Instead of doing a straight species ID quiz, I want to do a series of quizzes regarding age and sex of certain birds.

Here is the first Golden Eagle (I'll post a few more eagles after this). I photographed this bird in late fall, how old would that make it...in years or in age class terminology, either one. Its not difficult, so don't over-think it.

I spent Friday and Saturday in St. George to relax and get some birding in. The St. George Winter Bird Festival was going on Thursday-Saturday and is an event I try to attend every year. It's cool to see so many birders all over town. At every major birding hotspot there'd always be cars coming and going and birders on the move asking what you're seeing and telling stories of what they witnessed. I woke up at 4am Friday morning to drive down and join Rick Fridell and his trip intended for the city of Hurricane. However, true to its name, the wind was absolutely unbearable in this area and the birding was difficult. However, one highlight on this segment was a stop at Stratton Pond where side by side comparisons of Greater and Lesser Scaup showed differences I didn't even know about - in terms of bill shape and size. Rick was a great teacher.

The wind was whipping at Sandhollow SP

After a phone call and a check on the conditions just a few miles away, we headed out to the Washington Fields where it was supposedly less windy. There has been a White-tailed Kite in this area for the last several weeks and after some looking at the "usual" spots, we were able to track it down and get incredible looks.

White-tailed Kite

Other highlights on this day included a whole host of wintering Savannah and Vesper Sparrows; a big surprise in terms of numbers this year. We weren't able to find the Lark Buntings that have been around. We did see a couple of Prairie Falcons, a Merlin, and several Kestrels to make a nice falcon sp day. A first year male Vermilion Flycatcher was a great find. A couple of Roadrunners and Mountain Bluebirds gave great looks as well.

Saturday I woke up early and headed out to Lytle Ranch, my favorite place to visit. The views alone make it worth it. The birding is usually incredible as well.

The road to Lytle Ranch

Along the road to the ranch, I found a handful of Cactus Wrens and a surprising Sage Thrasher. At the ranch itself, I walked all over and found several specialty birds for the area including the following: Western Bluebirds, Phainopeplas, Verdin, Crissal Thrasher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Black Phoebe, Bewick's Wrens, Savannah Sparrows, Gambel's Quail etc. Less usual, were a pair of Long-eared Owls roosting and a male Anna's Hummingbird. Also, all the way at the end of the main walk, in the river, was a mixed group of ducks that included several Green-winged Teal and a lone American Wigeon and Hooded Merganser. Other nice birds included one Lincoln's Sparrow and a Hermit Thrush. It really paid off to be patient, quiet, and slow as I wandered the ranch. There's always one more bird and one more spot to check.

Heading back from Lytle Ranch

I decided to spend my afternoon close to Zion National Park - just about an hour or so away from where I was. My first stop was to look for Rufous-crowned Sparrows in Springdale. I was successful and added another life bird. I have tried several times; it was nice to finally see one of these.

Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Finally, I drove up the Kolob Reservoir Road - well as far as I could get before the snows stopped me. Not a lot of bird life to be found, but a nice flock of Pygmy and White-breasted Nuthatches was fun to see.

Kolob Reservoir Road

As usual, this trip to St. George was memorable and fun. Can't wait to get back down there.

Good Birding.

Gee Mike, you didn't do me any favors with these pics, but that was the point of the post. If I identify them correctly, will you delete them from your files so nobody can see them again and prove me wrong? Just kidding of course.

The top photo is a juvenile Peregrine Falcon. The overall shape (heavy bodied, and long and narrow wings without any bulge is typical of a Peregrine from this angle), and the feet (large with long toes, most long-toed raptors have skinny toes and appear smaller-footed) are good clues. Although it looks grayish on top, it is the type of grayish that juveniles appear to be in poor light. Also, it does look streaked on the breast and uniformly colored underneath instead of darker on the belly like adults.

The bottom bird is a juvenile Red-tail. Blocky wings in a glide with the wing tips projecting only slightly are perfect for Red-tail. It looks white-headed but that is typical of gliding birds when the sun blasts the head only. The squarish shape of the pale primary "panels" fit perfect for juvenile Red-tail. Other juvenile buteos show slightly differently shaped "panels" or "windows." Also, the bird is buffy-white underneath, lacking the faint (or strong) rufous tone to the underside most adults show.

Hope this helps, and if I get more of these type of photos....I will fail to be of any help sooner rather than later.

Thanks Mike

I have taken photos of birds that are so bad, out of focus, poorly exposed, wings cut off, etc. We all have, but why would anyone keep them? I delete them, especially when I can't identify them...hah. But I have to say, there are photos I should have deleted long ago that still sit in my collection. The Cooper's Hawk photo above is one of them....its small in the frame (I cropped this one) and not in great light, and I will delete it for good right after this post.

Anyway, I get a lot of e-mails of raptor pics for ID, and some of the pics are difficult mostly because its tough to see anything in the photo. I just thought, if anyone is interested in trying to get an ID on a raptor photo they are holding onto, feel free to e-mail it to me. Lets keep it to raptors, there are just too many other bird photos I will have no prayer of identifying. I'll pick a tough one sent to me, try to identify it, and blog about it.

Send pics to this e-mail (jerrylig@hotmail.com), I only have a gmail account because it is necessary for this blog, I never check it. And, feel free to send good raptor pics if you are wondering about the ID.

My family moved to Bountiful from Boise just a day or two before the year 2011 began. Moving to a new location brings with it a lot of excitement for a birder like myself.  It generally means new life birds, new every-day species and new rare birds. It also means new regular birding patches for me to explore as well as new birders to meet and interact with. Utah birding has not disappointed.

In Utah, in 2011, I added seventeen life birds, and some of them were doozies! Check this out: Pygmy Owl, Glossy Ibis, Palm Warbler, Band-tailed Pigeon, Virginia's Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Black Swift, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Common Poorwill, Dickcissel, Purple Martin, Williamson's Sapsucker, Pine Grosbeak, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, and White-winged Scoter. Each sighting was very memorable. I especially appreciate those spectacular chases like the Palm Warbler and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that I got to enjoy along side several fellow Utah bird enthusiasts.

Dickcissel

My own Bountiful yard has been very exciting for me as an avid backyard birder too. Utah birders should not take for granted the comical antics of Western Scrub-jays and the abundance of Black-capped Chickadees. Oh, and having both American and Lesser Goldfinch at your nyger feeder at the same time...how cool is that?! My yard list is still at a humble 55 species, so I've got a lot of watching to do in order to catch up with the112 yards birds in my previous Boise foothills yard. My Utah backyard has certainly been much more conducive to photographing the birds.

 Western Scrub-Jay

  Dark-eyed Junco

Western Tanager

The Utah birding community has been most welcoming to me, for which I am grateful. I've met in person and online some fantastic and talented people. Utah birding has also opened up opportunities to expand my birding hobby. I met Bill Thompson III at the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival last year which led to invitation to be an official blogger at the Midwest Birding Symposium. There I got to meet in person several birding legends, many of whom I now interact with on a regular basis. Though I end up birding solo most of the time, I really do enjoy birding with others. By the way, let's throw off the shackles of shyness and introduce ourselves with first and last names when we see each other in the field.

It's been fun and interesting to observe the dynamics of birders through the lens of the listservs. We have the contagious enthusiastics and the curmudgeons; the protagonists and the antagonists; the experts and the inepts; those that find the birds and those that parasite off those sightings (including me!) all thrown together with the common passion and interest in birds. Sometimes watching birders is as entertaining as watching the birds.

My eBird records show that I have reported bird sightings from 60 different locations in Utah, but I feel like I've only just started to scratch the surface. I now know well Farmington Bay, Antelope Island, and the Jordan River. I look forward to a new year of exploration and discovery at Utah birding hotspots and meeting more of you out on the birding trail.

Happy Birding!

Robert Mortensen

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