16 February 2025

Posts Tagged ‘lazuli bunting’

Wild Rose

Thursday, September 2nd, 2021
House Wren (in a wild rose), East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 02 September 2021.
House Wren (in a wild rose).

My morning hike with dog began quietly, in keeping with this quiet season, when I mostly scan for silent flitting birds. And, dang, did I hit the jackpot.

In particular, that pot appeared in the form of a trailside rose bush, where in the pat I’ve often seen lurking towhees. What I saw this morning were three quietly flitting Brewer’s Sparrows. As I stood still angling fdor photos, Another bird popped up: a Nashville Warbler. Turned my camera to the warbler, when another species appeared: a House Wren. Got some nice pics of the wren—when I noticed a Green-tailed Towhee in there, too.

Four species in the same little wild rose.

Later, on our return, I decided to head over and revisit the rose bush, and what should I find there? A Spotted Towhee.

You can bet I’ll be checking that wild again in the morning.

Grandeur Peak Area List
At 7:07 a.m. (8:07 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.

1. Black-chinned Hummingbird
2. House Finch**
3. Rock Pigeon*
4. Western Tanager
5. Eurasian Collared-dove
6. Spotted Towhee
7. Lesser Goldfinch*
8. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v)
9. Brewer’s Sparrow
10. Nashville Warbler
11. Green-tailed Towhee
12. House Wren
13. Chipping Sparrow
14. Black-capped Chickadee
15. Lazuli Bunting
16. American Robin

Elsewhere

17. California Quail (v)
18. House Sparrow

Mammals

Rock Squirrel
Red Squirrel

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

Nutcracker

Saturday, August 28th, 2021
Chipping Sparrow, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 28 October 2021.
Chipping Sparrow.

A very cool—albeit very smoky—morning. The combination made me think dog and I might should do a ridge hike. And we did.

Clark’s Nutcracker, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 28 October 2021.
Clark’s Nutcracker.

Quiet again, bird-wise. (It’s just that time of year.) But it was a good hike up the long switchback for we two old troopers. Up along the ridge, I happened to spy a group of five fast-flying, distinctively patterned birds below us—birds I did not recognize. They were too far away for a good look, but my eyeballs say gray birds, with black wings and a little white on ’em somewhere. I tried to get photos, wasn’t sure I had much luck.

Back home, I discovered a single fairly sharp distant photo of one of the birds headed away. Still couldn’t find an ID online, so I ran the pic by my expert bird-tour-leader friend Derek, who immediately identified it as a Clark’s Nutcracker. A lifer for me!

Later, on our return, I sparrow popped up right beside the trail. A chippy. Bidding us adieu—until, perhaps, tomorrow.

Grandeur Peak Area List
At 7:07 a.m. (8:07 MDT), I hiked some 1,200 feet up a mountain.

1. Black-chinned Hummingbird
2. Rock Pigeon*
3. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay (v)
4. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
5. Black-billed Magpie*
6. Lesser Goldfinch
7. Lazuli Bunting
8. House Finch**
9. Clark’s Nutcracker‡
10. Black-capped Chickadee
11. Cooper’s Hawk
12. Spotted Towhee (v)
13. Orange-crowned Warbler
14. Chipping Sparrow

Elsewhere

15. House Sparrow
16. California Quail (v)

Mammals

Red Squirrel
Rock Squirrel

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
‡Lifer

Thrasher

Friday, August 27th, 2021
Sage Thrasher, East Millcreek, Salt Lake City, Utah, 27 August 2021.
Sage Thrasher.

Trouble operating my GoPro for the second straight day—this time, I managed to set it for “night lapse.” Sheesh. (Tomorrow I’ll do a careful equipment check.) Compared to yesterday, at least, it was a quiet morning, with not a lot of excitement, nor many photo opportunities.

Except toward the end, when I happened to spot a bird perched on some bare scrub-oak twigs. And for the second straight August day, I had a first-of-year species.

Grandeur Peak Area List
At 7:05 a.m. (8:05 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.

1. House Finch**
2. Black-capped Chickadee
3. Black-chinned Hummingbird
4. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
5. Rock Pigeon*
6. Lazuli Bunting
7. Eurasian Collared-dove
8. Spotted Towhee (v)
9. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
10. Western Tanager
11. Warbling Vireo (v)
12. Accipiter (sp)
13. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
14. Lesser Goldfinch (v)
15. American Goldfinch
16. Pine Siskin (v)
17. American Robin (v)
18. Sage Thrasher†

Elsewhere

19. Black-billed Magpie
20. European Starling
21. American Crow
22. California Quail

Mammals

Red Squirrel

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird

 
Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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