You Can Be a Part of the February Global Bird Count!

Everyone Can Be a Part of the February Global Bird Count! Courtesy Cornell Lab of Ornithology on behalf of Great Backyard Bird Count, birdcount.org
How many birds can you find?
28th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
February 14-17, 2025
birdcount.org
Image: Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
© Jim Merritt / Macaulay Library

Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Courtesy & Copyright Hilary Shughart, Photographer Gray-crowned Rosy Finch
Courtesy & Copyright Hilary Shughart, Photographer

There are deeply concerning drops in bird populations, and shifting migration ranges and patterns are changing before our eyes, but on the bright side, the crisis presents a strong reason and opportunities for even the most novice birders to be a part of the solution, to contribute to environmental conservation through community science. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada urge us to walk into nature and count birds for the mid-February Global Bird Count known as the Great Backyard Bird Count. February is the month to help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations, and the data collected will help bend the curve for bird survival.

“Spend time in your favorite places watching birds–then tell us about them! In as little as 15 minutes notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit them to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. If you already use eBird or Merlin, your submissions over the 4 days count towards GBBC.”

Everything you need to know will be shared in a free online webinar, so “Get ready to flock together for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)! Panelists will explain how to participate in this exciting global event and how participation might extend past your back door. Discover how to join a group taking part in the GBBC and explore fun ways to involve kids. From bird ID tips to counting birds with ease, this webinar is your ticket to an engaging and confident GBBC experience.”

We’ve posted links for local parks and trails with eBird printable checklists, and it’s encouraging to see the number and variety of species accessible right in town, and in our nearby National Forests and Wilderness Areas. Will you see American Robins, Black-billed Magpies, and Northern Flickers? Can you tell the difference between the American and the Lesser Goldfinch, or the Mountain and Black-capped Chickadee? Will you get lucky and spot a Gray-crowned Rosy finch feasting on black oil sunflower seeds in your own backyard?

There’s no time like the present to establish new traditions for connecting with nature and being part of the solution to the climate challenge. There are ample online resources for new and experienced birders, and in addition to the four local Utah Audubon Chapters, the Birding in Utah Facebook group provides a birding community with expert help with learning how to identify birds even in blurry photos. Team up to be a part of the constellation of community scientists documenting history, and weaving a safety net to ensure that birds have the places they need to thrive today and tomorrow.

I’m Hilary Shughart with the Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I am wild about the National Audubon initiative to promote community science for Bird-Friendly communities, and I am Wild About Utah!

Credits:
Images: Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus, © Jim Merritt / Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch: Courtesy & Copyright Hilary Shughart
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver
Text: Hilary Shughart, President, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Hilary Shughart and Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Other Wild About Utah pieces authored by Hilary Shughart

Global Bird Count in February, Great Backyard Bird Count, https://www.birdcount.org/

About the Great Backyard Bird Count, Every February, count for as little as 15 minutes in your own backyard to help expand our understanding of birds. National Audubon, https://www.audubon.org/conservation/about-great-backyard-bird-count

Global Bird Count in February; Great Backyard Bird Count, Birds Canada, https://www.birdscanada.org/bird-science/great-backyard-bird-count

eBird Field Checklist Sue’s Pond–Logan River Wetlands and Shorebird Playa (178 species), Cache, Utah, https://ebird.org/printableList?regionCode=L586105&yr=all&m=

Who Likes What: The Favorite Birdseed of Feeder Regulars and Rarities, Here are the top three seed choices for a variety of species, per a scientific observational study of 1.2 million bird feeder visits. National Audubon, https://www.audubon.org/news/who-likes-what-favorite-birdseed-feeder-regulars-and-rarities

Birding: The Basics & Beyond (1 hr 12 mn video), Natural Habitat Adventures & WWF(World Wildlife Fund), https://www.nathab.com/traveler-resources/webinars/your-daily-dose-of-nature/birding-the-basics-beyond/

Bridgerland Audubon Great Backyard Bird Count Page, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/birding-tools/birding-events/great-backyard-bird-count/

Howe, Frank, Rosy Finches, Local Bird Spotlight, The Stilt, Bridgerland Audubon Society, December 2009, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/documents/BAS-Stilts/Stilt-2009/Vol%2038%20Image%2010.pdf

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

“Get ready to flock together for the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)! Panelists will explain how to participate in this exciting global event and how participation might extend past your back door.”
Beyond the Backyard: All About the Great Backyard Bird Count Webinar, Thursday, February 6, 7:00-8:00 p.m. Eastern, AND Wednesday, February 12, 3:00-4:00 pm Eastern https://www.birdcount.org/webinar/

Hardware Ranch

Hardware Ranch: Elk Herd at Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Elk Herd at Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Click to view a larger image in a separate tab or window
Hardware Wildlife Management Area (WMA) provides refuge for hundreds of elk who congregate each December and hunker down for the duration of the winter.

Hardware Ranch: Riding Out to Feed the Elk Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Riding Out to Feed the Elk
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Elk Merge on Dropped Hay Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Elk Merge on Dropped Hay
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Preparing to Push the Bale Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Preparing to Push the Bale
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Elk Fed, Riding Back Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Elk Fed, Riding Back
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Thoughts to Paper Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Thoughts to Paper
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Documenting the Experience Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Documenting the Experience
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

In 2008, Hardware Education Director Marni Lee and I established a service-learning partnership. Since then, I have ventured up northern Utah’s Blacksmith Fork Canyon with about a thousand 5th and 6th graders—a half-dozen students at a time—to spend the day with DWR biologists and managers. Each morning, we feed roughly 5,000 pounds of hay to wintering elk (about ten pounds of hay per head) and we learn first-hand the details of how biologists monitor and manage wildlife and wildlife habitat.

We typically see bulls sparring or cows boxing over who gets first dibs on the freshly tossed hay. We often observe bald eagles and sometimes golden eagles. We’ve discovered flattened dried-out snakes in the hay bales who were scooped up into the baler the previous summer. We’ve helped relocate wild turkeys. We’ve examined an elk fetus after a cow elk was hit by a vehicle and miscarried on the road. We’ve seen coyote and cougar tracks. We’ve encountered moose, porcupines, beaver, ermine weasels, and snowshoe hares. Many impromptu anatomy lessons have occurred upon discovering deer carcasses—something that always fascinates students. We’ve watched biologists tranquilize wildlife, helped them humanely trap elk so they can test them for disease, measure back fat, and attach GPS tracking collars—all of which enable them to gather data that informs wildlife management decisions.

Throughout the day (and back in the classroom), math, science, and language arts curriculum standards are woven into the experience. This is my kind of school. “Mister Nool’s Schewell,” as one student wrote with a giggle.

Depending on conditions, after lunch we hike, snowshoe, or cross-country ski to various overlooks where students sit down, pull out their field journals, and write. I never check their notebooks for writing conventions—there is plenty of time to polish spelling and grammar in the classroom. The goal here is to capture the magic of mountains.

Here are few recent samples of Edith Bowen Laboratory School 5th graders’ writings recorded in the wild, with the wind in background:

Harper:
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sitting on the top of a mountain with the sun smiling warmly up above on your face and the birds ‘chirpling’ happily with the polka-dotty mountains?”

Macey:
“Hardware Ranch Hike: As I write, I bathe in the sun. I hear the pages turning and I see the lime-green rock and the evergreen trees battling the white snow. As the birds chirp, the breeze makes my hair flow. The light sprinkle of snow gets rushed by the wind. I get a little chilly but the view makes up for it. The gentle curves of the mountain covered in the snow, the dark green mountains surrounding me, and the moss-coved rocks that feel like a pillow.”

Boston:
“Today we went to Hardware Ranch. We went on a great hike to the top of a mountain. I am writing these words on the top of that mountain. The wind up here is whooshing through my ears. On this hike I have collected two things. A hawk feather and an elk tooth.
This fieldtrip to Hardware Ranch was a really great fieldtrip. I hope you get to come here too.”

Mike:
“I have experienced breathtaking views before and I have seen phenomenal creatures, but I’ve never seen so many different kinds on the same day. I could live here. It’s so peaceful. The wind is paralyzing. If you haven’t come here yet, you have to do it now. This place is for wildlife lovers, nature lovers, and if you’re like me, love both. Either way this place is spectacular. I wish that I could stay.”

I do too.

I am Eric Newell,
I am Harper Famer,
I am Macey Hill,
I am Boston Winn,
I am Mike Brandley,
and we are wild about writing in the wild country.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer. Used with permission of the photographer, students and parents
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/, Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://www.upr.org/people/friend-weller, Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Thank you Eric Newell for recording the student audio clips
Text: Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University
Additional Reading: Eric Newell

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Eric Newell

Link to Hardware WMA website and information about sleigh rides:

Haviland’s Old West Adventures will offer horse-drawn sleigh and wagon rides* through the elk herd on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 6 through Feb. 9. Rides start at 10 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. each day. Each ride lasts about 40 minutes. Follow the link for more information, including rates:
https://wildlife.utah.gov/hardware-visit.html

Anderson, Michael, DWR, USU partner to get fifth-graders excited about science, writing, KSL-TV, January 15, 2016, https://www.ksl.com/article/38150310/dwr-usu-partner-to-get-fifth-graders-excited-about-science-writing

Hardware Ranch field experience video (2008), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x46T5jt-CDI

Edith Bowen Laboratory School, edithbowen.usu.edu
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:
@edithbowenlaboratoryschool
Facebook, Edith Bowen Laboratory School

Mount Logan Middle School Discovery Program (2008-2016), MountLoganDiscovery.org

What is Brucellosis? https://wildlife.utah.gov/brucellosis.html

Gurrister, Tom, Utah elk test clean of brucellosis, unlike Idaho and Wyoming, Gephardt Daily, March 15, 2024, https://gephardtdaily.com/local/utah-elk-test-clean-of-brucellosis-unlike-idaho-and-wyoming-2/

Wild About Monsters

Wild About Monsters: Gila Monster Sunning, Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer
Gila Monster Sunning
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer
Gila Monster Sensing with Tongue 
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer
Gila Monster Sensing with Tongue
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Wild About Monsters: Gila Monster at Den, Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Gila Monster at Den
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Wild About Monsters: Gila Monster Under Sage, Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Gila Monster Under Sage
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Wild About Monsters: Gila Monster Up to Size, Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Gila Monster Up to Size
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

The excitement in her voice could not be more obvious as I answered her call. “Dad, there’s a Gila Monster walking down the middle of my jogging trail right now”. She was only a few minutes away so I ask her to follow it until I could get there. I arrived in time to film it wading through the desert grasses as it made its way back to its den. It’s always a good day when you see a Gila Monster in the wild. Monster sightings are not common in the Southwest corner of Utah even though they are quite abundant in this portion of the Mojave Desert. There’s a reason encounters with these beaded citizens of the desert are uncommon. They can spend more than 90% of their lives underground. Their activity is mostly limited to a few weeks in early Spring, and they generally emerge to forage in late evening, returning to their dens at dawn. Because of their exceptionally slow metabolism, they can survive on as few as three or four large meals a year. Those meals converted into fat, stored primarily in their tails, allows them to spend 10- or 11-months estivating (hibernating) out of sight, in their dens.

Despite their fierce reputation Gila Monsters are shy nonthreatening creatures. I have had them walk across my sandal clad feet on more than one occasion. If hassled these monsters will open their mouth and hiss loudly as a warning, but to get bitten by one would require handling it. They have venom, but lack a mechanism to inject it, so they must flood their mouth with the venom, filling grooved teeth by capillary attraction. They then must chew it into their prey. A Gila Monster bit should receive medical attention, but despite the legends we have all heard to the contrary, there is no reputable record of human death associated with Gila Monster envenomation. To the contrary, the saliva of Gila Monsters contains a compound called exendin-4, which has been synthesized into a drug used successfully to treat type 2 diabetes. This is a prime example of how the study of wildlife can lead to significant contributions to human wellbeing. It underscores the need to protect and preserve wildlife of all kinds. The Gila Monster is the official Utah state reptile, and they enjoy legal protection here and, in every state, where they occur. (CA, NV, UT, NM & AZ)

Several years ago, I had the rare opportunity of filming a Gila Monster excavate and consume four tortoise eggs from the apron of a tortoise den. The entire time a female tortoise stood inches away and observed the carnage without moving a muscle. I found myself wishing I knew how to communicate with tortoises so I could scream out “good grief mother, do something to protect your young”. Times like this create a moral dilemma. Do I intervein in this situation or let nature take its course. On this day I chose the latter.

I’m Professor Marshall Topham and I’m wild about Utah’s Gila Monsters

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://www.upr.org/people/friend-wellerCourtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Text: Marshall Topham, https://ees.utahtech.edu/faculty-staff/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah pieces by Marshall Topham https://wildaboututah.org/author/marshall-topham/

Gila Monster, Fieldbook of Utah Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Services, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=heloderma%20suspectum

Jolley, Faith Heaton, A rare sighting of the elusive Gila monster, Wildlife Blog, Utah Division of Wildlife Services, Utah Department of Natural Resources, March 28, 2019 https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/wildlife-blog/580-a-rare-sighting-of-the-elusive-gila-monster.html

Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Washington County & US Bureau of Land Management, http://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/

Close Encounters vs. Survival

Close Encounters vs. Survival: Dusky Grouse Dendragapus, obscurus Courtesy US FWS, Ryan Hagerty, Photographer
Dusky Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus
Courtesy US FWS, Ryan Hagerty, Photographer
Just about everyone loves seeing wildlife in its natural habitat. Usually, we see animals at a distance – near enough to recognize, but not near enough to touch. There’s always that temptation, though, to get a closer look, to have that truly memorable close encounter.

Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus, in Snow
Courtesy Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Ruffed Grouse in Snow
Bonasa umbellus
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Some years ago, a friend and I went cross-country skiing in Utah’s Bear River Range. It was one of those magical winter mountain mornings – the forest still and silent, snow falling very lightly around us. After a while we stopped for a snack in the shelter of a large fir tree. For a few minutes we chatted quietly, then we just listened. I heard a small rustling noise above me, looked up, and was surprised to see a grouse, perched calmly on a branch next to the tree trunk, so close that if I stood up straight, I could almost look it in the eye. I tapped my companion on the shoulder and pointed, then we grabbed our skis and moved slowly away, hoping not to disturb the bird any more than we already had.

Of course we were tempted to stick around, enjoying a memorable close encounter with a wild bird that many Utahns will never get to see in their lifetimes. But we were right to resist temptation.

So, what was this bird doing, anyhow, taking a risk by staying so close to two humans? First of all, it was a forest grouse. Utah has two species of these vaguely chicken-like birds, dusky grouse and ruffed grouse, and they both tend to avoid ground predators by sitting quietly in dense foliage rather than flying away like most other birds would.

But staying this close? That brings me to the second reason. It was winter. Animals that remain in Utah’s mountains year-round face a special challenge: balancing the need to eat with the need to keep warm. Foraging for food requires energy. During the growing season, there’s usually enough to eat to easily meet a daily calorie requirement. But in winter food is scarcer, and for plant-eating animals, the food that remains has a lower nutrient content. Not only that, but keeping warm also requires energy, and it’s harder to keep warm if you’re moving around in freezing weather, away from shelter. If the reason you’re moving around is not to find food but to escape a potential predator, that loss of calories is hard to make up.

Dusky grouse have a diverse plant diet in the warmer months, but their winter diet consists almost entirely of Douglas-fir and pine needles. It’s an abundant food source, but not an especially nutritious one. So, if they can escape a potential threat by standing still, instead of expending calories by flying to another tree, they’ll choose the energy-conserving option.

That same principle of energy conservation applies to other animals that are active in winter. The less they move around in the open air, the better. For mammals that are too heavy to walk on the snow surface, such as deer and elk, it takes extra energy to flee from a predator – or from a winter recreationist – while slogging through deep snow. By winter’s end, the cost of fleeing from possible dangers can add up – maybe even making the difference between survival and starvation. That’s why, when we’re out enjoying Utah’s backcountry in wintertime, we should always resist the temptation to have a close encounter of the wild kind.

I’m Mark Brunson, and I’m wild about Utah’s winter wildlife.

Credits:

Images Courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service, Ryan Hagerty, Photographer, https://www.fws.gov/media/dusky-grouse-2
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org, and audio Courtesy & © Anderson, Howe and Wakeman
Text: Mark Brunson, https://www.usu.edu/experts/profile/mark-brunson/
Additional Reading: Mark Brunson and Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah pieces authored by Mark Brunson

Miller, Matthew L., The Grouse in Winter, Cool Green Science, The Nature Conservancy, https://blog.nature.org/2014/01/16/the-grouse-in-winter/

Environmental Impact of Winter Recreation, American Trails, https://www.americantrails.org/resources/environmental-impacts-of-winter-recreation

Winter Range Disturbance Fact Sheet 17, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Mule Deer Working Group, Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and Utah Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/mule_deer/mdwg-17_winter_range_disturbance.pdf

Leavitt, Shauna, Western Forest Grouse, Wild About Utah, November 5, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/western-forest-grouse/

Carpenter, Chuck III; Farnsworth, Skyler; and Dahlgren, David K., “Forest Grouse in the Fall” (2020). All Current Publications. Paper 2080.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/extension_curall/2080
also https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/upland/forest_grouse_in_the_fall.pdf