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Dawn Chorus: Plethora of Phainopepla [1]
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Date: 2025-04-13
We live in an area where Phainopepla are uncommon visitors. Seeing one locally means that it’s likely wandered off its usual path or habitat. More typically in the Bay Area of California, we need to drive inland and hope we see one somewhere on a distant hillside in the middle of the mistletoe on oak trees that they love.
So imagine our surprise and delight to have traveled to an area where Phainopepla are as common there as American Robins are here. It was astounding! Nice views, and plenty of them.
We were visiting Valley of Fire State Park, outside of Overton, Nevada, about an hour northeast of Las Vegas. But all of our time was not solely in the park. On one day, we spent a couple of hours birding the Overton Wildlife Management Area.
As soon as we entered and parked the car, a Crissal Thrasher popped up to sing atop a bush. Of course, that happened so quickly that I did not have time to grab my camera.
But then the Phainopepla showed up! We must have seen a good dozen right in the parking lot.
Later in the management area, we had dozens of Northern Rough-winged Swallows, and a few other nice surprises, including two Western Meadowlarks, a Northern Harrier, and Gambel’s Quail. A Red-tailed Hawk soared overhead, and we struggled to ID a falcon. It had brown sides and distinctive sideburns, but was a good distance away. We went back and forth as to it being a Prairie Falcon or an American Kestrel. We finally settled on it being a female kestrel, mainly because its hunting and flight pattern was hovering before swooping to ground, rather than flying low and fast in search of prey.
Northern Rough-winged Swallows taking a break.
Our list of the day included Verdin (heard only by Merlin), Northern Mockingbird, House Finch, Black Phoebe, Say’s Phoebe, European Starling, and American Crow. Before we left town to drive home, we also saw numerous Great-tailed Grackles in the McDonald’s parking lot!
We spent two days in the Valley of Fire. I have heard it described as a state park that could easily be a national park, and that is an apt description.
While the wildlife management area consisted of formerly flooded and now drying fields, the state park was several miles away in red-rock country, desert habitat. With that, there were few birds in the state park. The visitor center had feeders out, and there were House Finches, House Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows. There were a few American Crows out and about, and a couple of Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks.
Desert Bighorn ram coming down. (It was bird of the day!)
What the park lacked in birds, it more than made up in fantastic scenery, and in Desert Bighorn Sheep! We have seen the sheep in other parks, but they have always been a distance away. The Bighorns here were plentiful and close to the roads, making for excellent viewing. As we were leaving the park on our second day there, a park staffer even stopped her truck to get out and take pictures, telling us that even she had never seen the sheep so close.
On my birthday, we drove to the east of Overton and to the Gold Butte National Monument. Along the road, Carolyn pointed out the Bundy Ranch. Yes, those Bundys, criminals and traitors.
I made sure to give them a proper DK single-fingered salute. You would have been proud.
Desert Bighorn ewes and lambs at rest
The scenery in the monument was fantastic, and while the road was wide open and sparsely traveled, there were few birds in the sagebrush environment. I’m sure if we had stayed in one place and listened, we would have seen more, but we drove slowly and listened. We did get a Loggerhead Shrike sitting atop a Joshua Tree.
Loggerhead Shrike on a Joshua Tree in Gold Butte National Monument
The drive to Overton was long, about 10 hours from our California house, but well worth it. That was a part of the country that we had never visited before, and I’m glad we made the effort. I always find the red rocks of the southwest to be magnificent, and I do believe that Valley of Fire State Park, even if considerably smaller, can hold its own against any of the other larger parks in Nevada and Utah.
That’s about it for our Nevada excursion. What have you been seeing in your neck of the woods?
Bundy Ranch. They got a proper DK one-fingered salute.
Please Help with Our Annual Birdathon Fundraiser!
Those who have been regulars with Dawn Chorus over the years probably recall that my wife and I raise money for our local Audubon chapter every spring, when they hold their annual “Birdathon.”
This year, the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society has changed its name to the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance. But even with a different name, the Birdathon focus remains the same: Raise funds to help get thousands of schoolkids out in nature and show them the beauty of birds that they may never have seen. The youngsters are bused to nearby parks and shorelines, so they will see birds other than the “little brown jobs” they may have in their backyards. The Bird Alliance also uses money raised to hold public birding events and to lobby local governments for habitat protection.
For information on the Birdathon, please see this website.
Our team, the Hot Spotters, went out yesterday to a local county park, where we counted every species that we saw or heard in a 4-hour period. (I’m writing this before we go birding, but will send out a trip report of the event in next week’s Dawn Chorus.)
If you wish to donate, please see this donation page. Look for my wife’s name, Carolyn Straub, and select the huge green Donate button. That will ensure that she receives credit for your kindness.
We do hope to raise at least $2,000 this year, so any amount will help us get to that goal.
While we went out on April 12, the event runs through May 4. So even though we have already gone out with our team, we still request your donations. And if, for whatever reason, you prefer to send a check as a donation, please contact me by the Kosmail link and I will provide you with our address to send a check.
Dawn Chorus regulars, and lurkers, have always been very supportive of our fundraiser, and we thank you for that past support. Won’t you again please chip in to help this very worthy cause? Any amount will help — $10, $20, $50, or more. Even with DT making us all concerned for our finances, I think most of us here have a few spare bucks for the birds!
Gold Butte National Monument
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