Utah Number A Three-hundred is a Charm(er)

A Nesting Cavity?

Must investigate!

I'll stay up here for a time and maybe the photographers will go away!

Cottonwood Perch 

Next to the Yellow Warbler Nest.

Yellow Warbler Feeding Cowbird Chicks

We trouped up to Ft. Buenaventura Park in Ogden this morning, looking for a reported Prothonotary Warbler. After arriving at the general location described in Utah Birds, we immediately heard the Warbler's call. We listened for a about 15-20 minutes while the bird stayed fairly high in the dense Cottonwood canopy. Eventually, we spotted him and watched him swoop down onto a volleyball pole(iron pipe embedded in an old tire. We assumed he was taking a drink from the hollow pole, but there might be another reason. According to "All About Birds,"

When courting, the male flies close to the female and both birds chip softly. The male shows off possible nest cavities, entering and exiting them. Once a pair forms, the male guards the female while she is building the nest and laying eggs.

There were no females in the area, the bird is usually found east of the Rocky Mountains, but there was a Yellow Warbler nest nearby. The nest was occupied by a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds, but the "mother"  Warbler, did her best to see that the two larger-than-mom chicks were well-fed with insects. As we were observing this, the Prothonotary Warbler swooped-in for a look-see.

Morgan Crow

Golden Eagle

After leaving Ogden, we headed up to Pineview--too many boats to make the area interesting, stopped in Morgan, and then headed up to East Canyon. We were greeted at the dam by a pair of soaring Golden Eagle. A Rock Wren scurried in the rocks near some Cliff Swallow nests. No birds in the nests, but there were some on the wing, so maybe they'd already fledged.

Warbler Migration Map