HENDERSON PONDS
The Field Trip of a
Lifetime
April 12, 2008
When you tell people you are going to a sewer lagoon..... their faces make an uggggg look, and an uggggg sound. That is...... unless they are birders. When birders hear you are going to a sewer lagoon their eyes sparkle and they excitedly ask... "when are you going...can I go with you"? What a difference! People need to be educated about the great things found at a sewer lagoon.
The Red Cliffs Audubon Field Trip to the Henderson Ponds on Saturday, April 12 was a memorable one for sure. April is Spring in that part of the country. The Henderson Ponds were full of crazy, decked out male birds, trying to impress the females. There was splashing, displaying, singing, swooping and diving. We got to see it all, and here are the ones we saw: Canada Goose, Gadwall, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Gamble's Quail, Eared Grebe, Snowy Egret, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Killdeer, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Snipe, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Mourning Dove, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Black Phoebe, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Verdin, Marsh Wren, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Crissal Thrasher, American Pipit, Lucy's Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Sparrow.
That’s a pretty good day’s
find! The water in the ponds was clear. The birds were lovin' it.
There were lots of visitors looking for birds. We got to meet people
from Europe, Canada, Minnesota, Henderson, Las Vegas,
and Washington County.
SAGE GROUSE FIELD TRIP
March
15, to Alton, Utah
Leaving St. George at 5:30 a.m. meant you must get up way early, but it was well worth it because we were going to see Sage Grouse at their finest. Our group traveled to East Canyon in Cedar City where we joined up with our DWR trip leader. She took us to Alton, Utah and beyond to a gorgeous open valley with the pink hills of Bryce Canyon in the distance.
It looked like winter. The ground was covered with
snow that sparkled in the sunlight. Sure enough, just a few miles down
a frozen mud road we saw the Sage Grouse. Our first sighting, close to
the road, were males, conspicuous with spiky feather displays, and
their large air sacs thumping a mating ritual across the frozen morning
air. Our arrival spooked the Grouse; they moved back a hundred yards,
and then resumed their mating dance. The males displayed in the open,
and the 
females,
less conspicuous, were at the base of some large clumps of sagebrush.
This is the southernmost lick for breeding grounds in southern Utah. Alton has always been one of our favorite spots, with high alpine meadows, large sagebrush, nice people, and great wildlife. We found that this historic breeding ground may soon disappear as strip-mining takes over this year.
What makes Sage Grouse pick one small area for their breeding ground is unknown, but they always come back to the same spot. Hopefully this group will be able to find a second area as they are displaced.
This had to be a favorite field trip. Not only did
we see Sage Grouse, but a Golden-eye sitting on a snow bank, a large
group of Wild Turkeys, Steller's Jays, Scrub Jays, Mountain Bluebirds,
Western Bluebirds, Magpies, Chickadees, Red-tailed Hawk, Ravens,
Red-wings, and more. If you can make it, come with us on another field
trip to the Henderson Ponds on April 12. Thanks to Shirley
Surface for sharing her photos.