Follow these birding greats @NePoSuet @LadyWoodpecker @NickChillPhoto @BirdNerdNews @Wrenaissance

Follow these great birding tweeps:

• @NePosuet
• @dendroica
• @lab_of_O
• @MaineBirder
• @rangerous

Downy woodpecker (via nps.gov)

Over the last few days, my yard has become a veritable bird sanctuary.  I added a new feeder and then some birds discovered a couple that had been around for a few weeks, but not getting any action.  Since Sunday, scrub jays have discovered a tray feeder full of peanuts that has been around for weeks.  I sat with the kids and we watched as the jays came and in a near panic grabbed the peanuts and hid them around the yard and neighborhood.  We watched one tuck a peanut in a bunch of grass, tapping it in with his beak, and then covered it with a few leaves.  Very clever.  Yesterday morning, the starlings found my suet log hanging in the tree that has been there nearly a month.  They were all over it.  At one point I think I counted 10 of them on the log at once.  Shortly thereafter a couple of downy woodpeckers had their way with the suet.  Today in about a 10 minutes span during breakfast I had the following birds in my yard:

• black-capped chickadees
• mourning doves
• house sparrows
• house finches
• song sparrows
• western scrub jays
• starlings
• downy woodpeckers
• dark-eyed juncos
• american robins
• northern flickers

Good looking poster for the 12th annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival (Great Salt Lake Bird Festival)

Registration for the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival begins today (March 4). This is an awesome opportunity to view the MANY species of birds that use Utah as a resting spot on their long journeys North and South.  If you haven’t been out to the bird refuge before you really should.  The poster for this year’s festival is also really nice looking and my be reason enough to get up there.

Check out the details from the Deseret News:
Great Salt Lake Bird Festival registration begins Thursday

If you took the opportunity to participate in the recent Great Backyard Bird Count and enjoyed it, then you might like to consider giving FeederWatch a try. This is a program to count bird feeder populations during the winter months.  There is a small fee for participating, but you also get a package of materials to help you out.  The time commitment is pretty minimal and you can count more than the minimum if you would like.

Another option is to participate in eBird. This is free of charge.

Find out more:

• FeederWatch
• eBird

User Scorsi over on the Utah on the Fly forum has a nice write up of defining moments in past battles over public access to navigable streams on private lands. Idaho and Montana already have laws in place to allow recreationists and scientists access to navigable public waters running through private land. They had their defining moments allowing for the passage of these laws. The moment for Utah is now. We have a reasonable bill that has been put forth to define what level of access is appropriate for recreational use, and it doesn’t include any gross misuse of the private land, in fact it is very limited to what is allowable. The key is that this is by most accounts a reasonable approach to defining how these waters can be used.

I know that some land owners cringe at the fact that others could access waters on their land, but the reality, these waters belong to the citizens of Utah as do the fish that live there. Why should landowners gain benefit from the tax dollars of their fellow citizens and not allow for some reasonable access to the resources we are “lending” them? Please act now by sending emails, letters, or calling your state representatives. If you live out of state, please consider also writing state representatives to acknowledge the economic benefit of your visits to our beautiful state or consider donating to the Utah Water Guardians. Please act now before we miss this chance.

I was lucky enough to be in Zion National Park this weekend with my family. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time. I was able to get a little time to get my count in for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Since my kids weren’t into sitting an watching I got my time in on the trail to Weeping Rock.y list wasn’t too extenive but I got to see some birds I don’t normally see at home. The two best for me were the spotted towhees and the gray headed junkos. I also saw some ravens, chickadees, and house sparrows. In all a great day. Just a reminder that Monday is the last day to count so get out and relax for a few minutes counting some birds.

Suet log bird feeder

Last weekend I decided to undertake what turned out to be a fun and simple project. I made my own suet log feeder. Here is what I used for my feeder:

• One log about 18″-24″ long
• One 1/4″ screw eye
• One carabiner
• Rope or chain to hang from tree or other suitable location
• One suet cake
• A drill with a 1″ spade bit

So the process is pretty easy, take your drill with a spade bit and start drilling holes randomly around the log. I also drilled some smaller holes with my largest auger bit. Take the screw eye and twist it into the top of the log. Clip the carabiner into the screw eye. Then get your suet cake and with a putty knife, scoop out suet and mash it into the holes you just drilled. Once you have them all filled, you just hang the log and hope that some birds find it. This is intended to draw in birds like chickadees, woodpeckers, flickers, and other birds that cling to tree trunks to feed. Hopefully I can draw some birds in soon. For some reason my yard has been pretty empty lately, just in time for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Last weekend there was a Cooper’s Hawk in my neighbor’s tree, so he may be the cause. Anyway, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before the birds find it. Hopefully it is before the raccoons do.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the rally today to add to the throng, but it looks like there was a decent showing.  From the sounds of it there were folks from groups of kayakers, birders, hunters, and anglers.  This is a wide reaching matter of public interest.  Please continue to show support for this bill in any way that you can, sending letters, donating to the movement, etc.  Here is a round up of local coverage.

• Anglers rally at Capitol in support of stream access (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Supporters rally for bill to allow access to private stream beds (Fox 13 News)
• A Rally in Support of Public Use of Private Streambeds (ABC4 News)
• Utah fishermen make a splash at Capitol rally (Deseret News)
• Outdoors enthusiasts rally for river-use rights (KSL 5 News)

Make plans to spend a little time next weekend watching birds from your home.  The 13th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count is happening during February 12-15.  The GBBC is a joint project from the Cornell Ornithology Labs, The Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada.  Your participation is really easy and can be fun for you and your kids.  Here are the steps from the GBBC official website:

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count.
2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time.
3. When you’re finished, enter your results through their web page.

You can print and download reference posters and regional checklists to help you in your identification efforts and if you submit photos to the website you can be entered to win some really cool prizes.  Spend sometime watching those birds!To get more information about the the bird count, including how you can participate please visit http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.Here is a good article from the Idaho Statesman: Natalie Bartley: Grab a pen and start counting birds