Great Basin

Great Basin

N.E 13-17 Apr OCaet al.). The birdswere feeding ona deercarcass across fromWeeping Rock(a heavily visited spotin thepark). ThreeTrumpeterSwanswere reported fromPineviewRes.,Weber,UT 9 Mar (KE,JR, KP),andonewasseenat RubyValleyN.W.R.,

Elko,NV 25 May(DMc).Theonlyreportof GreaterWhite-fronted Goosecame from Lem-

Great'. "t

..• .

.•'•13xe•

i.

-•'

monV.M.,where4 wereseen26 Apr (FP). Ross's Geese areregularly foundin theRegion in smallnumbers, so 75 in theWashington Fields,Washington, UT 2 Marwasa notable number(RF).

Wood Ducks were reportedscattered

throughout theRegion in smallnumbers as expected, but a maleand femalereported nesting alongtheTruckee R.atVerdi,Washoe, NV 4-23 Mar were notable (RBn). A male

Eurasian Wigeon(lessthanannualin the Region) graced Farmington Bayfor oneday only22 Mar (J&KB). A kong-tailed Duck that winteredat EastCanyonRes.,Morgan,

Sptinõ•"

Iqounteins

•Colorado

.-3 River

Steve Summers

R.A. (Miller's Rest Area, Esmeralda,NV);

2146NorthChandler Drive

Red Hills G.C. (Red Hills Golf Course,St.

Pahranagat (Pahranagat N.W.R., Lincoln, NV); George,Washington, UT); Ouray (Ouray

UT stayed until21 Mar(BRet al.).Scoters in theRegion aregenerally foundin thefalland winter,but thisspringall threespecies were recorded. Anunusually latefemale SurfScoter wasat IndianSprings sewage ponds3-4 May (RSa,RF,SSu).Twowintering White-winged Scoters lingered intothespring, oneat Sand Hollowstaying until 12 Mar (RF) and2 at

Cedar City, Utah 84720 N.W.R., Uintah, UT); Overton (Overton EastCanyonRes.,Morgan,UT to 22 Mar W.M.A.,Clark,NV);EL.(Pyramid L., Washoe, (BR).A maleBlackScoter,therarestscorerin ([email protected]) wasat MonaRes.,Juab, UT 2-19 NV); Q.C.R.(QuailCreekRes.,Washington, theRegion,

RickFridell 3505West290North

UT); SandHollow(SandHollowRes.,Washington,UT); Stillwater(StillwaterN.W.R., Churchill, NV);ZionN.E(Washington, UT).

Mar (LG et al.,ph. EL). HAWKS THROUGH TERNS TwoMississippi Kitesin Nevadaweregreat finds,onein Tonopah, Nye17 May (ph.GS,

LOONS THROUGH WATERFOWL A rareRed-throated Loonwasphotographed MMe) and the other at Corn Cr. 21 May ph.RF,DGh,RSk).A totalof 125 at HyrumS.E,Cache, UT 22 Apr andseen (B&PH,JW,, ([email protected]) Bay2 Mar must through 27Apr(BSr, DSh,ph.MMo).A Yel- BaldEaglesat Farmington havebeenanimpressive sight(J&KB).Comlow-billedLoonfirstfound1 Jan.at PL. was wereevidentthisspringin Horned monBlack-Hawks Pring produced some raintogive abrief seenthrough18 Mar (TL). Several

Hurricane, Utah84737

Grebeswere reportedthroughoutUtah sw.Utah. In addition to birds seenat the usual Mar-Apr. Asobserver numbers haveincreased locations,onewasfoundin Zion N.P 6 Apr+ (LT);thisfollows lastsummer's sighting, the in theRegion andtheirfieldskillsrefined, we Othersingles haveseenanincrease in reports ofthisspecies. firstfortheparkin manyyears. UT 24 Apr(MC) A veryrareRed-necked Grebe wasdiscovered wereatVirgin,Washington, UT 6 May(LT). atHyrumS.E10Apr(tRR,S&DD)_ Thebird andBakerRes.,Washington. fromtheAbajoMts.atVerdure ers.There were severalrecordsof LeastTerns, was describedas "mostly in breeding Onereported Cr.,SanJuan,UT 9 Maywasfarfromanypreandwasseenthrough 28Apr. giving mostbirders a chance toaddthisscarce plumage" in Utah(p. a., It looksasthough theremaybesome bud- viousreportfor thisspecies species to theirstatelists. dingyoung birders in Elko,NV,asa second- ?BMet al.) and in an unusualhabitat(PonPineforest withaspen alonga stream) Abbreviations:A.I.C. (Antelope Island grade class hadtheirteacher, LoisPorts, come derosa of 2235m. during recess toconfirm 24American andat theveryhighelevation Causeway, Davis,UT); AshMeadows (Ash outside circling overtheirschool. The Zone-tailedHawk is another sw. species Meadows N.W.R.,Nye,NV); BearRiver(Bear WhitePelicans itsextreme n. limitsin sw.Utahand classhadjustcompleted a season of Class- reaching RiverMigratory BirdRefuge, BoxElder,UT);

relief tothedrought, butbytheend ofthe

season, thedryweather wasbackMigrationwasjudged somewhat slowcompared to average years, withfeweastern vagrants present.Largeconcentrations ofmigrants werelittlereported, especially ofEmpidonax flycatch-

Corn Cr. (Corn Cr., DesertN.W.R., Clark,

room Feederwatch and were disappointed s. Nevada.Threewerereportedthisspring:

NV); Dyer(Esmeralda, NV); Farmington Bay

thattheycouldnolonger reporttheirdata.

(Farmington BayW.M.A.,Davis,UT); Fish Springs(FishSpringsN.W.R.,Juab,UT); H.B.V.E(Henderson BirdViewingPreserve, Clark,NV); IndianSprings (IndianSprings, Clark, NV); LemmonV.M. (LemmonValley Marsh, Washoe, NV); Lytle Ranch(Lytle RanchPreserve, Washington, UT); Miller's

180

A Least Bittern was heard calling at

oneatSilverReef,Washington, UT 30Apr(ph. RF),oneat CornCr. 14-18May (ph. RF et

Pahranagat 7 0W) & 17 May (GS,MMe). Thisspecies israrelyreported n. ofClark,NV but is mostlikelyregularat Pahranagat. A

al.),andoneatKolobRes.,Washington, UT 25

GreenHeronat Ouray26 Maywasin an area

escapee (?S&JS).

whereseldom reported (J&KB).Up to4 CaliforniaCondorsthrilledparkvisitorsat Zion

showing thisseason, withreports scattered

MayOS).A Northern Bobwhite in Emigration

Canyon, SaltLake,UT 8 Maywaslikelyan Black-bellied Ploversmadean impressive

NORTH AMERICAN BIRD

throughout theRegion anda Utahhighcount

All were probablymigrants.Flammulated

of 1000+alongthe A.I.C. 9 May (JBi).

Owlsareregular breeding birdsin theRegion, butmigrants areonlyrarelyfound; oneatWel-

fromH.B.V.P. 6 Mar (p. a., DAI, MJ,JBr).A first-winter Glaucous-winged Gull at FarmNevada's highcountof 100+camefromCarington1 Mar (DGr) waslikelya wintering sonL., Churchill19 Apr (NB, MBi,JT). An bird;thisspecies is beingreported morefreinteresting reportof an UplandSandpiper-- quentlyaroundtheGreatSaltLake. Common Terns are uncomveryrarefor theRegion-camefrom the n. Ruby Valley,Elko,NV 10 May ' GreatBasin,so thefollowing

comeSpringjust at the transitionof Joshua Treewoodland andjuniperwoodland on the Beaver Damslope, Washington, UT 3 Maywas exceptional (BHu,ph.MT). ABlackSwiftat theCarson Diversion Dam,

(AHr).

mon migrants through the

very

Whimbrels are-

records are of note: one at

Churchill, NV 10-11Mayprovided averyrare

scarce migrants

ProvoAirportDike,Utah,UT

Nevada recordof a migrant(DSi,LN). Vaux's

s

throughthe Region, with only one or 2 usually reportedduringany season.Thusfourreportsof up to 3 birdswasquitea goodshowing: oneatSoda L., Churchill, NV 2 May (DT), one at CarsonL. 15

24 Apr(CPy),oneat Sand Swifts werereported onlyfromw.Nevada this Hollow 5 May (RF), one at LasVegas Bay,L. Mead,Clark, NV 30 May (MBa,fideJBr), and3 atH.B.V.E 30 May(JBr).

' •

May (GS,JW), up to 3 at BearRiver29 Apr-11 May to 3 at A.I.C. 27 Apr-4 May(BR,PF,J&KB).

Clark,Churchill,andWashoe. An unconfirmed

reportofa Blue-throated Hummingbird came

froma parkvisitorat ZionN.E 13 May.

Least Terns stageda mini-

Althoughparkpersonnel couldnot relocate

invasion intotheRegion: 2 at LeeKayPonds,SaltLake,UT 15-23 May (tBR et al., ph.

thebirdandthisreportcannotgointothe books, it isimportant to notethepossibility thatthisspecies mayhaveoccurred herethis spring; thereisatleastoneprevious record for the area.Anna'sHummingbirds continued

MMd),oneatH.B.V.P. 18May (DT,TS),oneatProvo Airport Dike, Utah,UT 26-31 May

(QG, SB,C&ND),andup

year,with 8 reports involving 50+ birdsin

theiryearlypresence in s.Utah,with4 found in theLeeds area,Washington, UT 2 Mar(CS There were three George GolfCourse, Washing- etal.)andoneat OakGrove,Washington, UT reportsof RuddyTurnton,UT 28 May-1 Jun (MSc, 18 May(RF,LT). Anna's Hummingbirds had stone,a spedesnot found JS,ph.,tRF,ph.SSu),andone beenrecorded yearlyonlyin Washington for every year: one atSoda L., '*• at LasVegasBay,L. Mead30 thelastfiveyearsor so.A maleCosta's HumChurchill, NV 8-10 May May(MBa,fideJE). mingbird in Oxbow Park,Reno16Aprwasn. (JW),oneat P.L.10 May Zone-tailed Hawks were recorded thisspring of itsexpected rangein Nevada (DT). Costa's in several unusual areasin southwestern PIGEONS THROUGH (JT, DMu), and one at Hummingbirds areregularly recorded farther Utah.Thisonecruised everSilver Reef, WOODPECKERS ChickenCr.Res.,Juab, UT n. in n. California andOregon, sotheiroccaWashington County, Utah on30April 2003. 10 May (J&KB). Red A Band-tailed Pigeonin Holsional occurrence in n.Nevada isnotsurprisPhotograph byRick hidell. Knots, another scarce laday,SaltLake,UT 27 Mar ing.An earlyBroad-tailed Hummingbird was migrant not recordedevery year, were wasconsidered earlyforthatlocation(DO). in Zion CanyonN.E 12 Mar (RF). An Acorn observed fourtimesthisspring: 2 alongthe A strayWhite-winged Dovein Orere,Utah, Woodpecker firstobserved 15 Oct2002near A.I.C.11Mayandonethere30 May(PF),one UT 19 Apr wasfar n. of its normalrange BoulderMi. alongHwy 12 betweenmfie at ChickenCreekRes.,Juab,UT 12 May (CPy). EurasianCollared-Doves continued markers 93 & 94, Garfield,UT continued (J&KB),andoneat Lemmon V.M.13 May theirpresence in NevadaandUtah,with 12 through theendof theperiod(tCT, m. ob.). (JW).Sanderling numbers wereimpressive at reportsinvolving20+ individuals.Several TheYellow-bellied Sapsucker present since1 A.I.C.10Apr-15May,where1000+wereestiwerebirdsstillpresent fromlocations previ- Jan at LytleRanch,Washington continued mated4 May(J&KB)and3000+on 15 May ouslyreportedin thefall andwinterseasons until 22 Mar (LT et al.). What wasconsidered (RSt, RBw et al.), one at St.

(JVM,PF).AwayfromA.I.C.,there wereonly threereports: oneatLemmon V.M.14Apr&

for ClarkandLincoln,NV

a pureYellow-shafted race

and Beaver, Iron, and

Northern Flicker was seen

6 May (NB,JT, CY, FP), 8 at SandHollow

Washington,UT. New

19-20Apr (RF,SSu),andoneat SodaL 15 May(GS,JW). Semipalmated Sandpipers areveryrarein

reports included: oneat CornCr. 17 May(RI, DI,

at Springdale pond,Washington,UT 9 Mar (LT).

thespring, sothe3 at A.I.C.3 May(J&KB) andonethere30 May(PF,KL,JVM)arevery noteworthy. A remarkable White-rumped Sandpiper wasphotographed at theBlanding sewage ponds, SanJuan,UT 27 May(ph.AS, tNP). Dunlin were reported scattered throughout theRegion, witha highcountof 60+at Carson L. 19Apr0W). Only2 Shortbilled Dowitchers were reported,both in Nevada: 2 at IndianSprings 4 May(SSu,RF) andoneat Lemmon V.M. 15 May (BHa).A Red Phalarope photographed at Blandlug sewage ponds27 Mayprovided a veryrare springrecord(ph.AS,NP).

JCo), one at Kanab Golf

Several such flickers are

Course, Kane,UT 24 May

reportedeach year, but mostappearto be inter-

(CSet al.), and2 at Delta,

grades.

Millard, UT 27 May (DAD.Themaleof a pair in CedarValley,Iron,UT since Dec was observed

FLYCATCHERS THROUGH WARBLERS A photographed butsilent

White-romped Sandpipers arerardy found inthe Eastern Wood-Pewee was Great Basin Region. This reraarkable phetograph was "kreeeow"call during taken reported fromUpperGalt attheBlanding sewage ponds, San Juan County, display flight 5 May Utah Lincoln, NV 7 May on27May 2003. Photograph byAndrew Spencer.Switch,

giving

its

nasal

(SSu). A calling Inca Dove

was

at

Indian

Springs4 May (RF,SSu),and 8 wereseen thereon 20 May(DI, JW et al.). Yellow-billed Cuckoos arealways a treatto

(p. a., ph., tJW). Several

marksin the photograph dosuggest thisspecies, buta fewmarks might not.Identifying silentvagrant wood-pewees is challenging, andthe Nevadacommittee will decide thisone.Several LeastFlycatchers, all

FranklinsGulls are regularmigrants findintheWest, andthefollowing single birds throughthe Region, but a countof 51 at werein atypical areas: GarrRanch,Antelope singles,werereportedas follows:RedHills H.B.V.P. 24 Aprwasan unusually highnumIslandS.E,Davis,UT 23 May (DSh,LG), G.C.6 May(RF),CornCr. 10(JE,RSa,LI) & berfors.Nevada (J&MC).A first-winter Mew PorterSprings, Pershing, NV 30 May(DT,JW 14 May(ph. RF),LytleRanch11 May(LI), Gull,veryrarein the region,wasreported et al.),andRedHillsG.C.31 May(KW,RF). andLida,Esmeralda, NV 18May(tGS,MMe).

VOLUME 57 (2003)

NUMBER 3

381

Afterlastsprings influxof LeastFlycatchers, the severalreportsthis springalsosuggest thatthisspecies hasbeenan overlooked rare transientthrough the Region. A welldescribed EasternPhoebe7 MayatJordanR. Parkway, SaltLake,UT providesa veryrare Utahrecordfor thisspecies (p. a., tEC). An Eastern Kingbird atFiveMileRanch, Nye,NV 17 May (GS,MMe) andoneat CornCr. 28 May (NB,JT) werethe only onesreported awayfromregular locations in n. Nevada and n. Utah.A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Corn Cr.20-28 May0He,JM, NB,JT) andanother at Miller'sR. A. 24 May (FP,DT et al.) were verygoodfinds. A Bell's Vireowasobserved singing at Lida, Esmeralda, NV 18 May,a somewhat n. location for this species(MMe, GS). Cassin's

SSu). Four Black-and-white Warblers were

Vireoswerenotedin smallnumbersin Clark,

SPARROWS THROUGH FINCHES Only one White-throatedSparrow was

NV andWashington, UT duringlateAprand earlyMay.SinglePurpleMartins,a veryscarce

migrant,wereseenat FishSprings16 May (KCC) and IndianSprings sewage ponds24 May (TW). Only 2 Swainsons Thrushes (an irregular migrantthroughthedesert regions) werereported: CornCr. 14May(RF)andCir-

in SaltLakeCity29 Apr-17May(MStet al.). A Baltimore Oriolestopped in at Miller'sR.A. 25 May (DT, BD). A flock of 30 Red Crossbills wandered far

outofhabitatin Lida18-21May(MMe,GSet al.). A veryunusualCommonRedpollwas reported froma Sparks, Washoe, NV feederon

theverylatedateof 22 May(CE,fideAWa); details werescant. Anunexpected Lawrence's Goldfinch wasat a Fernley, Lyon,NV feeder 9-29 Mar (DT, DSe,MMe), an outlier in last

fall'sirruption.

a row, PaintedRedstartswere found in Zion

N.P, thisyear3 Apr+(KS,fideBSw).Others wereat RedRockN.C.A.,Clark,NV 5 Apr (DSm et al.) and BeaverDam Wash above

kytle19Apr (RF,kT).

reported,that being8 Mar at Reno(AWa). SingleHarris'sSparrowswere reportedin Utah at CamelotWoods,Utah 11 Mar (KCC),

Coalville,Summit26 Mar (PF,BHg),Provo AirportDike,Utah12Apr O&KB)& 1 May (differentbird; RW), and at a residencein w.

Observers:DaveAllen (DAI), GiselaAnderson,MarthaAnn,KeithArchibald, DavidArsenault (DAr), Mike Baker(MBa),GlennBarlow,

SarahBeckwith, BetsyBeneke (BBe),Joel& KathyBeyer,JackBinch0Bi), Mike Bish (MBi), NancyBish,DouglasBooth,Lonny Boring,BobBradley(BBr),MichaelBradley (MBr), Je AnneBranca0Br), RobertBrown (RBw), RichardBrune (RBn),John Cavitt 0Ca), KC Childs(KCC),JoanClarke0Cl), Jack Cochran0Co), KristenComelb (KC), Edward Conrad,Jim & Marian Cressman, Laura Cunningham,Matt Curtis, Carol & NickyDavis,TamaraDeRosiers, Sue& Dave

cleL Ranch,Dyer21 May (DT et al.).Neither wasidenufiedto subspecies. Transient Gray

Weber5 May (PM). Golden-crowned Sparrowsareregularin Nevada andarebecoming Drown,BobDunn,JimEidell,ClareEngeseth,

Catbirdswere noted at GunnisonBendRes.,

more so in sw. Utah. One that wintered at Red

Keith Evans, Rick Fridell, PoreeraFrorice,

Millard,UT 9 Mar (DAD,Miller'sR.A.27 May (GS), and PorterSprings,Pershing, NV 28 May(JW).TheGunnison BendRes.birdwas extremely earlyandmayhavebeena lingering winteringbird,whichwouldbe a significant

CliffsRecreation Area,Washington lingered until9 Mar (RF),andanother wasalongthe Virgin River Parkway,Washington 12 Mar

record.A Brown Thrasherat the JordanR.

Sharon Gander, Lou Girlclings,Dennis Ghiglieri(DGh), Dana Green (DGr), C.J. Grimes(CJG),CarolGwynn(CGw), Anne Halley(AH1),Bill Hart(BHa),AlexHartman (AHr), Brian& PhoebeHawson, Jim Healy (JHe),ShellyHernandez, JackHofleyOHo),

bit aboveaverage: oneat Bluff,SanJuan,UT 16May0Hk, LH,TD), oneatCircleL Ranch, Jim Hook 0Hk), LuanneHook,Eric Huish, Dyer,Esmeralda, NV 18May(GS,MMe),with Bill Hunter(BHu),BobHuntington(BHg), 2 there21 May (JW), a femaleat Corn Cr. Mike Johnson,LeeJones,TonyJones,Josh Kreitzer,EdsonLeite, Tun Lenz, Kent Lewis, 18-22 May 0E et al.), and a femalea! Red Hills G.C. 26 May (RF,,KCo).ThreeIndigo Jeff Madsen,SueAnne Marshall,BrianMaxfield,DonMclvor(DMc), PaulMerola,Martin Buntings at CornCr.18Maywereunusual for a singlelocation0Co). Asis nowquitenorMeyers(MMe),MikeMonson(MMn),Milton mal,a fewothers werereported; thisspecies is Moody (MMd), DarrenMurphey(DMu), probablya regularbut scarceRegional LarryNeal, DeedeeO•Brien,BridgetOlson, breeder. Christian Peay(CPy),CherylPeterson (CP0, WaywardBobolinks wereat Miller'sR.A. Fred Petersen, NathanPieplow, Lois Ports, 17-28 May (GS,MMe, NB,JT), Springville, KristinPurdy, JackRensel, KathyRobertson, Utah19 May (CPt),andTonopah Cemetery, BruceRobinson, RonRyel,Susan& Jeffrey Nye24 May(DSe).Up to43 Tricolored Black- Saffle,Mike SanMiguel(MSM),Rick Saval birds were in the Centerville area of Carson (RSa),JohnSchijf,Mike Schijf(MSc),Rita Valley,Douglas 7-24 Apr,wherethisspecies Schlageter (RSc), Greg Scyphers, Dennis hasbeenfoundnowforseveral years(m.ob.). Serdehely (DSe),CharlieSheard, KevinShipp, A female Bronzed Cowbird was at Red Hills BryanShirley (BSr),Dennis Shirley (DSh),Bob G.C.9-28 May (LT,GB,ph. RF), providing Showier (BSw),DavidSibley(DSi),DanSmall anotherreportof this species to add to the (DSm), AndrewSpencer, Mark Stackhouse handful of Utah records. A female Orchard (MSt), SparkyStensaas (SS0, Reed Stone Oriolewasa greatfindatCornCr. 16-22May (RSt),RoseStrictdand (RSk),TobySnlenski, SteveSummers (SSu),Jane (MSM, RSa);thereare very few Regional PriscillaSummers, records.At leastone and likely 2 first-year Thompson, MatthewThorurn,CarolynTitus, HoodedOrioleswere in Fernley,Lyon,NV AltonThygerson, LarryTripp,DennisTrons21-25Apr,visiting twodifferent feeders (DT, dale, Ryan Tronsdale, Julie Van Moorhem 0VM), RobinWalcott,AlanWallace(AWa), JT, NB, DSe),followedon 16 Mayby a 3rd JackWalters,Merrill Webb,KevinWheeler, bird,anad.male(DSe).Fernley isquitefarn. forthisspecies in Nevada. Anotherunusually Larry Williams,Alan Wright (AWr), Tom Wurster, CarolYork.• northerlyrecordwasofa maleHoodedOriole

Parkway on the earlydateof 26 Mar OHo) could also have been a winteringbird. Another Brown Thrasher was observed at Red

HillsG.C.28 May(DSh).Le Conte•Thrasherswereeasilyfoundthisspringalongthe AlamoRd.justoutside of CornCr.,andseveralfledgedyoungwereseenin earlyMay (DT,RTet al.). Twoad.with2 juv.LeConte• Thrasherswere found at TorranceRanch,

Beatty, Nye,NV,a n. location for thisspecies (DT, RT et al.).

Eastern warblers werein shortsupplythis season. Northern Parulas were observed at

threelocations: Springdale pond,Washington, UT 14May(BSw),Dyer20May(DT), andthe Watchman residence area,ZionN.P,asinging male that persistedfrom 25-28 May (LB, tBSw et al.). A Chestnut-sidedWarbler was

alongthe Muddy R., Emery,UT 29 May (MW), anda Magnolia Warblerwasin Dyer 24 May(GS,DSe,JT et al.). HermitWarblers are rare-but-regular transients throughthe Region, butonly2 werereported thisspring: oneat CornCr. 14May(RF)andoneat Lida, Esmeralda, NV 18May(GS,MMe).A Yellowthroated Warblerwasalsoat Lida18-20May (GS, DT). The Palm Warbler that winteredat Carson L. was last seen 31 Mar (DAr). A

basic-plumaged PalmWarbler,veryrare in spring,wasseenbrieflyatCornCr.3 May(RF,

382

foundduringMay in Clark,Esmeralda, and Washington--at or slightlybelow normal. Only 3 AmericanRedstarts were reported (Pershing, NV, Utahand Wasatch, UT). An Ovenbird wasalongtheJordanR. Parkway 8 May for a rarelocalrecord(•EC). A welldescribed Louisiana Waterthrush wasatLytle 5 May(p. a.,•LT);therearenoaccepted Utah records. An extremely earlyWilson's Warbler showed upat theParkerRanchPreserve, Nye, NV 15Mar(kC).Foratleastthe3rdspring in

(LT). Rose-breasted Grosbeak numbers were a

NORTH

AMERICAN

BIRDS