[TopOfUtah] Birch Creek and Logan Landfill, Cache County

[Ryan O'Donnell]

Today I snowshoed and birded Birch Creek Canyon from 11:30 to 3:00 with
Ryan Wilson.  Birch Creek is just east of Smithfield in Cache County.
We spotted a flock of small dark birds in a tight flock swirling around
low to the ground a few hundred yards away.  Their behavior, size, and
habitat made me think they were possibly rosy-finches, but they were on
private property so we couldn't get close enough to be sure.  Here are
the other species we saw - nothing surprising.
 
1	 Bald Eagle	
1	 Golden Eagle	
1	 American Kestrel	
2	 Downy Woodpecker	
2	 Northern Flicker	
8	 Black-billed Magpie	
5	 Common Raven	
40	 Black-capped Chickadee	
2	 Townsend's Solitaire	
1	 Spotted Towhee	
1	 Song Sparrow	
30	 American Goldfinch	
On the way back we stopped by the Logan Landfill, but again today (I
also tried yesterday evening) there were no gulls.  Species seen there
in the last two days (<15 minutes each trip) included Northern Harrier,
Brewer's Blackbird, European Starling, Horned Lark, Red-tailed Hawk, and
Ring-necked Pheasant.
 
Good birding,
Ryan
 
Ryan P. O'Donnell
Department of Biology and the Ecology Center
Utah State University
5305 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5305
 
http://200birds.blogspot.com/
http://home.comcast.net/~tsirtalis/