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USA Southwest this month (1 Viewer)

Arbu

Well-known member
I'm considering making a trip to the States at some point this year, currently thinking of flying into and out of Vegas, and driving around Utah and Arizona. It sounds like the Lytle Nature Reserve in Utah would be well worth spending some time at. Happy to have someone join me, and I'd be grateful for any advice on where to go. The following would all be lifers, although I appreciate that they are spread out a bit geographically so I couldn't target them all.

Thanks


Scaled Quail
Gambel's Quail
Montezuma Quail
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Dusky Grouse
Sage Grouse
Gunnison Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Common Poorwill
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Black-billed Cuckoo
Virginia Rail
Mountain Plover
Northern Pygmy-owl
Elf Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Flammulated Owl
Western Screech-owl
Spotted Owl
[]
Gilded Flicker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
American Grey Flycatcher
Grey Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Chihuahuan Raven
Pinyon Jay
Mexican Jay
Bridled Titmouse
Black-crested Titmouse
Juniper Titmouse
Verdin
California Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Cactus Wren
Bendire's Thrasher
Le Conte's Thrasher
Veery
Evening Grosbeak
Black Rosy-finch
Brown-capped Rosy-finch
Lawrence's Goldfinch
Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Five-striped Sparrow
Rufous-winged Sparrow
Botteri's Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee
Abert's Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Sagebrush Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Hooded Oriole
Virginia's Warbler
Grace's Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Red-faced Warbler
Dickcissel
Pyrrhuloxia
 
I'll let others chime in on the where but if renting a vehicle, I would suggest getting something with a bit of clearance and at least AWD if not 4WD- say a Jeep liberty etc. Rental outfits often have a few in the fleet, I fly into Sky Harbor, imagine Vegas will have them too. I've found it's time well spent to walk their lot and get the vehicle you want. Sometimes the keys are kept in the ignition, if so bring them to the desk as they often don't know what's in the lot! So much of where you may want to go is dirt track. What you give up in mpg, you gain in access. I even check a compressor and tire plug kit in my bag, used it too, somewhere in the AZ Strip where the supplied donut spare would have meant a real hassle and kibosh on plans. It's beautiful country, enjoy the planning and the trip! Don't forget the water, lots of water:)
 
I'm considering making a trip to the States at some point this year, currently thinking of flying into and out of Vegas, and driving around Utah and Arizona. It sounds like the Lytle Nature Reserve in Utah would be well worth spending some time at. Happy to have someone join me, and I'd be grateful for any advice on where to go. The following would all be lifers, although I appreciate that they are spread out a bit geographically so I couldn't target them all.

Thanks


Scaled Quail
Gambel's Quail
Montezuma Quail
White-tailed Ptarmigan
Dusky Grouse
Sage Grouse
Gunnison Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Common Poorwill
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Violet-crowned Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Costa's Hummingbird
Allen's Hummingbird
Black-billed Cuckoo
Virginia Rail
Mountain Plover
Northern Pygmy-owl
Elf Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Flammulated Owl
Western Screech-owl
Spotted Owl
[]
Gilded Flicker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Buff-breasted Flycatcher
American Grey Flycatcher
Grey Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Chihuahuan Raven
Pinyon Jay
Mexican Jay
Bridled Titmouse
Black-crested Titmouse
Juniper Titmouse
Verdin
California Gnatcatcher
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher
Cactus Wren
Bendire's Thrasher
Le Conte's Thrasher
Veery
Evening Grosbeak
Black Rosy-finch
Brown-capped Rosy-finch
Lawrence's Goldfinch
Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Five-striped Sparrow
Rufous-winged Sparrow
Botteri's Sparrow
Cassin's Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee
Abert's Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Sagebrush Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Hooded Oriole
Virginia's Warbler
Grace's Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler
Red-faced Warbler
Dickcissel
Pyrrhuloxia
Hi Arbu

I saw Western Screech-owl, Pyrrhuloxia, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-throated Sparrow, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Cactus Wren and Verdin all at Lytle Nature Reserve, and Black-chinned Sparrow nearby. I also saw American Grey Flycatcher at Lytle though that could well have been a migrant. A few on your list may not be possible at this time of year e.g. Black Rosy-finch.

Cheers

Mike
 
Hi Arbu

I saw Western Screech-owl, Pyrrhuloxia, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-throated Sparrow, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Cactus Wren and Verdin all at Lytle Nature Reserve, and Black-chinned Sparrow nearby. I also saw American Grey Flycatcher at Lytle though that could well have been a migrant. A few on your list may not be possible at this time of year e.g. Black Rosy-finch.

Cheers

Mike
Thanks. I've booked flights from 15th May to 3rd June and will probably head to Lytle straight off. Some hotels in Vegas midweek are actually really cheap - I think they hope you'll gamble in their casinos - so I might spend a night there after and before my flights.
 
Lytle was definitely the place to go, and I got a number of lifers there. After that, it was a case of going for lots of walks with Merlin Sound ID on, and every now and then one of the birds I was looking for would pop up. Some of the scenery was so spectacular that the birding came second rather, so I probably didn't get as many new birds as I might have, but I got:

Gambel's Quail
Common Poorwill
Virginia Rail
Mountain Pygmy-owl
Western Screech-owl
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
American Grey Flycatcher
Grey Vireo
Plumbeous Vireo
Pinyon Jay
Juniper Titmouse
Verdin
Cactus Wren
Black-chinned Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Green-tailed Towhee
Rufous-crowned Sparrow
Scott's Oriole
Virginia's Warbler
Grace's Warbler
Black-throated Grey Warbler

At Lytle, Merlin Sound ID came up with a number of quite tantalising species that I just couldn't find - Chestnut-sided and Red-faced Warblers, Bendire's Thrasher and Lark Bunting. Maybe I should post these recordings somewhere so that someone can confirm or deny them but I'd have to figure out how to split up the recordings to get the relevant segments.
 
Hi Arbu

I saw Western Screech-owl, Pyrrhuloxia, Green-tailed Towhee, Black-throated Sparrow, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Cactus Wren and Verdin all at Lytle Nature Reserve, and Black-chinned Sparrow nearby. I also saw American Grey Flycatcher at Lytle though that could well have been a migrant. A few on your list may not be possible at this time of year e.g. Black Rosy-finch.

Cheers

Mike
Western Screech-owl and Black-chinned Sparrow were both at the Grand Canyon, where I hadn't really expected to get any lifers. I tried for the Rosy-finch by going up into the La Sal mountains, but I couldn't find any. I expect they are all up in exposed crags in the snow at this time of year, and the snow was too much for me to get far beyond the trailhead. I'm wondering if there's a ski resort which is good for them in winter. Or even whether it would be possible to combine that with looking for the Prairie Chickens at the beginning of April.
 
Where is Lytle? If near to Las Vegas I doubt you had Chestnut-sided, though not impossible. I can almost guarantee you didn’t have Red-faced. Lark Bunting would have to be a late migrant and is a grassland bird. Bendire’s Thrasher is local and has pretty specific habitat preferences.

Looking at eBird bar charts for a site will tell you what to expect by month.
 
Where is Lytle? If near to Las Vegas I doubt you had Chestnut-sided, though not impossible. I can almost guarantee you didn’t have Red-faced. Lark Bunting would have to be a late migrant and is a grassland bird. Bendire’s Thrasher is local and has pretty specific habitat preferences.

Looking at eBird bar charts for a site will tell you what to expect by month.
It's in the southwest corner of Utah, not far from Vegas Low altitude for Utah. It would be interesting to compare what Merlin heard with the birdsongs that it identified them as, and see if there is reasonable support for any of the IDs. But, given that, after it identified them, I played the recordings to try to attract them, and continued in the ID mode at the same time, it would probably be hard to split out what was sound from a bird and what was sound from my phone. So I think I'll leave it as it is.
 

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