Travel Utah roads and you’ll see all kinds of wildlife. Trouble is, they’re all dead. Given today’s driving culture, though, it’s not unusual to conduct species counts via road kills. UtahOutsider’s species parade count bumped to 51 with sightings of newly dead mammals along highways and byways.
The trek from northern Utah to southwestern Colorado (twice) certainly allowed us to see more, when we had a spare second. Read more about the move here. At higher elevations in both states (6,000 to 8,500 feet), you will see the gorgeously villian-esque Steller’s Jay. [To note, the bird is stellar but not Stellar! It was named after Georg Wilhelm Steller, an 18th century German birder.]
Mammals:
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Badger
Racoon
Antelope
Skunk
Black Tailed Jackrabbit
Cottontail Rabbit
Mule Deer
Coyote
Rock Squirrel
Brush Mouse
Birds:
Canada Goose
California Gull
Grackle
Townsend’s Solitaire
Townsend’s Warbler
Yellow Warbler
House finch
Red Shafted Flicker
Steller’s Jay
Clark’s Nutcracker
Tufted Titmouse
Black Capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Bushtit
Common Raven
Scrub Jay
Magpie
Turkey
Dark-Eyed Junco
Ringed Turtle Dove
Rock Dove
Western Kingbird
Mountain Bluebird
Meadowlark
Rufous-sided Towhee
Clark’s Nutcracker
Broad Tailed Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Chipping sparrow
Song sparrow
Black Headed Grosbeak
American Kestrel
Turkey Vulture
Prairie Falcon
Red-Tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Starling
American Robin
Common Poor Will
Common Nighthawk
Alder Flycatcher