[TopOfUtah] Cache Co. Peregrine, Barn Owl, etc.

[Ryan O'Donnell]

Since today was my birthday, Stephanie Cobbold and I took off from
school around noon to celebrate by birding.  We started with a loop
around the Benson Marina area which produced only about a dozen or two
Horned Larks with nothing else mixed in.  Perhaps partly explaining the
shortage was a single PEREGRINE FALCON which was perched on the ground,
presumably feeding on something until we scared it off.  Several
Ring-necked Pheasants, Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, and
Rough-legged Hawks were also seen in the area.
 
The water around the Bear River as it goes under Highway 30 was finally
open (it was frozen over as recently as Sunday), and had attracted a
smattering of gulls (all Ring-billed and California as far as we could
tell) along with some Gadwall.  While checking the other side of the
road for more birds (one Common Goldeneye was visible, along with
several Northern Harriers), I found a BARN OWL in the reeds on the side
of the road.  We soon realized that it had a broken wing, presumably hit
by a car.  I captured it and we took it to a vet that does wildlife
rehabilitation.
 
>From there, we went to the Logan Landfill where we could also only find
California and Ring-billed gulls (we have seen a MEW GULL and at least
one Herring Gull in the area in the last week).  Then we drove up to
Spring Hollow Campground above Third Dam in Logan Canyon and took about
a 2 mile round-trip hike.  The hike wasn't too productive: our total
list here included about 15 Cedar Waxwings, one Townsend's Solitaire,
one Belted Kingfisher, one Green-winged Teal, one adult Golden Eagle,
and about six Common Goldeneye.  By some accounts, the mammals outshone
the birds here, with four Mule Deer and 18 Elk.
 
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://home.comcast.net/~tsirtalis/