had so far been less than an avian paradise, though we'd
thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of our previous stops: Arches,
Canyonlands, and the Grand Canyon (where I'd had excellent views of
California Condors). Perhaps my most significant pre-Zion avian
experience had occurred on a cliff-edge trail in Canyonlands a few days
before: our friend Nancy snapped a commemorative photo of Diane and me
just as a squadron of six White-throated Swifts dived by in formation,
wings zinging in salute, just meters away. 

While at Zion, we tented at the Watchman campground (site B52), and many
of the birds I saw simply made their appearance in the vicinity of our
riverside site. I'd brought along D. E. McIvor's Birding Utah and so had
some idea of the birds I could expect-I was especially hoping to see
owls and knew from postings on the Redcliffs list that Zone-tailed and
Common Black Hawks might also show up.

I've appended a list of the 50 species I saw in Zion and nearby
Springdale.

I awoke on the first day, after removing my earplugs, to the strident
lecturing of Warbling Vireos. Some other kind of vireo was singing a
more measured song sotto voce in the background. It was hard to tell
from timing the phrases whether number two was a Cassin's or a
Plumbeous, but fortunately one perched on a bare branch a few meters
away while my wife and I were having breakfast. It was all-gray and
spectacled: definitely the latter species. Western Bluebirds of both
sexes seemed right at home among the tents an RV's. I even saw one
bathing in the overflow from a water pump. Black-chinned Hummingbirds
were also common. I kept checking them for Broad-taileds, but without
success. They liked to hover low over the Virgin River, swaying in a
shallow arc as if feeding on bugs. Once I saw one put the run to a
Western Tanager.

Other birds of note that showed up along the river bank at our site or
during our walks along the dyke to and from the bus stop included Say's
Phoebe, a lone Cassin's Kingbird, Bullock's Oriole, Black Phoebe (which
for some reason isn't in McIvor's bird list for the park), and Northern
Rough-winged Swallow (another one not in McIvor).

"What's that little red thing?" Diane asked one evening over supper. I
was about to pass it off as a Cassin's Finch until I realized how large
it was. It stayed put long enough for me to get my binoculars and
observe the large bill and the red that was splattered like paint over
the upper part of its mostly yellow body: an immature Summer Tanager
(another species not listed in McIvor). The next day I saw a mature
male, crest erect, making a pass at a seemingly willing female that was
perched on a branch over our picnic table. I saw all three again about a
kilometer away at the South Campground the next day. 

"Awake, my soul. I will awaken the dawn!" I said to myself as I rose
early on the morning of the 20th. I was in the mood for quoting psalms
because Diane and I had  decided that we would each do our own thing
that morning, which for me meant getting in as much birding in as
possible. I determined to follow McIvor's advice and take in both the
Pa'rus Trail and the Emerald Pools Trail. Things didn't heat up birdwise
on the Pa'arus until I reached the northern half of the trail. There I
saw a delicate black bird perched on a bush and recognized it as a
Phainopepla (another bird not listed in McIvor for Zion). It revealed
white in the wings as it flew away, and soon the female popped up on the
other side of the path. Toward the north end of the trail I caught sight
of a little gray job that wasn't a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher. Lucy's Warbler
perhaps? Sobered by the page in Sibley illustrating the little gray jobs
of the Southwest, I decided not to press the id.

I had the Lower Emerald Pool pretty much to myself, despite the fact
that it was already 8:00 a.m. My walk to and from the pool produced
Black-throated Gray Warbler, White-throated Swift, Juniper Titmouse, a
Townsend's Solitaire having a dust bath (which reminded me of the lack
of showers at Zion!), and a heard Western Wood-Pewee. I may have picked
up Wild Turkey on the bus ride up, but I can't remember. We always saw
them on our evening rides up the canyon. 

I took the Pa'rus Trail back, and at the bridge just east of the museum
saw in the cottonwoods a little gray bird, with a white belly, whose
song vaguely resembled that of a Yellow Warbler. The description in
Sibley led me to believe that I'd seen a Lucy's Warbler. Also present
were a Black-headed Grosbeak, a Bewick's Wren, and below the bridge an
American Dipper that was being pestered by two Black Phoebes whose
territory it had invaded.

With a vague recollection of a posting about Painted Redstarts on the
Watchman Trail, I set out on that path at about 11:00 a.m. Perhaps my
late start accounts for the fact that I missed the Redstarts, if they
were still around-the jumbled rocks in the canyon would've provided
ample nesting sites for them. I did, however, end up duetting with a
Canyon Wren about halfway to the top. Near the end of the trail, just
after it winds around onto the mesa, I heard a vireo singing. The
elements of the song bore a strong resemblance to those of the Plumbeous
Vireo, but were delivered more rapidly and more crisply. I congratulated
myself (goodness knows, I've misidentified more than my share of birds)
on recognizing the song of the Gray Vireo. I think there were at least
two, and I finally got a glimpse of the thing after many vain attempts
to draw it out by pishing or imitating Northern Pygmy Owls 

Diane and I walked the Pa'rus Trail a couple of times at dusk but didn't
hear any of the owls (my only chance for a life bird) I'd hope to hear
vocalize. We did see some goofy-looking overgrown-moth-sized bats and
some of their longer winged relatives, however. The only other birds of
note were the Eurasian Collared-Doves and the Western Kingbirds that I
saw in Springdale.

Zion certainly isn't anywhere near as productive as Southeatern Arizona,
but I'd like to return someday if only for another shot at the owls (and
because it's such an exquisitely beautiful place). Thanks to those who
provided information on birding the Zion area, especially Rick Fridell.

Trip List

Great Blue Heron

Duck sp. (not a Mallard; observed on the river, from a bus)

Mallard

Turkey Vulture

Red-tailed Hawk

Wild Turkey

Mourning Dove

Eurasian Collared-Dove

White-throated Swift

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Western Wood-Pewee

Black Phoebe

Say's Phoebe

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Cassin's Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Gray Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Plumbeous Vireo

Common Raven

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Violet-Green Swallow

Juniper Titmouse

Bewick's Wren

House Wren

Canyon Wren

American Dipper

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Townsend's Solitaire

Western Bluebird

American Robin

European Starling

Phainopepla

Yellow Warbler

Lucy's Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Summer Tanager

Western Tanager

Black-headed Grosbeak

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock's Oriole

Cassin's Finch

Lesser Goldfinch

House Sparrow

H. D. (Sandy) Ayer (Mr.)
Director of Library Services/Archivist
AUC-NUC / Canadian Theological Seminary

phone: 403.410.2000      web: http://www.auc-nuc.ca/
<http://www.auc-nuc.ca/>  
fax: 403.571.2556      email: sayer at auc-nuc.ca <mailto:sayer at auc-nuc.ca>

Alliance University College - Nazarene University College 630, 833-4th
Ave. SW Calgary, AB T2P 3T5 

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