Species Parade, Week Seven

Back in the day, bird identification came with a gun, not a pair of binoculars. Of course, the explorers and scientists didn’t have

Townsend Warbler

Townsend Warbler

a Peterson Guide on their desk. They quantified and qualified what would later make it into the Peterson Guide. Nearly two centuries ago, naturalist John K. Townsend was just out of graduate school and headed west on an expedition from Missouri. He found birds alright: “I think I never before saw so great a variety of birds. All were beautiful…and my game bag was teeming with its precious freight.”

Forty five species this week, highlighted by a Townsend Solitaire and Townsend Warbler.

Follow our weekly updates to appreciate the outstanding opportunities for wildlife spotting ‘round these parts! Sign up for our newsletter.

Mammals:

Black Tailed Jackrabbit

Cottontail Rabbit

Mule Deer

Coyote

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Rock Squirrel

Brush Mouse

Skunk

Birds:

California Gull

White American Pelican

Grackle

Townsend’s Solitaire

Townsend’s Warbler

Yellow Warbler

House finch

Red Shafted Flicker

Tufted Titmouse

Black Capped Chickadee

IMG_0960Mountain Chickadee

Bushtit

Common Raven

Scrub Jay

Magpie

Turkey

Dark-Eyed Junco

Ringed Turtle Dove

Rock Dove

Western Kingbird

Mountain Bluebird

Meadowlark

Rufous-sided Towhee

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Chipping sparrow

Song sparrow

Black Headed Grosbeak

American Kestrel

IMG_0980Turkey Vulture

Prairie Falcon

Red-Tailed Hawk

Killdeer

Starling

American Robin

Common Poor Will

Common Nighthawk

Alder Flycatcher (perhaps. See at right.)

 

Posted in Species Parade, Utah Wilderness and tagged .

3 Comments

  1. You have pelicans in Utah?? Wow – who knew? I LOVE their prehistoric-dinosaur-ness. They must be pterodactyl’s first or second or thirtieth-once-removed cousins, don’t you think?

    • Who knew, indeed! I was surprised to see them in Iowa, too. They soar high, just south of the Great Salt Lake. And yes, kissing cousins with the pterodactyl, for sure.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *