Bryce Canyon National Park Photo: Linda Mack

CANYONS OF THE WEST TOUR REPORT August 26 – September 3, 2005 (Click here to view the complete listing of all sightings.)

Aug 27: Our first day of the tour began with a visit to Corn Creek, an oasis in the Desert National Wildlife Range northwest of Las Vegas.  Here, tree-lined ponds attracted a migrant flock of Cinnamon Teal who were too jumpy to stay put for long.  Numbers of brightly colored Flame Skimmer dragonflies pursued insects.  A patch of Russian Olives was productive, filled with Bullock’s Orioles, Brewer’s Sparrows, and a family group of Phainopeplas.  Over the pond, two Violet-green Swallows hawked bugs.  Next we headed over to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, a nicely done wastewater treatment facility with nine ponds and lots of native tree and shrub plantings.  Besides enjoying a break from the intense heat in their air-conditioned office, we found the staff to be knowledgeable and friendly.  Despite the heat we viewed several species of ducks, dozens of Wilson’s Phalaropes, a few Red-necked Phalaropes, and Enid spied a Peregrine Falcon who made an unsuccessful sortie for a pigeon.  With the heat now approaching 100+ degrees we left to eat lunch and made the drive over to Springdale, Utah.  Along the way we passed through the impressive Virgin River Canyon and were treated with an adult Golden Eagle soaring over a mountain near Rockville.

Aug 28:  After breakfast we headed up the Kolob Reservoir Road, a beautiful drive featuring sagebrush in lower elevations, slowly rising to Pinyon-Oak-Juniper woodlands, changing to Ponderosa Pines, and finally firs and aspens.  In addition to great scenery, the highlight was four California Condors and a very friendly (and hungry) horse that demanded our attention.  The condors performed marvelously, with birds in the air (including one adult or near adult) and one perched in a pine with diminutive Turkey Vultures nearby for comparison.  Also in the skies were two Golden Eagles and coursing Common Ravens.  Mountain Bluebirds, Red-naped Sapsucker, Black-throated Gray and Virginia’s Warblers all made appearances in the meadows and forests nearby.  After a late lunch we hopped on the tram and entered the main portion of Zion National Park along the Virgin River.  Despite the intense heat, the canyon offered shade and pleasant temperatures.  An all-too-brief view of a Common Black-Hawk occurred while we on the tram, but that didn’t diminish the spectacle of great towering mountains all around us.  Near the start of the beautiful riverwalk we observed a young American Dipper, disappearing underwater to feed.  Lovely flowers lined the path, including Penstemon, while a Shadow Darner dragonfly patrolled a crystal clear pool.  Bill spotted our first flock of 10 Wild Turkeys feeding near the lodge on the ride back to the hotel.

Near Cedar Breaks Monument Photo: Scott Barnes

Aug 29: Leaving Springdale we headed out through Zion with more incredible vistas and a drive through the one-mile long tunnel built in 1930.  A stop at Checkerboard Mesa gave us a look at two Black-throated Gray Warblers and soon afterwards we saw the first of four Golden Eagles for the day!  It was hard not to stop more frequently for birds and scenery, but we pressed on to Cedar Breaks National Monument, a 2,000-foot canyon nearly three miles across—fantastic colors, the smell of Ponderosa Pines, fir trees, and photo opportunities.  The subalpine meadows were brilliantly colored with a variety of flowers including Columbine, Indian Paintbrush, and Deer’s Ears.  Our lunch stop at the picnic area was highlighted by four Pine Grosbeaks that Linda spotted and we also got a distant look at a juvenile light-morph Ferruginous Hawk.  Another overlook at Cedar Breaks gave us our first looks at a pair of Clark’s Nutcrackers.  On to nearby Brian Head Peak, where the 11,300+ foot summit was home to an American Pipit and a couple of Yellow-bellied Marmots.  Raptors here included one or two juvenile Peregrine Falcons that shot by and a pair of playful Red-tailed Hawks.  The views were spectacular and we could see mountain peaks as far away as Arizona and Nevada.  We descended from Brian Head through more Pinyon-Juniper woodlands, meadows, and sagebrush to Panguitch Lake.  Here, hundreds of Violet-green Swallows and many Clark’s and Western Grebes were present, along with a load of Black-crowned Night-Herons, American White Pelicans, Eared Grebes, and other waterbirds.  On the final drive to Tropic, we observed a distant group of Pronghorn Antelope.

Natural Bridge, Bryce Canyon  Photo: Linda Mack

Aug 30:  Today we explored Bryce Canyon National Park.  From the campground we walked through Ponderosa Pine forests and enjoyed Mountain Chickadees, Western Bluebirds, our first Pygmy Nuthatches, and good looks at Grace’s Warbler.  A nearby scenic viewpoint only hinted at the grand and colorful landscapes that awaited us.  Continuing through this park with awesome vistas, we lunched at Rainbow Point and snapped photos of the multi-colored rockscapes, hoodoos, and canyons that sprawled away before us.  Next, a leisurely hike on the Bristlecone Pine trail yielded a few mixed species flocks of Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Elizabeth spotted the first of five Townsend’s Warblers for the day.  Ravens called from fir trees and White-throated Swifts zoomed overhead.  It was hard to comprehend that some of the Bristlecone Pine we viewed are over 1,400 years old!  On the way back we were stopped by a tapping woodpecker that turned out to be an American Three-toed Woodpecker!  At yet another scenic overlook a beautiful male Williamson’s Sapsucker offered scope looks.  Back in the van and around the bend a female Blue Grouse and two nearly full-grown chicks gave us extended, good looks.  Along Johns Valley Road near the town of Bryce (Ruby’s), we watched a herd of Pronghorns and shared scope looks at a family group of Sage Thrashers.

Aug 31:  Kodachrome Basin State Park was our starting point today.  On the way in we stopped to photograph beautiful sagebrush flats with a mountain backdrop and were interrupted by several Western Meadowlarks and a Blue Grosbeak that Elizabeth spotted.  The birding was excellent and we had prolonged looks at its most famous resident—Chukar.  This partridge from Asia has been widely introduced across North America but has only become successfully established in portions of the arid west, usually in association with Cheatgrass.  Along the nature trail we heard the raucous cries of a small group of Pinyon Jays sporting their powdery-blue plumage.  One bird seemed to be lost and was calling constantly, ostensibly searching for the other members of his flock.  By the bird feeder in the campground we found Juniper Titmouse, Black-throated Gray Warbler, a heard-only Plumbeous Vireo, and an excellent look at a singing Bewick’s Wren.  After lunch we visited Tropic Reservoir, yet another site with beautiful blue skies, mountains, and miles of meadows and Ponderosa Pine forests.  The highlight here was a mixed species flock that contained Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Grace’s Warbler, and scope looks at male and female Red Crossbills.  Next we explored Johns Valley Road again, paralleling the east fork of the Sevier River just north of Bryce.  There we had good looks at Mountain Bluebird and Western Bluebirds, and played hide-and-seek with a MacGillivray’s Warbler.  Back in Tropic we poked around the side streets and agricultural fields and watched a group of Black-billed Magpies around a cattle pen.  Just like the condor spot, large domesticated animals competed for our attention—this time two piebald steers that were having fly problems.  A large roadside stand of sunflowers and Rocky Mountain Bee-Plant attracted a group of Pine Siskins, Lesser Goldfinches, and a cooperative Orange-crowned Warbler.  Watching this feeding flock in the late afternoon sunlight was a great way to close out the day afield.

Sep 1:  We departed Tropic after another joke-filled breakfast, including readings from How to Confuse the Idiots in Your Life and Whenever Your Attitude Stinks Read This.  Back on the road we saw several Black-billed Magpies before visiting Best Friends Animal Sanctuary with its well-maintained gardens and pond.  The feeders gave us close study of Black-chinned, Rufous, and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, all zooming in and out, calling, and chasing each other.  Across the border into the northern strip of Arizona we visited Pipe Springs National Monument and had looks at Black Phoebe, Black-headed Grosbeak, Plumbeous Vireo, and Wilson’s Warbler.  Then it was on to the Kaibab Plateau with a brief stop for Navajo jewelry before entering Grand Canyon NP.  Raptors were in evidence around beautiful meadows lined with aspens and firs.  Several families of Red-tailed Hawks were evident and a highlight was watching a Swainson’s Hawk family calling to one another.  While a dark-morph juvenile bird called to a light-morph parent an interloping Peregrine Falcon made several dives at the nonplussed adult.  Our initial views of the canyon left us speechless and in awe.  The sunset at the North Rim was just as spectacular.  While evening lighting flashed over the South Rim of the canyon, Venus and Jupiter were visible in the western skies after sunset.  We retired to our cabins in preparation for a pre-dawn walk.

Grand Canyon National Park Photo: Scott Barnes

Sep 2:  Sunrise at Bright Angel Point—awesome, words cannot fully describe the humbling beauty and presence of the canyon.  On the walk back to the lodge several of us watched as a Canyon Wren sang: a gorgeous and quintessential sound of the southwest.  Along the way flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and four Cassin’s Finches perched briefly in the tops of dead snags below us.  After breakfast in the impressive dining hall (has anyone ever eaten in a better setting?) we were off to explore more of the park.  Our first stop at Widforss trailhead gave us another look at an immature California Condor.  At Imperial Point we reached our highest elevation in the park, and couldn’t get enough of the expansive views.  In a nearby burned-over forest we were fortunate to get up-close looks at four American Three-toed Woodpeckers, and indeed, the three toes were verified by all.  Flocks of Pygmy Nuthatches, Western Bluebirds, and another (this time an older bird with extensive white underwing coverts) California Condor rounded out our time here.  Cape Royal was our next stop following an enjoyable and winding drive through miles of forest and vistas.  There we saw a young Swainson’s Hawk, watched approaching thunderstorms (from a safe distance, of course), and got views of the Colorado River some three miles below with the Painted Desert beyond.

Sep 3: In the early morning we all enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness of the canyon with its quiet, its awe-inspiring scenery, and the plants and animals that live there.  The skies this morning were much different—cloudier, with an approaching shower moving towards us from across the canyon as a column of gray rain.  At breakfast, we watched the column of rain coming closer, accompanied by bolts of lightning.  It was time to go, with each of us immersed in our “goodbyes” to this majestic place as we headed north across the Kaibab Plateau through showers and overcast skies.  Before lunch we detoured down a side road just south of Fredonia where we had a Golden Eagle fix and got scope looks at a threesome of Sage Thrashers.  By the time we ate lunch in Fredonia, the sun was shining and the temperature was climbing.  A stop at the Hurricane (pronounced Hur-ri-can) sewer ponds was baking hot but gave us a chance to stretch our legs and view a number of ducks, including Redhead, Shovelers, and our only Ring-necked Duck (a handsome male) of the trip.  Back in Las Vegas we enjoyed our last dinner of the tour, shared some favorite sightings and birds, and prepared for our return home.

–Scott Barnes
 

Canyons of the West Tour Aug 26-September 3, 2005
August 27: Corn Creek (Desert National Wildlife Range), Henderson Bird Preserve, to Springdale, Utah
Aug 28: Kolob Reservoir Road, Zion National Park—including Sinawava Temple and Riverwalk at Virgin River
Aug 29: leaving Zion NP, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Brian Head Peak, Panguitch Lake, to Tropic
Aug 30: Bryce Canyon National Park (campground, Bristlecone Pine Trail, scenic overlooks), Johns Valley Road
Aug 31: Kodachrome Basin State Park, Tropic Reservoir, Johns Valley Road, town of Tropic
Sep 1: Mount Carmel Pond, Kanab Pond, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Pipe Springs National Monument, to North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park
Sep 2: Grand Canyon National Park (Bright Angel Trail, North Rim Lodge, Widforss Trailhead, Imperial Point, Cape Royal)
Sep 3: Grand Canyon National Park- North Rim Lodge, roads near Fredonia, Arizona, Hurricane Sewage Pond, to Las Vegas.

Participants:
Maggie Bray, Bill Coleman, Enid Hayflick, Fred Kaiser, Linda Mack, Elizabeth McGrath

For tour itineraries, to register, or for more information contact:

NJAS Eco-Travel at: (908)-204-8998
9 Hardscrabble Road
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
or email travel@njaudubon.org.

Members receive discounts on program fees. If you are not a member and would like to become one, consider Joining New Jersey Audubon Society.