Category: Vertebrates

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Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper
Courtesy US FWS and
Photographer: Dave Menke

An ancient Latin proverb declares that: “Nature abhors a vacuum”. Every naturalist comes to learn that Nature also loves an exception. Sandpipers are a good example. Coastal beaches bring sandpipers to mind, their flocks either loafing about the upper beach or manically advancing and retreating just ahead of the surf line. Every beachcomber can picture the scene.

Imagine, then, hearing this solitary call during your hike past some montane stream, lake or beaver pond.

[Spotted Sandpiper recording, hosted by Western Soundscape Archive, J Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah Copyright 2007 Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections]

Spotted Sandpiper Habitat
Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Linda Kervin

That sure sounds like a sandpiper, but isn’t the context all wrong? Here you can trust your ears and not your experience. When the bird flushes and flies away on stiff shallow wing beats, you’ll see that the calling bird was indeed a Spotted Sandpiper, easily recognized by the dark spots that speckle its pale breast. This bird is sometimes called a “teeter peep” too, because it bobs its tail incessantly. Its an odd bird, for it is the male Spotted Sandpiper who tends nest and chicks, while the female busily courts other males. That’s polyandry and among birds, its very rare.

Unlike its more coastal kin, the Spotted Sandpiper is right at home in Utah’s high alpine habitats, just so long as it has shallow water and meadows in which to search for its invertebrate meals. Maybe the Spotted Sandpiper is not so exceptional after all, for the upthrust limestones, shales and other sedimentary rocks that compose many of our mountains were deposited under ancient seas that once inundated Utah. Perhaps the Spotted Sandpiper is just exceptional for its late arrival at that prehistoric beach party.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.
Credits:
Audio: Spotted Sandpiper audio courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections

Photos: Courtesy US FWS, Photographer Dave Menke
and habitat photo Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Linda Kervin
Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Spotted Sandpiper on Utahbirds.org, https://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesS-Z/SpottedSandpiper.htm

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Rattlesnakes

Great Basin Rattlesnake
Courtesy & Copyright 2009
Holly Strand
Hi, I’m Holly Strand from Stokes Nature Center in beautiful Logan Canyon.

Its rattlesnake season in Utah, for the warm weather draws them out of their dens. We have 5 species plus 2 subspecies of rattlesnake in the state. The Great basin rattlesnake is the most widespread, living all across Western Utah at elevations up to 9000 feet. This is the fellow you see around Logan. Another subspecies of western rattler–the midget faded rattlesnake –is dominant in the eastern part of the state. The Hopi rattlesnake and the greenish colored prairie rattlesnake are found in southwestern Utah. And the Mojave rattlesnake, speckled rattlesnake, and sidewinder are found only in the extreme southwest corner of Utah.

The rattle itself is a unique biological feature. It’s a loose, but interlocking series of nested segments—actually modified scales– at the end of the tail. When vibrated, the rattle produces a hissing sound. Kevin Colver– an expert in natural sound recordings –provided this clip of a Mojave rattlesnake. Sound from Westernsoundscape.org Hmm. wouldn’t that make a great ringtone?

Aggression and venom in rattlesnakes vary by both species type and by individual. The western diamondback rattlesnake is the archetypal large, aggressive and very dangerous species, responsible for the majority of human fatalities. But its northern range limit is south of the Utah border. However, the Mojave rattler found in southeastern Utah is extremely toxic and excitable. Its venom attacks both the nervous system and circulatory system.

Luckily, rattlesnakes aren’t out to get us—mainly they just want to be left alone. You’ll be fine if you stay aware of what might be lurking in or around rocks. And don’t walk barefoot or in open-toed shoes in their habitat. Also, use a flashlight after dark –most rattlesnakes are active at night too!

Thanks to the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation—the Russell family for supporting Stokes Nature Center programs. And to Kevin Colver for the sound of the rattlesnake. Additional nature sound recordings can be found at 7loons.com and westernsoundscape.org

For Wild About Utah and Stokes Nature Center, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Audio:     Courtesy & Copyright 2006 Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections & Jeff Rice, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/search?q=rattlesnake&facet_setname_s=uu_wss [Updated January 2024]
Jeff Rice Bio: Ecosystem Sound [Updated February 2026]
Images:     Courtesy & Copyright 2009 Holly Strand
Text:     Holly Strand, Stokes Nature Center
Voice: Holly Strand, Stokes Nature Center

Sources & Additional Reading:

Klauber, Laurence M. 1982. Rattlesnakes. Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. Berkeley: University of California Press, https://www.amazon.com/Rattlesnakes-Habits-Histories-Influence-Mankind/dp/0520210565 (1997 Version)

Vipers, Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Division of Natural Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?family=viperidae [Updated January 2024]

Tips to stay safe around rattlesnakes, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/943-rattlesnakes-safety-tips.html [Updated January 2024]

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Nighthawks Go Boom

Common Nighthawk courtesy US FWS, Dr Thomas G. Barnes Photographer

Birds gotta fly, and for that they have wings. But nature is a tinkerer, adding new functions to old adaptations, and so it can be with feathers.

Males of some birds make sounds during aerial courtship displays, sounds that do not originate in their throats. When these suitors periodically dive during flight, their modified wing or tail feathers vibrate like the reed of a saxophone, creating a hum that appeals to potential mates. In an earlier program, you heard the winnowing sounds of diving male snipe, and if you have a hummingbird feeder at home, you have been hearing a wing trill from insistent male broad-tailed hummingbirds as they display for prospective mates.

Today’s featured bird calls as it flies high overhead on our warm summer evenings.

[Kevin Colver recording https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections and https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections]

Those piercing nasal cries are made by Common Nighthawks as they sail effortlessly through the evening air on streamlined wings, their short wide bills agape to intercept flying insects. Periodically, this peaceful scene is disrupted by an unexpected booming sound.

[Kevin Colver recording https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections and https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections]

That was no bullfrog croaking, but the male nighthawk generating feather sounds during a brief nosedive. Their booming display is easily missed, leaving you to puzzle as to the source of such an odd outburst. It lends the nighthawk its other common name, the bullbat, like a bat in flight that sounds like a distant bellowing bull. No other Utah bird makes this sound. So as a fiery summer sunset unfolds, look for nighthawks peacefully plying the sky, and listen for their distinctive booming. We have waited all winter for such lovely moments.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.
Credits:
Audio: Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Photos: Courtesy US FWS Digital Library, Thomas G. Barnes Photographer
Text: Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Common Nighthawk, Utah Conservation Data Center, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=chormino

Common Nighthawk, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/lifehistory

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Western Tanager

Western Tanager
Courtesy & Copyright © 2010
Michael Fish

Hi, I’m Holly Strand from Stokes Nature Center in beautiful Logan Canyon.

An exotic-looking bird is making quite a splash this year in Cache Valley. The dazzling plumage of the western tanager creates animated flashes of color in the spring foliage. Catching sight of the brilliant red head and bright yellow body, with contrasting black back, wings and tail some people can’t help but wonder: “Is that a parrot?”

Every spring western tanagers arrive in a migration wave that originates in Central America. But the birds don’t stay with us for very long. Low elevations in Utah represent stopover sites not destinations. The birds are headed for their breeding habitat which is open forests of Douglas fir, spruce and pine to our north and at higher elevations. Migrating at night, the tanagers appear as if by magic one morning, They refuel a bit and then they are off again without much fanfare. Some years I don’t even notice them coming through at all.

But this year, the tanagers aren’t leaving. In fact they seem to be multiplying! So what’s going on?

I spoke with Frank Howe, an avian ecology specialist with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. He says the reason we have so many tanagers is the wacky spring weather. The western tanager breeding grounds are still too wintery for these tropical migrants. Therefore, the tanagers are just waiting it out, refueling on high energy insects in Cache Valley as well as other locations along the Wasatch Front. Meanwhile, new birds keep arriving so the tanagers just keep stacking up. Just imagine an airport where flights can arrive, but none can take off.

Very territorial during the breeding season, the western tanager seems quite relaxed and even social during its delay. Which is more than you can say for most human travelers with an unexpected layover. This week, I’ve seen 3 affable males perched close on a suet feeder hanging in our yard.

So let’s assume a prolonged warm spell does finally arrive. ( I know this is a stretch of the imagination for many of us in Northern Utah). But it will happen. And then one bright morning we’ll wake up to find our colorful visitors gone without a trace –having left in the night for their true destination.

Thanks to the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation –the Russell Family for supporting Stokes Nature Center programs.

For Wild About Utah and Stokes Nature Center, I’m Holly Strand.
Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright 2010 Michael Fish
Text:     Holly Strand, Stokes Nature Center
Sources & Additional Reading:


What Bird.com, Field Guide to Birds of North America, https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/196/_/Western_Tanager.aspx

Western Tanager, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Tanager/id

Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana, Utah Conservation Data Center, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/display.asp?flnm=piraludo