The last week of April the past 6 years I have headed to Washington County to meet the first big wave of northward passerine migrants as they arrive in Utah.  This weekend can bring large numbers of migrants and quite an array of species to the various oases around St. George.  Eastern vagrants are extremely rare this early, but the variety and numbers of birds make it worthwhile.  By now the majority of breeders to the Mojave Desert region are back and already nesting--while several species such as Brown-crested Flycatcher, Lesser Nighthawk, and Blue Grosbeak are still scant.  Each year the birding is different.  In 2007 when I was doing my Utah Big Year migration was in full swing and I picked up just about every usual migrant in the course of a couple days.  The past few years migration has felt a little slower.  There have been plenty of migrants, but nowhere near as heavy.  The last couple years we have seen a later than normal migration in Utah so it’s not surprising that the end of April hasn’t been as great.

Not a Migrant, but this Eurasian Collared-Dove

picture turned out pretty sweet.

Fast forward to this past weekend and it looks like migration is just about on schedule--that being not too early nor late.  Keeping up with tradition my wife and I hit the road Friday night and headed to Washington County.  We left Salt Lake later in the evening to miss the traffic through Utah County Construction.  That put us into St. George just after 11pm, where it was 70 degrees--wonderful!  We made out way out to the Beaver Dam Slope and set up camp above Lytle Ranch on the bluffs overlooking the Beaver Dam Wash.  I sat out enjoying the stars and singing COMMON POORWILLS all around us.  The highlight of the night were 5 or 6 large flocks of shorebirds that came flying over our campsite.  The whistling of their tiny wings and the chattering calls and squeaks were unlike any I have heard before.  I have no idea what species they even were--only that for a half an hour I was in awe of the sounds.

Saturday got a late start as we didn’t leave the tent till 9am.  Winds were thrashing the slope and we didn’t hear much singing.  A couple BLACK-THROATED SPARROWS and House Finches were about it.  We arrived at the ranch where there were more cars than I had ever seen there.  We had brought our dog so we opted to pass the ranch and walk Beaver Dam Creek.  But before we left the parking lot I enjoyed hearing the lovely notes of several SUMMER TANAGER, the melody of a lone HOODED ORIOLE, the chattering of a BULLOCK’S ORIOLE, numerous LUCY’S WARBLERS, and a couple BELL’S VIREO. Spring at Lytle is always a blast.

Lucy's Warbler are everywhere in Washington County in April

We hit the river and slowly made our way up creek about a mile.  This is the equivalent of walking just past the main pond on the ranch property.  There weren’t a ton of birds, but the water felt good on the feet, and I did manage to pick up all 6 species of regular swallows along the way.  I hadn’t been to Lytle since last May--my trip south in January skipped the wash--so all the local species were new year birds.  PHAINOPEPLAS, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, and BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER all were brilliant to see for the first time in almost a year.  The surprise of the morning was a WILD TURKEY zipping through the Cottonwoods--apparently there are more than a dozen hanging out on the property now.

Summer Tanager add a splash of color to the desert.

As we neared the gate on our walk back down river we ran into the Sommerfeld’s and Merrill Webb who had seen just about the same birds as us.  It seems like we always see the same faces this time of year down there--if we ran into Rick Fridell it would be a true end of April trip.  Back at the ranch I checked out the Hummingbird feeders and picked up Black-chinned, Costa’s and an ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD for the year while  WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS chattered overhead, and the tanagers continued to serenade the property.  The group of vehicles was an Audubon event that was scouring the ranch--with so many people around we decided to check out a few other places.

The Beaver Dam Slope

Driving across the slope we didn’t add any new birds for the trip--but at Utah Hill we added the expected BLACK-CHINNED SPARROWS, and a singing GRAY VIREO.  We ended up at Gunlock Reservoir for lunch where a pair of COMMON BLACK-HAWK are nesting again this year.  There reservoir is still full from last years runoff so there was a ton of activity at the inlet where some shallow water persists.  A surprise MUTE SWAN was hanging out here, along with a GREAT EGRET, a couple BLUE-WINGED TEAL, cormorants, White-faced Ibis, Spotted Sandpiper, and Black-necked Stilt.  Singing Rock and Canyon Wren kept us company while we ate as well.

Mute Swan at Gunlock (looks pretty ruffled)

After lunch we hit the usual spots around St. George in Ivins Reservoir, Tonaquint Park, Springs Estate Pond, and the Washington Fields.  Nothing out of the usual at those locations, although the young SNOW GOOSE that was present at Springs Estate in January is still there and all grown up.

Lingering Snow Goose at Springs Estate Pond

After getting our fix of city it was back out to the slope.  We decided to hike Welcome Springs Canyon which was wind free and a great hike to end the afternoon.  Birds were scarce, but a singing BLACK-THROATED GRAY-WARBLER was a new year bird, along with Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Bushtit.  The highlight of the trip came when I was watching the swifts and Violet-green Swallows dip and dive in the air above the canyon.  As I was looking up I noticed a very “blunt” looking hawk way up in the thermals.  When I got my binoculars on the birds I was stoked to see a dark adult BROAD-WINGED HAWK.  The only other spring Broad-winged I have seen in Utah was at Lytle Ranch less than 10 miles away--this same weekend in 2007.

Beautiful high flying dark BROAD-WINGED HAWK

We ended the day on the slope where Mockingbirds, CACTUS WRENS, Black-throated Sparrows, Ash-throated Flycatchers, and Western Kingbirds took turns singing for us.  While watching the sun dip over the desert a PRAIRIE FALCON let out a cackle and came curing past our campsite--a first for me on the slope.  It was a clear and calm night--great for camping in southern Utah.

Sunset on the Slope

Sunday morning we were up a little earlier, driving across the slope and adding a GRAY FLCYATCHER hanging out in a Joshua Tree.  Gambel’s Quail were everywhere, and flocks of BREWER’S SPARROWS were also on the move.  As we rolled into the ranch a CRISSAL THRASHER crossed the road.  This time I headed up ranch while Sam walked the dog down river.  It was calm near the camping area but windy in the orchard where I didn’t add any birds--but I did manage a sweet shot of a White-winged Dove.

White-winged Dove at Lytle Ranch

I guess it was an end of April trip though--as I ended up back at the campsite Rick Fridell was hanging out with his family at a camp site.  Rick had seen a handful of empids in the ranch but not much else.  I mentioned that I was surprised that I hadn’t seen or heard any Scott’s Orioles as they are usually quite prevalent by now.  He mentioned that he had heard one singing this morning nearby.  As I left I headed in that direction, and sure enough picked up the SCOTT’S ORIOLE for the trip--and the 3 Oriole Weekend.

Beaver Dam Creek in April

Sam and I headed to the river crossing where we added a couple more birds for the trip in FOY singing PLUMBEOUS VIREO and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE.  After that we slowly made our way back into town stopping again at Utah Hill adding CASSIN’S KINGBIRD, Lark Sparrow, and Western Scrub-Jay for the trip.

Lark Sparrow at Utah Hill

After having lunch in town we swung by Quail Creek where one COMMON LOON and 5 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were both new year birds.  From there we hit the highway and headed north.  We stopped at Chicken Creek Reservoir in Juab County where waterfowl were out in force.  GREATER SCAUP, Bufflehead, and Common Goldeneye were all still present.  The lack of shorebirds was unusual for this date here--no phalarope, peeps, or dowitchers.  There were a few FRANKLIN’S GULLS on the lake as well a couple BONAPARTE’S GULLS.

We opted to skip I-15 through Utah County so we took the west side of Utah Lake.  Near Goshen we saw plenty of HORNED LARKS, and between Elberta and Saratoga Springs we picked up most of the usual raptors including: Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, and American Kestrel.

And just like that the weekend was over.  We tallied somewhere around 125 species in the 2 days.  That’s a little lower than normal as we didn’t pack as much birding into the weekend, and skipped out on any high elevation stuff. 150 species is about normal for this weekend.  Rick Fridell mentioned that last year they picked up 165 on their usual Washington County Big Day the last week of April.  If you’ve never been birding in Washington County this time of year, it’s a great time to go and well worth the drive.  It also takes care of having to wait for all those passerine migrants up here in the north!

As birders we hear the word fallout and immediately start drooling about the possibilities.  It’s an event for birders, like the Kentucky Derby for Horse Racing enthusiasts.  Like a meteor shower to amateur astronomers.  Or like Halloween for Trick or Treaters.  Okay enough with the stupid comparisons.  A fallout is something that once experienced makes all other days of birding seem somewhat mundane.  Expectations of migration can become too much, turning the most avid birder into a Grinch when they find their local trap not producing the way a fallout does.  For most of us though, they provide some of the most exciting migration birding around. Over Memorial Day weekend Utah experienced what I would call the single greatest fallout of the last decade.  I can’t recall one that was more productive, turned up more rare birds, and left many of us in awe of the sheer number of birds seen.  I have a post for that coming soon.  But when it comes to fallouts there are different levels and this morning I came up with a term to describe a mild or very location specific fallout—the “smallout”.

Western Tanagers dripping from the fence at the Provo Airport
during the epic Memorial Day 2011 Fallout.

Like many other September weekend mornings I started the day at the Salt Lake International Center.   Looking at the radar last night there seemed to be an interesting migration happening. A storm front passed through northern Utah during the night, and as it did migrants took to the sky right on its tail.  There were not a ton of birds over Utah, but Idaho and Nevada seemed to be getting quite a bit of activity in the skies, so I hoped that might be a good sign. Since 2007 the International Center has been one of the most dynamic and interesting migratory hot spots in the state of Utah.  Few birders tackle this beast as it isn’t the typical birding locale.  It takes some patience to go birding there, and you have more than a few disappointing outings.  But what it lacks in consistency from week to week, it makes for in what have been some amazing finds, and a list of over 150 species recorded in just these past 5 years.  Well anyways, the day started with Jeff Bilsky and I making a stop in the southeast corner where we saw exactly zero migrants.  A few starlings, ravens, and finches were there, leaving us thinking it was going to be another miss day.  Our second stop was at the far south end of the complex on Charles Lindbergh Drive.  This area has been a fairly productive location in past years, including a large flock of warblers here last year that was accompanied by a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER.  But alas, today we had no such luck.  4 Western Tanagers and a Wood-Pewee were nice to see, but pocket change for this locale.

 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at the IC, 09/18/10

Our third stop took us to the heart of the IC (short for International Center), the T-intersection of Lindbergh, and the main east west thoroughfare—Amelia Earhart Drive.  This is typically the best place to look around.  Usually you will find something here even when the rest of the place is dead.  Today, it was well… dead.  We found one Cassin’s Vireo, my first for the year, and an appreciated late comer to the migration party (most have passed through by this point). We saw a few Yellow-rumps flitting ins some trees a ways down the road to the west, so we hopped in the car and drove to the KJZZ building on the edge of the north pond—when the “smallout” hit us.  It went from zero to 60 in a matter of minutes; there were more birds than eyes, more species than fingers to count them on.  The movement made it almost impossible to keep track of what you had seen, what you were seeing, and what you might have just missed.  It was chaos… It was pleasure… It was the “smallout” of the year.

What was supposed to be an hour or so at the IC turned into madness.  Following roaming flocks of warblers trying to pick everything else from the majority Yellow-rumps. Right off the bat I saw the bird of the day for me; a first winter CAPE MAY WARLER.  When I first saw it all I knew is it was slightly smaller, and sleeker than the nearby Yellow-rumps, and Cape May was what I was hoping for.  But the pesky bird didn’t want to hold still.  It was in a foraging frenzy.  This was life or death for that bird; 1000’s of miles from its traditional migration path (even though this is its first trip south, it sounds better that way), in a barren desert (freshly wet from the deluge the previous night), it was on a mission to restock its energy supply, and it didn’t care who was trying to see it.  Meanwhile Jeff had wandered around the corner out of sight.  My yells were not prompting his appearance and I was beginning to worry the bird would disappear.  I wild flung my camera up at the trees and started shooting every bit of movement I saw.  I needed a photo if it was what I thought it was.  Several times I caught glimpses of the bird as it darted form conifer, to Russian Olive, to Cottonwood, but never long enough for the look I wanted.   Later pouring through 50 or 60 blurry, poorly lit shots, I found the golden goose egg—the shot of the bird in its pretty plain and drab glory.  It isn’t a beauty, but it sure is a fantastic bird for Utah.

Cape May Warbler at the IC

From there we made our way west along Earhart through a line of trees.  It was crazy birding.  We quickly lost count of what we were seeing, 6 species of warbler, maybe 7, or was it 8… It was hard to keep track.  A Nashville here, two Townsend’s there, a flock of 6 Wilson’s in that tree.  There goes a Warbling Vireo, a couple of Yellow Warblers chipping from nearby, and Orange-crowned Warbler here and there—what’s that, it’s a Sparrow, but what kind!  Is it a Brewer’s?  Maybe a Chipping?  Wait, it’s a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW!  This species has turned into an annual find here in September, and this year would be no different.  For Jeff it was a lifer, which gave us beautiful looks for a few minutes while it fed in a Russian Olive.  The birding continued…

 Clay-colored Sparrow at the IC

Across the street more warblers, another mixed flock, this one made up of all the previous species (minus the Cape May). Then a streak of yellow through the tree in front of me, I catch a glimpse of white undertail coverts and I reach for the camera.  I snap a couple shots not sure if I got anything, the bird was moving quickly through the trees in front of me.  I hollered to Jeff that I thought a TENNESSEE WARBLER was in the tree.  He thought he’d seen the same.  Frantically looking we couldn’t find the bird.  Later a photo would confirm the sighting, white undertail covers and all!

Tennessee Warbler at the IC

We were back to where we started but not anywhere near done, we started the whole loop over again and spent the next hour pouring through the birds again, adding more individuals but not new species.  A few nighthawks flushed from a tree we passed a couple times previously, and a pewee popped up for good measure.  Before we knew it 2 hours had passed and we had been in the same 100 yard stretch of trees.  This was by all definition a fallout, but it was so localized I felt a “smallout” was a better fit for the occasion.  Elsewhere at the IC we didn’t encounter anymore flocks, or anymore great finds.  It was rather dead as with the first couple stops we made.  It made me wonder what would have happened had we skipped that street today, or birded elsewhere first.  Would the results have been the same, would the birding have been so incredible? It’s hard to say, but I sure won’t forget the great smallout of September 2011 at the IC, it was a good day to go birding.

Pictures from today's trip will be available for a couple months at the following link:
Click Here

As we approach the height of fall migration it isn't surprising to look at the national radar map and see blobs of green and blue all over the country--especially to the east of the Rockies.  I just screen captured the image below from about 10:30pm MT (so just after midnight on the east coast):

See Live Map: http://www.weather.gov/radar_tab.php

Even over the sparsely populated west you can see the radar sites are showing reflectivity--but nothing like what's  going on back east.  This is a fairly normal though, as we don't usually see anything like what happens over places like Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and the rest of those blobs you see above.

That being said, we are still not seeing the effects of any sizeable movement in northern Utah.  Small numbers of migrants are trickling through, but overall it's still lackluster.  I don't know what the next week or so holds; I had hoped a small front would be passing through this weekend and maybe bring some birds with it, but it doesn't look like much will be happening.

The best advice, just get out in the field and keep looking.  Eventually something will change and the birding will improve.  Even if you don't see lots of birds, fun stuff always turns up like this American Redstart from Garr Ranch on Monday:

American Redstart at Garr Ranch

If you've been out birding along the Wasatch front in the past couple of weeks you may have noticed a common migrant missing from the picture.  This August the Wilson's Warblers just aren't around like they normally are.  Usually the last week of the month sees the greatest influx of these migrants as they head south, but this year it hasn't been that great.  In eBird there have only been 2 reports entered all month in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber, and Box Elder County.  Compare that to the history for this species in Utah and you can see serious differences.  Check out the graphic below:

infographic by author

Well spring migration was late, summer was late, and that may very well be leading to a late migration.  Should be interesting to see what the next couple weeks bring, and if the height of fall passerine migration is a couple weeks behind.  On a side note, about two weeks ago in the High Uintas I saw about half a dozen migrating Wilson's Warblers... Maybe they are sticking to the high country this year!