Now for the top ten!!

As a reminder, we had 63 participants which made a good enough sample size for us to be really excited about how it turned out. 174 different bird species were represented across the many lists. The variety was fun to see.

Scoring was done by giving a first place vote ten points. The second place vote received 9 points and a third place vote 8 points. All the way down to a tenth place vote receiving 1 point. If there was a tie then the bird with more total votes was bumped up.

And the top ten birds of Utah are...

#10 - Peregrine Falcon

"I started with 35 and had to beat it down to 10. Not easy! Then to put them in order. So not easy!"

• • •

#9 - American Kestrel

• • •

#8 - Greater Sage-Grouse

by Tim Avery

"Just about all my species were lifers for me after I moved out to Utah two years ago and most of them are found in habitats that were new to me before I moved to Utah, whether it be pinyon-juniper, sagebrush, desert or mountains. My top 3 are birds that are only found in a handful of states which makes them even more special.  Gunnison Sage-grouse is very range restricted and only found in Utah and Colorado. To see several of them on lek was an experience I will never forget."

• • •

#7 - American White Pelican

• • •

#6 - Black Rosy-Finch

by Tim Avery

• • •

#5 - Bald Eagle

by Shyloh Robinson

"Because I lived in the midwest previously and didn't have experience with many birds of Utah, many common birds here caught my eye  and that is reflected on my top 10. All of the birds are specifically found in the western part of the country except the bald eagle which I added because of the great numbers it gathers in here, especially at Farmington Bay. I think that the eagle is a great representative for Utah because although Utah doesn't have any bird specific to the state, Utah has many unique habitats and populations of birds, the Bald Eagles at Farmington being a great example"

• • •

#4 - Red-tailed Hawk

• • •

#3 - Flammulated Owl

by Tim Avery

• • •

#2 - American Avocet

"I have seen some rare ones in Utah, but to me this list represents what Utah birding is about and what people who come from other areas want to see.  The avocet is just so Iconic to me, that is why I put it #1.  None of these are rare by any means but to me what makes Utah birding so great."

• • •

And the #1 bird...........

#1 - Western Tanager

"I still remember the first Western Tanager I saw in real life.  I remember months before flipping through the field guide as I had just gotten into birding and thinking, wow, this is an incredible bird--it was instantaneously my favorite.  There is not a summer hike in the mountains of Utah where the two-note call of the Western Tanager or i's melodious song isn't heard.  When you see one it's an unforgettable experience for the birder and non-birder alike.  The flaming face and bright yellow body make it undeniably the quintessential Utah Bird."

• • •

I am not a statistics major so I apologize for any flaws in my logic but I thought it would be nice to give some additional stats.

Given the previously described point system here is how the top ten fared:

#	Species	Points	%
1.	Western Tanager	166	26.3%
2.	American Avocet	130	20.6%
3.	Flammulated Owl	107	16.9%
4.	Red-tailed Hawk	86	13.7%
5.	Bald Eagle	82	13.0%
6.	Black Rosy-Finch	80	12.7%
7.	American White Pelican	71	11.3%
8.	Greater Sage Grouse	63	10.0%
9.	American Kestrel	62	9.8%
10.	Peregrine Falcon	59	9.4%

Percentages are based against a highest possible score not against the total points. Thus percentages will not add up to 100% but instead reflect percentage of a perfect score. For example if all 63 lists had Western Tanager as there first place bird then it could score 630 out of a possible 630.

Top ten Utah birds based on number of votes:

#	Species	Points	%
1.	Western Tanager	24	38.1%
2.	American Avocet	21	33.3%
3.	Flammulated Owl	15	23.8%
4.	Bald Eagle	13	20.6%
5.	Red-tailed Hawk	12	19.0%
6.	American White Pelican	12	19.0%
7.	Greater Sage Grouse	12	19.0%
8.	Black Rosy-Finch	10	15.9%
9.	American Kestrel	9	14.3%
10.	Lazuli Bunting	9	14.3%

Percentage based on the number of lists that had the species in there top ten.

Top ten Utah birds based on the number of 1st place votes:

#	Species	1st place Votes
1.	American Avocet	6
2.	Western Tanager	4
3.	Black Rosy-Finch	4
4.	Red-tailed Hawk	3
5.	Greater Sage Grouse	3
6.	Peregrine Falcon	3
7.	Bald Eagle	2
8.	American White Pelican	2
9.	American Kestrel	2
10.	Golden Eagle	2

Birds of prey made a huge showing on almost every ones list, in fact 23% of the total votes:

  

Family	Votes	Points
Owls	44	271
Hawks	44	222
Falcons	22	166
Eagles	20	138
TOTAL	130 Votes	797 Points

             

The Corvids also made a solid showing at 4% of the total vote:

Corvids	Votes	Points
TOTAL	25 Votes	138 Points

Thanks again for every ones participation!