Spring Arrivals

One of my volunteers recently commented on the lack of spring migrants arriving in the area. So I took him out to the pond and showed him a couple of migratory ducks that have indeed arrived. He was quite struck with the beauty of these birds, at least one of which he had never seen before.

American Wigeon (male and female) with a male Mallard

 

This little exchange got me thinking about these ducks. While I can easily identify them, I have to admit I know very little about them. So I pulled out my Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior to get myself a little learning.

I'm a little ashamed to say that while I have noticed bird's feet, I have never really given them much thought, except for birds of prey, who rely heavily on their feet for catching and killing their prey. But duck feet - nope, other than to acknowledge they are webbed, I haven't given them much thought at all.

Male American Wigeon

 

The most common method of movement for birds is of course flight, but birds also hop, walk, run, dive, and swim. Most waterbirds, such as ducks, use their feet to move through or under the water. For some water birds, the ability to swim or dive well  is far more important than it is for others. This can be seen in the placement of their feet.  Birds that spend a lot of time in water have a "design conflict" to overcome. For example, the best placement for the feet of a swimming bird is towards the back of the body, where paddling best moves them through the water. But this arrangement is very awkward for movement on land.  For this the feet are best placed near a bird's center of gravity, under the middle of the body.

The feet of an American Wigeon are placed...well, can you tell from this picture?

American Wigeon on land foraging for yummies

 

So wigeons walk much more easily on land than say, a loon, but are poorer swimmers. See, this intrigues me. Partly because I've never really thought about it. But now that I think about it, I realize that at my pond I often see wigeons on the land (along with mallard and teal), but almost never do I see ring-necked ducks on land (or Buffleheads or Redheads)- which are much more powerful swimmers and divers.

There's something to say about the way they swim as well, or more specifically their swimming posture, which is directly related to the way they forage. Maybe I'll get into that another day.  But for now, here's something to think about: water birds "sit" differently on the water, some ride high on the water, some ride very low, and others are intermediate in their water posture (options to consider: diving ducks, dabbling ducks and swans/geese). Any idea who does what?

Chorus Frogs

I took a hike today to find frogs. I not only wanted to see them, but I wanted to get to them at a time when they were chirping. Western Chorus Frogs are tiny little things, only about 1" to 1 1/2" long. And they blend in very well. But they make a wonderful sound that carries over quite a distance.

For example, can you spot the chorus frog in this picture. You can click on the image to enlarge it.

I made it easy for you by centering it.

Here's a closer look.

I spent about 45 min to an hour just waiting, listening and watching for these little fellas. They would chirp when I was a fair distance from them. As soon as I began moving in their general direction, they stopped. Finally I got close enough to where I thought if one started chirping, I could spot it. I really wanted to see it puffing it's throat out to call. I knew I was close, but for the life of me could not see it. Then finally it began to chirp.

Patience does have its rewards. Look at that air sack!

Here's a little sampling of how loud these little chirpers are.

Uncommon Visitor

I glanced out the window at the pond yesterday as I was passing by. I usually do. Just to see what's out there. Mallards...and Holy Uncommon Duck! Is that what I think it is?

To the spotting scope I dash, and sure enough. A wood duck. Sticking close beside a female mallard.

Wood ducks are listed as rare or uncommon in almost all of Utah. I hear about them showing up from time to time down in the Salt Lake valley and round about. But here we are, sitting in a 6,000 ft mountain valley, and a wood duck shows up.

It's the first I've seen not in captivity. So life bird for me.

He spent the entire day right on the heels of this mallard. And if any other potential mallard suitor came along, he would defend his little lady by chasing the intruder off.

However odd the match up, these two seem quite content to just hang out together. It might be fun if they stick around. A mallard x wood duck hybrid brood would be fun to see.

Hello Sunshine

And hello pond. And hello birds!

All winter the pond here at the visitor center has been empty. It was drained so we could do a little dredging this winter. Well, we did the little dredging, and then about a week ago the pond was filled again much to my delight. Since then, large and small numbers of water and some shore birds have been stopping by.

Before the pond was completely full we had a rare visit by a Long-billed Dowitcher.

These birds are basically just migratory in Utah, and while I'm sure not extremely rare in other parts of the state, they have never, to my knowledge, shown up at the pond before.  So thank you, my little friend, for sticking around for the day.

We've also had the ubiquitous Mallard, many Green-winged Teal, a few Canada Geese, and then a smattering of Buffleads, Ring-necked Ducks, Cinnamon Teals, Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, one Lesser Scaup, and a Killdeer or two.

Every morning when I pull up to the visitor center, I take a quick scan of the pond, and if I see anything that looks like it might be unusual or new, I grab the scope and take a quick look. Generally it is the usual showing listed above (the Northern Pintails and Lesser Scaup were fun to find).

Today when I pulled up, I noticed two pale/white birds that weren't really fitting the regular round-up. And sure enough, when I put the scope on them, they were new birds to the pond.

That they were gulls was obvious enough. But what kind, that was the question. My first thought were Franklin's Gulls, as that is the only hooded gull I've had experience with. But their bills were black, and I was lucky enough to see their legs - orange, not black like the Franklin's. I considered the Sabine's Gull, nope. Again the legs were the wrong color, and the bills on these birds were solid black. Bonaparte's Gulls...maybe. Closest so far on description. Little Gull? No, the wings were too long, and black tipped. Black-headed Gull? That would be a surprise, since they don't even occur in Utah, and again, the bill was the wrong color. Laughing Gull? Nope.

So back to my best guess - Bonaparte's Gull.

Bonaparte's Gulls with a Buffledhead in the background

Then I was lucky enough to see them fly away. And my guess of the Bonaparte's Gull was more fully solidified in my mind. But I am still open to suggestions. They aren't great images, but what do some of you other birders think?

 Even with the continued snow storms here and there, it is spring, and the birds know it. Turkey Vultures are back. The Swallows will be turning up soon. The air is slowly warming, the snow is melting. The sun is shining (at least today).

What a wonderful time of year!

Pond Visitor

The pond near the visitor center was drained last week. Though the ducks are probably wondering what happened to all of their real estate, this Great Blue Heron seemed to like having most of the water gone. He came and hung around for quite a while.



The light wasn't the greatest, and he was still a bit too far out for my zoom to handle well. But it was fun to have him around for a little while. They are quite interesting and beautiful birds.

Oh, there were also a couple of American Wigeons out there, along with one or two Green-winged Teal, and many Mallards.

New Pond Visitor

There are many birds I am not familiar with. Shorebirds are one of those. Sometimes one will turn up at the pond near the visitor center. Usually it is a lone bird, off course, taking a little break. It's here for a few hours than gone.

And so it was today. I glanced out the window and saw it just standing there, bobbing it's head up and down. It wasn't too concerned with the few people who were milling around, including myself, as long as we didn't get too close.

We've had a Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Wilson's Snipe, and a couple of Snowy Egrets. But this one was new. I tried and tried to make it a Pectoral Sandpiper, or a Short-billed Dowitcher, in the end, however, I am pretty certain it is a Lesser Yellowlegs.




This isn't the first time I've seen one, but it's the first one we have recorded showing up in the park.

Hanging on

I like snow. I do. I love how the world looks after freshly fallen snow. I love how the blanket of snow insulates the ground, keeping the frost from driving too deep into the soil, and freezing out the little critters that live below ground.

It is now April. April means spring. And my soul longs for warmth. My hands are yearning to dig into moist dirt. However, Winter continues to hang on. Snow continues to fall. These pictures were taken this morning from the visitor center.


Of course as snow continues to fall, water fills our streams, rivers and lakes. And that is a good thing.

The Draining of a Pond

Outside the visitor center is a good sized pond. Technically it's part of the golf course, but for the past several years, it has doubled as a community fishing pond. Since I have been here (six years), it's held trout, stocked by the Division of Wildlife, and the community gathers by the droves to fish it.


We encourage it to be a kids fishing pond, and hold a few events during the year to promote youth fishing. Our "Pathways to Fishing" program is held on one day each year, generally on Free Fishing day. We have also organized a Youth Fishing Club that for the past three years has been very successful.


People love the pond. They love to feed the ducks. They love to fish. But the pond is old, and being next to a golf course, it is moving through succession stages rather quickly because of all the nutrients that ultimately end up there. The vegetation is literally taking over, and by mid-summer there is so much submergent plant life in the pond that most fishermen catch and reel in an entire salad more often than they catch fish. It needs to be dredged. And that is our hope this winter.


We drained the pond early this week, hoping to give the water-logged soil time to drain, and harden up some, so we can get a track hoe in later this year to start the enormous process of removing excess accumulation. I can't imagine the stink, literally, that will create. There are decades of dead and decomposing matter at the bottom of that pond; the soil is nearly black. Even sitting there, empty, the potent smell is escaping.


The ducks seem to like it okay. They now have access to the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, and they enjoy it. However, when the temps drop more, and that little bit of standing water freezes, they will have to make their way across the street to the ever flowing hot springs and other open water in the area.


But I am looking forward to this little project. I am confident that what ever we are able to accomplish, will make a difference to the quality of this little community fishing pond.

We may even switch out the trout for yellow perch. They do much better in small ponds.

SkyWatch Friday

I missed SkyWatch last Friday. So I am including several images from a quiet little walk I took around Silver Lake, in Big Cottonwood Canyon earlier this week. It was a beautiful, cool morning. Only a few people out and about. The aspens were golden, the sky was blue. And the air. What can I say about the smell and feel of the air? It just makes you want to breathe deeply.

The boardwalk heading around the lake

Golden aspens and deep blue sky

Sky's reflection

Aspens and blue sky

"Sun dog" and aspen

Final aspen and blue sky

Nature Hike

I took a group of folks out today for a nature hike to a "secret pond". I had about 30 people show up, which was great, because I had about 30 binoculars to give away as part of a year-long initiative to get kids and families back out into nature. The binoculars are to encourage them to get out and use them again. They were a hit!

The day couldn't have been better. The morning was cool, clear and beautiful. We saw some very fun flowers and birds on our way to the pond. I loved it each time I heard a kid or a parent exclaim how much they were enjoying this, and how they were so excited to be learning so many new plants, and "I've never seen that kind of bird before" with awe in their voices.





And the "never before" seen bird. Fantastic!

Sing out, little guy!

Once we got to the pond, the wonder and exploration reached out even to the adults as they saw the tracks of deer, coyote, and bobcat, butterflies all over, dragonflies and damselflies, tad poles, salamanders, frogs, and pelicans flying overhead. I admit, I was caught up in the excitement as well. Who wouldn't be? We were all kids again.







I love my job.
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Snowy Egrets

A couple of these beautiful birds flew into the pond today. Not the best quality on the pictures, but not too bad.These are the first I've seen come to the pond. And those Cinnamon Teals back there only show up now and then.