Tag Archives: birds
Antelope Island Morning
With such mild winter weather, it feels like spring has already arrived at the Island – minus the bugs!
Come on out and enjoy the sights, sounds and feeling of this incredible place. If you can stay and enjoy the sunset it will be an experience you won’t forget!
Raven Quiz
Common Raven, Corvus corax, is known to be a remarkable, intelligent bird. While working at Dead Horse Point State Park, I have witnessed this species of bird perform barrel rolls while soaring along the cliff edge. In the winter, it will cover the solar light sensor panel with its wing to simulate darkness and triggering the light to turn on. The light then provides just the right amount of heat to ease the pain of winter. When an unkindness of ravens are clearing food out of a campsite, there will be one bird on point to warn of approaching humans. After hearing the alert, the intruder will be surrounded by a sea of black feathers and squawking.
Okay, here is the quiz. Apparently ravens have also learned how to perform for tourists. What do you think this raven is mimicing? It is a sound that is common place if you live in the city.
Please note that it is very dangerous to feed wild animals our processed foods. Their bodies are not able to process these foods the same way human bodies do. The raven diet consists of carrion (dead animals) and other bits of decaying organic matter.
Posted in State Parks, Uncategorized
Tagged birds, corvus corax, intelligence, raven
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Release of Sharptailed Grouse
The Wildlife Biologist out on Antelope Island has been busy the past few months working on tagging and reintroducing sharptailed grouse to the island.
Watch here as she preps to release another one.
Learning To Fly
Every year I have concerned visitors come into the visitor center and tell me about a baby bird they found that had fallen out of it’s nest. Understandably they are concerned for the safety of the bird.
With this in mind, I thought I’d share some information about what to do if you find a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest.
1. As baby birds grow and become more active they sometimes jostle one anther enough that a bird tumbles out of the nest. Sometimes, while learning to fly, young birds will often end up on the ground.
2. Parent birds are very aware of where their young are, and if you pay attention, you can probably hear them “screaming” at you to stay away from their baby, or see them swooping around nearby.
3. The best thing to do is leave the baby and it’s parents alone, and let mom and dad do their thing in caring for the baby. They will continue to feed on it, check on it and care for it wherever it is.
4. If you feel the baby bird is in danger (either from a cat, other predator, or other unaware… Read the rest
Winged Visitors
While the Midway area may not seem like the hottest spot for birding compared, let’s say, to the Great Salt Lake, Antelope Island, and the Jordanelle Wetlands, it does provide some wonderful opportunities for birding. All of the birds pictured below were found at Wasatch Mountain State Park.
There are the expected varieties:
Steller’s Jays
The Sandhill Cranes are Back!
There is still snow on the ground, but there are a few sure signs that spring is on its way. One of my favorites is to hear or see sandhill cranes!
These birds are so large I sometimes think I am seeing deer off in a distant field when in fact they are cranes.
Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) have almost a 7 foot wingspan and weigh about 10 pounds. They nest in open meadows, usually near water. In the spring, during courtship, you can often watch their fancy dancing displays – hopping, wings flapping, jumping around. It’s quite a fun little dance.
Sandhills are naturally gray in color, but often when you see them they have a rather rusty look to them. This is due to the iron minerals found in the mud they use to preen their feathers.
Sandhills have a very distinct sound. I wish I could imitate it, but I don’t even come close. The closest I’ve come was while using a pressurized hand-held sprayer. Every time I pushed the pump down forcing air into the container, it would echo with a reverberating sound. That is the sound of a sandhill. That characteristic sound can carry over… Read the rest
