Category: Birds

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Winter Birds

Red Crossbill, Courtesy US FWS, David Menke, Photographer
Red Crossbill
Courtesy US FWS
David Menke, Photographer
Fall bird migration is well underway! Our winter residents and migrating dropins are now beginning to populate our feeders and lower landscapes. So what sweet treats will decorate our feeder this year? We’re always hoping for a few surprises like eastern blue jays,
perhaps a gray crowned rosy finch, or green tail towhee. The old standbys never disappoint- juncos, various finch species, red breasted nuthatch, black capped & mountain chickadees.

A Black-capped Chickadee, Courtesy & Copyright Stephen Peterson, Photographer
A Black-capped Chickadee
Courtesy & Copyright
Stephen Peterson, Photographer

A Mountain Chickadee, Courtesy & Copyright Stephen Peterson, Photographer A Mountain Chickadee
Courtesy & Copyright
Stephen Peterson, Photographer

Swainsons Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, Courtesy Patrick Meyers, US NPS, Photographer Swainsons Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
Courtesy Patrick Meyers, US NPS, Photographer

Rough-Legged Hawk, Buteo lagopus, Courtesy US FWS Rough-Legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Courtesy US FWS

Snowy Owl, Bubo-scandiacus, Courtesy US FWS, Alex Galt, Photographer Snowy Owl
Bubo-scandiacus
Courtesy US FWS
Alex Galt, Photographer

Our winter birds are primarily seed eaters and berry eaters. Some exceptions are the woodpecker clan that attack our suet block, as do many of the seed eaters, and of course the raptors, who love to eat my feeder birds.

One non-feeder song bird that always brightens our day is the American dipper on our backyard creek. These little bundles of joy, or Rocky Mountain miniture pinguins if you prefer, do fine without our winter treats. They are full of joy swimming in freezing waters to pursue their prey- insect larva, small fish, and crustaceans. I’ve known them to sing their beautiful river song in the height of whiteout blizzards.

Many raptors have headed south, especially the Swainson hawks for which virtually the entire N. American flock winters in Argentina. Others move into our valley from further north- rough legged hawks, occassional snowy owls, snow buntings, and rarely a great gray owl, all raising spirits and engendering excitement by our birding community.

We’ve had but one green-tailed towhee in the 38 years we’ve resided in Smithfield Canyon. This delight acted unsure of where it was supposed to be. Skulcing, timid, it would steal in hesitant of its next move, where its spottoed towhee cousin was at ease, sure of its footing as it gobbled seed from the deck.

Being from the midwest, eastern bluejays elicite a flush of Michigan memories. Haughty and eye popping beauty, they too are less sure of their place and act quite timid and flighty at the feeder, quite opposite from their racous behavior back home.

We were blessed by immature Harris sparrows during our first three winters here. These elegant sparrows wear a striking black necklace, whick disppears with maturity. Will they ever return?

A tiny raptor brought great excitement. We noticed a Northern pygmy owl sitting comfortably 5 feet from our window, hoping to surprise a finch or junco. Fortunately for the songsters, it was discovered and the alarm sounded. Following 15 minutes of waiting, its patience subsided and it disappeared, never to be seen again!

Last winter we saw our first wild turkeys on the deck. Curious and comical, they would gaze in our living room window, wishing they had access to its contents. We learned even turkeys can be quite elegant, as they paraded on our deck railing.

Occasionally, great flocks of evening grosbeaks bless us with their startling beauty and abundance. We have yet to see gray crowned rosy finch or red crossbills. Perhaps this will be the winter!!

This is Jack Greene, for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and wild for Utah’s winter arrivals!

Credits:

Pictures: Courtesy US FWS,Photographers noted below each image
Contains Sound: Courtesy Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon Society/Utah State University Sustainability

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Black-capped Chickadee, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/id/

Mountain Chickadee, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mountain_Chickadee/id

Red-breasted Nuthatch, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Nuthatch/id

Northern Pygmy Owl, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pygmy-Owl/id

Swainson’s Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swainsons_Hawk/id

Rough-legged Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/id

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray-crowned_Rosy-Finch/id

Snowy Owl, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Owl/id

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A Friend to Guide the Way

Red-tailed Hawk, Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Red-tailed Hawk, Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
“Look, up on that pole! There’s a huge bird! I think it’s a hawk!”

A storm of students put their half-eaten PB & Js down, grabbed binoculars, and raced to get a better view. One of my 2nd-grade students, while eating lunch under the King’s Nature Park gazebo, had spotted the special visitor.

Students bustled around with their binoculars trying to get a better look at the far-away hawk. Excited fragments of observations eventually started ringing out.

“Look at that sharp beak!”

“I can see a red tail!”

“It’s mostly brown with some lighter feathers on the chest!”

“It looks like it’s watching us!”

Jack Greene guided our students, Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Jack Greene guided our students
Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer
Eventually students returned binoculars, wolfed down their remaining bits of food, and found their instructor for the afternoon learning centers. About 25 kids made their way to me and Jack Greene, an expert naturalist. My group strapped on their binocular harnesses, left the gazebo, and started off on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. We had one objective; to observe and wonder about nature.

We forged a 6-inch trickle of water – the endeavor being met with laughs, screams and giggles, proceeded higher onto the bench where the remnants of a recent fire still blackened the hillside, and made our way along the trail to a choke cherry bush which was to be the turning point. The students happily watched and listened to Black-Capped Chickadees and House Sparrows playing fall games in the crackly bramble. We all turned and started our journey back to the gazebo.

“Everyone, look up there! Soaring high above us! That looks like the huge hawk we saw at lunch! I think it’s following us!” came the shriek of an excited young girl.

Intrigued students looked up to see the large, soaring hawk far above, lazily drifting circles toward the gazebo. Naturally, the kids couldn’t let it get away. The unrestrainable naturalists raced down the gravel trail in the direction of the hawk.

The hawk did get too far away. We all rejoined and continued our walk back. No more than 5 minutes later, a shout echoed out: “It landed! That hawk that has been following us all day landed! I kept a close eye on it and it landed up there on a post!”

The hunt was afoot. We picked up our pace to get close to the big hawk that had landed on an electrical post a few hundred yards ahead of us. We crept up and it posed for the eager kid eyes and hasty teacher cameras. But little voices aren’t quiet, and the hawk launched from the post and took flight before many could get a good look.

We had to get back. After Jack gave a mini-lesson about the length of a Black-Billed Magpie tail indicating approximate age, we hustled to return to the gazebo.

Our group of hot, sweaty, and energized naturalists arrived back at the gazebo and gathered for a final closing discussion. We huddled close, and amidst my parting words, a boy loudly interrupted and pointed to a nearby telephone pole. “Everyone, look! The hawk came to say goodbye!”

We all turned, and perched on the pole was the same hawk that had followed us that day; our guide, our companion, our friend. It took off and slowly, methodically, made low circles above our head, as if to say “Now you can see me, I am your friend. Goodbye, little ones. We had a special journey together.”

I am Dr. Joseph Kozlowski, and I am wild about outdoor education in Utah!

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver and including contributions from Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text:     Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski & Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah:

Red-tailed Hawk, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/overview

Black-capped Chickadee, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee

House Sparrow, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Sparrow

Black-beak Magpie, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-billed_Magpie

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My Fishing River Otter

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer
River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer
Many years ago on a gorgeous fall day, I was standing on the bank of Green River in the Split Mountain campground in Dinosaur National Monument. I was visiting the site for our upcoming Utah Envirothon competition to assess the lay of the land and all it contained- plants, wildlife, soils, and aquatics. These were the main areas covered in the competition, so I would report back to my Logan high students on what local knowledge they might be tested on.

Humpback Chub Gila Cypha Courtesy US FWS, S Nev. FWO
Humpback Chub
Gila Cypha
Courtesy US FWS, S Nev. FWO

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Blue Lake National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Ted Narveson, Photographer River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Blue Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Ted Narveson, Photographer

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Barbara Wheeler, Photographer River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Barbara Wheeler, Photographer

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Tom Koerner, Photographer

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Tim Holman, Photographer River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Tim Holman, Photographer

River Otter, Lontra canadensis Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge Courtesy US FWS, Mike Budd, Photographer River Otter, Lontra canadensis
Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge
Courtesy US FWS, Mike Budd, Photographer

I stood mesmerized by the beauty of the tranquil setting and glowing cottonwoods dwarfed by rainbow colored cliffs. The spell was suddenly shattered by a large aquatic mammal swimming nearby. Thinking it was a beaver, I awaited the telltale slap of its tail as it neared my position. Suddenly it began swimming wildly in a river backwater immediately in front of me. A river otter! This was my first sighting of a freshwater otter. I had seen many much larger marine otters on the west coast lying on their backs in kelp forests using rocks to crack open shellfish.

River otters had been nearly extirpated from Utah and recently reintroduced from 1989-1992, all of which doubled my excitement! As the otter accelerated, a fin emerged about a dozen feet in front of the predator. A large fish and strong swimmer, it led the otter on a wild, zigzag chase in the backwater. Finally, the otter captured the exhausted fish- an endangered humpbacked chub! It hauled out with a fish dinner on a flat boulder protruding from the water no more than 20 feet from where I stood. It cradled the large fish in its arms prepared to deliver the death bite through the head when it suddenly realized my statuesque presence.

Startled by my presence, it allowed the humpback to flip loose and return to the water. The otter was immediately on it, but the fish surged from the calm backwater to the main river channel current and disappeared. I was stunned by what happened next. The otter returned to the flat rock where it had held the fish, looked directly at me, and hurled what had to be a stream of otter profanity toward me! Me Me Me Me!!! (repeated several times) I have yet to fully recover from the insults!

River otters are important as indicators of healthy aquatic environments. They have a low tolerance for polluted water and require an abundant prey population. Due to their secretive nature, wide ranges, and low densities, otter populations are difficult to monitor. Currently, there is not a population estimate for Utah. Knowing where they are located is vital to managing this species. Recreationists can help with their management by reporting any sightings.

River otters primarily eat fish, but are also known to prey on small mammals, aquatic birds, crayfish and insects.

Now I must revisit the Disney film “Flash, the Teenage Otter”, to get reacquainted with this playful, highly intelligent and comical relative!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m forever Wild About Utah’s River Otters & Humpback Chubs!

Credits:
Images Courtesy US FWS, photographers marked with each image
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, and Jack Greene, Author, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Flash, the Teenage Otter

Filmed almost entirely at a Wisconsin game preserve, this episode of “”Walt Disney Presents”” was based on a book by Emil Liers. The program chronicles the early life and adventures of two otters, Flash and Fleta, and their close-knit family. Upon reaching their rebellious teen years, Flash strikes out on his own, experiencing all manner of exciting and life-threatening exploits, especially when coming in contact with that predatory species known as Man. But as the “”teaser”” to this episode tipped off a week in advance, Flash is ultimately and happily reunited with his loved ones. “”Flash, the Teenage Otter”” was released theatrically in 1961. –more–

Flash the Teenage Otter, The Wonderful World of Disney, [Review above from] TheTVDB.com, A Whip Media Company, https://thetvdb.com/series/the-wonderful-world-of-disney/episodes/245964
See also:
Liers, Emil, An Otter’s Story, The Viking Press, April 3, 1953, https://www.amazon.com/Otters-Story-Emil-Liers/dp/0670529753

Humpback Chub, , Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=gila%20cypha

Northern River Otter, Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=lontra%20canadensis

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A Surprise visit with distant relatives of Cache Valley’s birds

A Surprise visit with distant relatives of Cache Valley's birds: Peafowl Chicks, Courtesy Wikimedia, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Peafowl Chicks
Courtesy Wikimedia, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Awhile back, I was riding my bicycle along country roads in Cache Valley, when suddenly 6 unusual looking chicks ran across the road in single file right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time as the chicks disappeared down the farmhouse driveway on the other side of the road.

I got off my bike and ventured partway down the driveway. Suddenly I found myself face to face with a fully grown peacock. This distant relative of Cache Valley’s native birds seemed quite at home in the shady backyard. As I glanced around, I realized it was his home. From where I was standing I could see at least ten more peacocks and peahens.

Peacock Courtesy Pixabay, Anrita1705, Contributor
Peacock
Courtesy Pixabay, Anrita1705, Contributor

Peahen on Tractor Cab Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Peahen on Tractor Cab
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Peacock and Chickens Courtesy US NPS, Bent's Fort National Monument, New Mexico Peacock and Chickens
Courtesy US NPS, Bent’s Fort National Monument, New Mexico

Peahen Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Peahen
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Then I noticed the farmer sitting in his truck at the end of the driveway. He beckoned me over and gave me the whole story.

Many years ago, he had gone to Idaho and purchased a peacock and a peahen. The peahen ran off, so he went back and got another pair. This time it worked. The pair produced a nest full of eggs which the peahen diligently sat on for four weeks. She then tended the baby chicks for the week it took them to learn to fly up into the relative safety of the trees in the yard. The small family made itself at home, settling into a routine of spending their days on the ground and their nights in the trees.

Occasionally an owl or a racoon would take their toll, but these hardy birds proved they could not only survive but thrive. Knowing that these birds originally came from India , I was amazed that they could withstand the bitter cold of Cache Valley’s winters. Perhaps it helped that the farmer had a kindly wife, who would throw out some cracked corn, an occasional cup of cat food, and – on very special occasions- some hot dogs.

Peafowl are omnivores, and on this sunny day I could see them pecking away to their heart’s content in the adjacent grain fields. Luckily this band of birds avoided the fate of the six peacocks who used to free roam the zoo in Logan’s Willow Park. The zoo birds caught the bird flu virus in 2022 and all of them died.

I told my new friend, the farmer, that I was surprised how the females didn’t look the least bit like the males. The peahen is much smaller and is a rather drab brown. He explained that the peahen needs good camouflage because she lays her eggs on the ground and then has to sit there for four weeks with absolutely no help from the male.

The farmer invited me to take as many pictures as I wanted. So I pulled out my cell phone and stepped closer to the birds. That’s when I found out just how fast they can run. They stepped away and out of sight almost before I could blink. Peacocks have been clocked running as fast as 10 mph.

It wasn’t mating season, so the peacocks weren’t fanning out their tails and trying to impress the females. But I was already completely impressed to simply find out there are 200 feathers in the peacock tail. On top of that, the peacocks molt. Each year all 200 tail feathers fall out, and the peacock has to regrow them. No wonder the colors stay so bright!

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild about all the birds who make themselves at home in Utah.

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer, US NPS, Pixabay and Wikimedia
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Anderson, Howe, and Wakeman.
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings