Birding Utah

Birding Utah
with a day in AZ and a late afternoon in NV
April 20-30, 2009 (including 2 travel days)

Other Perspectives on Species Already Showcased Above (in the order of the pictures):

Gambel's Quail pair seen in Tonequint Park, St. George; female; another; male; back view
Phainopepla at the Lytle Ranch; The crest even looks distinctive from behind; One-handed.
Summer Tanager, Grafton, Washington County
Bald Eagle attending to nest; Whole tree containing Bald Eagle on nest just East of Teasdale, UT.
Barn Swallow in front of Ruby's Inn; Barn Swallow doing a superman impersonation; in flight; fanning wing; Barn Swallow flexing his shoulders.
Tree Swallows in front of Ruby's near Bryce Canyon National Park; Flying over the pond behind Boulder Mountain Lodge; Aerodynamic position; Broad wings
Long-billed Curlew at Heppler's Ponds, Richfield UT, 8am April 27, 2009; front view.
A pair of Northern Pintails at Hepplers Ponds.
Western Grebes on Wide Hollow Reservoir, Escalante State Park.
Displaying Turkey; Alert, but not displaying; Turkeys through the windshield, Zion N.P.
Sandhill Crane, Bicknell Bottoms; Two of the ten we had there.
Three California Condors on a ledge in the Grand Canyon below Bright Angel Lodge; Condor flying above the Temple of Sinawava in Zion National Park; There were two but I only managed to photograph one at a time, unless the far away bird here is another Condor. Herman got California Condor on his North American List in the 1970's. In 1987 the last 22 individuals were removed from the wild. After a captive breeding program they've been released gradually since 1991. According to Wikapedia, as of April 2009, there are 322 condors known to be living, including 172 in the wild. According to a volunteer Senior Citizen National Park guide we met, there are 70 Condors in the Grand Canyon/Vermilion Cliffs population. Presumably the ones seen in Zion are from that population. Condors are all numbered, except for the ones--we saw one of these--not captured yet since being hatched in the wild. Condors are re-captured annually for lead-level testing. There's a way to treat incipient lead-poisoning in Condors.
Male Great-tailed Grackle (Correct me if I'm wrong); Another
We had American (black-billed) Magpie at Heppler's Pond, and also in a field in Moab, as we walked near the Scott Matheson Preserve along Mill Creek.
We had Lesser Goldfinches lots of places; Lesser Goldfinch from the back; From the side; From below; half frontal.
Black-chinned Hummingbird scratching. We had this specie at Corn Creek near Las Vegas, at the Lytle Ranch, at Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder UT, and at the Adobe Abode B&B in Moab. In both the latter places the staff had just started seeing the first hummingbirds of the year and had not gotten their feeders up yet.
A juvenile Western Bluebird photographed at Watchman's Campground (elevation under 4000 ft), Zion National Park at 1:45 April 28. It took consultation with birders (Herman D'Entremont, Steve Grinley, Chris Floyd and Glenn d'Entremont) to identify this individual. The clincher was this back view. The eyering in this photo helped but the faux red on the head bill and legs in this side view hindered. Here's a front view. The steaking and the blush of rust near the bird's throat made me think of a female redwinged blackbird but all the birders knew instantly it wasn't that.
Mountain Bluebird near Bryce Canyon National Park (elevation 8,000 ft); Mountain Bluebird at one of the scenic overviews on Boulder Mountain, altitude over 9000 ft.; Another pose. Here's a back view near Tropic Reservoir (elevation 7,835 ft.)
This Black Phoebe was perched over the Virgin River; Same individual; Here's a Black Phoebe on Kanab Creek.
Western Kingbird; taking off; from behind; side view.
Meadowlark from behind; Fanning its tail feathers; The Western Meadowlark's song was everywhere in agrigultural areas.
Common Raven; Another; Note the long wings; Raven on Bright Angel Lodge patio; Raven flying over Utah; In Arizona; With landing gear down.

A Sampling of Other Bird Species Sighted (in taxonomic order):

Eared Grebe on Gunlock Reservoir April 29; Side view.
Cattle Egret flying, Boulder, UT, 4/24/09. The Egret has landed.
Red-breasted Merganser, Wide Hollow Reservoir, Escalante State Park, April 23.
Female Ruddy Duck in the pond behind Boulder Mountain Lodge.
Turkey Vulture flying
Red-tailed Hawk flying; Perched.
Osprey at the Scott M. Matheson Preserve in Moab (from the road. The preserve was closed.)
Kestrel at Shivwits.
Prairie Falcon flying in Zion National Park at the Temple of Sinawava.
Coot
Killdeer at Beaver Dam Wash, permanent water in the Mojave Desert.
Eurasian Collared-dove; From the back.
Acorn Woodpecker at the Hearst Tanks, Grand Canyon National Park; In more context ; Obscured profile of that same individual.
Northern Flicker (red-shafted), outside Aikins Lodge in Kanab.
Ash-throated Flycatcher at Watchman's Campground, Zion N.P.; Same individual.; Upright.
Northern Rough-winged swallow seen from the road to the ghost town of Grafton, UT.
Rock Wren in the Grand Canyon.
Dipper near the Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird in Mojave Desert habitat enroute to the Lytle Ranch.
Crissal Thrasher at the Lytle Ranch
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's). These were common.
Abert's Towhees in Tonaquint Park.
Rufous-crowned Sparrow, at Bicknell Bottoms.
Vesper Sparrow on a local road parallel to I-15 near Beaver, UT.
White-crowned Sparrow near the Adobe Abode B&B's feeders in Moab.
Yellow-headed Blackbird flocks came from all directions to roost in the evening in the bird sanctuary behind Boulder Mountain Lodge. We also had Yellow-headed blackbirds at Heppler's Ponds; Here's one in flight.
Red-winged Blackbird at Bicknell Bottoms.
Brewers Blackbird
Cassin's Finch at a feeder in Teasdale, UT; Another angle.

Multiple Avian Species in the Same Frame:

This photo, taken at Heppler's Ponds, shows Gadwalls in flight, and that Wigeons are smaller than Mallards.
Cinnamon Teal and Avocet at Heppler's Ponds.
Cinnamon Teal and Brewer's Blackbird in the pond behind Ruby's Lodge outside Bryce National Park.
The only Common Grackle and Cattle Egret we saw on the trip were in one binocular field, in Boulder, UT.
Phainopepla and Hummingbird at Lytle Ranch.
Male Ruddy Duck and Coot in the pond behind Boulder Mountain Lodge.
Ring-necked Ducks and Canada Geese on Tropic Reservoir.
Gambel's Quail and Eurasian Collared Dove, Tonequint Park.
The smaller gull is Franklin's (14.5"). The other gull is either a Ring-billed or a California. We had both at the sewage ponds in Green River UT. If my picture was clear enough to see the leg color or the ring color, or if both California (21") and Ring-billed (17.5") were standing side-by-side, I'd have a handle on the ID.

Other Wildlife:

Pronghorn, Bryce Canyon National Park; Another angle.
Squirrel on a tire; This squirrel popped up on the La Sal Mountain Loop; Rock Squirrels are two-toned; This Rock Squirrel's on a rock.
Lizard; Another angle. Tusayan Museum grounds.
Caterpillar
Amputee insect, Coalpits Wash; Full-bodied individual.

Plants:

Cactus flowers; Others.
Yellow flower and the photographer's shadow.
We suppose this is a female cottonwood.

Busted in Fredonia

This road is near Beaver, UT, but it is not unlike 89a between Jacob's Lake and Fredonia AZ where I got a ticket for going 32 mph in a 55mph zone. I only slowed to 32 in the process of pulling over to the shoulder to encourage a white SUV to pass me. Instead of passing me he pulled in behind me and turned on his flashers as he did so! We were stopped right in front of a 50mph speed limit sign. The policeman told me he had clocked me at 32mph. "That's almost 20 miles an hour below the limit! You could have been rear ended." He had to say "almost" because we were both staring at the sign. It burned me up that he deliberately exaggerated "in a 55 mph zone" on the citation, something I did not notice until he was gone. Furthermore there had been four signs on route 89a warning of ice (It was April 21 but we did see ice elsewhere at 8000 ft, which is the altitude we were at), one warning of deer, and one free-range cattle warning. Yet the charge was "imprudent and unreasonable speed." His was probably the only other vehicle we encountered since Jacob's Lake, 40 minutes back. The officer's signature looked like S.Kartchner. Badge 6511. When I explained to the officer that when he clocked me I had only slowed because I was pulling over to the shoulder he acknowledged that with, "That may be so." But he still handed me the citation. I was not able to contest the ticket because I was back in Massachusetts on the court date, May 20. After reading the brochure and phoning the court and my insurance company, and studying the website of the Arizona Chapter National Safety Council, I opted to pay $210 and spend 8 hours of my life (4 hours for the course, but there was a lot of temporal overhead. Don't ask.) to take an online course, followed by a written exam in front of a Notary Public, that would supposedly keep this moving violation off my insurance record. Meanwhile Herman sent a letter to the Governor of Arizona cc'ing the Arizona Tourist Board. The Governor's Office forwarded Herman's letter to the Arizona Department of Public Safety who actually interviewed officer Katchner! The Arizona Department of Public Safety interviewed me by phone and sent us a letter saying they were recommending that the ticket be dismissed, because the officer corroborated my account. The Arizona Department of Public Safety filed a motion to dismiss. Judge Mark Baron denied the motion because, as he put it, "no reason was given." Next time this happens to me I will send a written letter to the Court saying this motion is in the pipeline and these are my reasons it has merit, and I will ask the The Arizona Department of Public Safety to please send to the Court a high level executive summary of their reasons for recommending dismissal. I imagine that the Arizona Department of Public Safety's interview with Officer Kartchner went some ways to educating him as to what constitutes a legitimate citation, and we appreciate the fact that someone in AZ took our complaint seriously, so their time was not spent in vain.

Epilogue

Though the denial of the motion to dismiss was a slap in the face, the $210 was already down the drain and the essential thing was that this moving violation not appear on my insurance ($175/yr for seven years.) But in that same letter in which Judge Mark Baron of the Fredonia Court informed me he was denying the motion to dismiss, he informed me he was rejecting my course as well! This came as a shock because I had submitted everything notarized weeks earlier and already had my certificate from The Arizona Chapter National Safety Council. Since that course had been in lieu of a $56 fine, that fine was now overdue and late fines were accumulating. I had 10 days to file an appeal. "The forms are available at the court." I was very sick with what would be diagnosed as pneumonia June 22. Ever since the debacle of extending my court date by a telephone conversation I've known it was insufficient to ask for forms by phone. There is a real danger that someone will deny I ever made the request and I could be charged with missing a filing date. I did call the court nevertheless and told the woman who answered that there was a mistake, I had taken and passed the course. She just said, "The judge has ruled." But she did tell me I could write Judge Mark Baron. I got out of bed and wrote the judge. I requested the appeal forms, and I also explained that I had the certificate saying I passed the Defensive Driving course but I could not send it to him because it said in boldface "void if copied!" I dragged myself out to the far mailbox that had a Saturday pickup. The nightmare came to an end June 26th. The judge accepted my course, saying he'd take the Arizona Chapter National Safety Council's incompetence in not delivering my results to the Court up with them. Our vacation was marred. In taking that course I tacitly admitted a crime I did not commit (Herman did call AAA to see if they'd represent me in court in Fredonia Arizona, but they said the charge of imprudent and unreasonable speed is one they did not care to defend), I paid $210, and I spent several days of my life in unpleasant activities connected with this. I got a final one page letter-born scolding from the judge about how very culpable I was wantonly driving "23 (sic) miles below the speed limit" and an empty road (That was the super-high-level executive summary I gave him in my pneumonia letter) is no excuse. It bugs me that the mud of this fabricated charge sticks to me like that. It's pathetic that I feel defensive.

My encounter with the American Justice system was Kafka-esque. But in the end it was limited to a $210 stress-filled time-sink. Imagine the plight of someone actually locked up for a crime he didn't commit whose motion for consideration of new evidence gets summarily dismissed by a judge.

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