After a full day at Snow Canyon, we drove to Mesquite, Nevada to stay overnight before flying home out of Las Vegas the next morning, and I thought I was done birding for the day. As we walked to our hotel room, however, I heard an interesting call.

It turned out to come from this striking lesser goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) in a bush beside the parking lot. I glimpsed them in Sedona last fall, but never managed to get a picture until now.

As I was looking for the goldfinch, I also spotted this Eurasian collared dove, like the ones we saw in South Holland.

Finally, the palm trees over the RV park across the street were full of great-tailed grackles
(Quiscalus mexicanus), which I glimpsed in Big Bend last year, but never managed to get a picture worth showing.

As you read this, Anne and I should be in the air on our way back to Milwaukee, and so I have a hope of returning to Estabrook Park tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

Today we visited Utah’s Snow Canyon State Park, which features both petrified sand dunes and lava flows, and the views were spectacular.

As soon as we arrived, I spotted a sextet of Gambel’s quail, and here’s the hen that was too slow to avoid my camera.

The canyon wrens from Zion were replaced by rock wrens, and here’s the boldest one.

We spotted another cliff chipmunk.

There was a flock of white-crowned sparrows, just like the ones we see in Estabrook once in a while, and this individual was still too busy with its morning grooming to flee my camera.

The Woodhouse’s scrub jays were as present as ever, and here’s one more.

We finally spotted our first raptor of the trip, and it was this red-tailed hawk.

Lastly, there are already flowers in bloom, and this one is common stork’s-bill, aka redstem filaree, redstem stork’s bill, or pinweed (Erodium cicutarium), which I read “is native to Macaronesia, temperate Eurasia and north and northeast Africa, and was introduced to North America in the eighteenth century, where it has since become naturalized, particularly of the deserts and arid grasslands of the southwestern United States.”

After a couple of days at the Grand Canyon, Anne and I drove up to Utah to visit Zion National Park today. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with blue skies, still air, and temps in the low 60s, so we did our best to take full advantage of it. We had a nice hike at the south end before lunch, and here are some of the critters we saw.

This first one was a huge treat for me, and the National Park Service suggests that it is a plateau lizard (Sceloporus tristichus).

We could hear a couple canyon wrens, but they kept out of sight, and this Woodhouse’s scrub jay put on a nice show for us instead.

After lunch, we drove up to the north end, where the canyon narrows, and the roadway ends. From there we continued along the river on foot, and this rock squirrel appeared to be out sunning itself on a bolder overlooking the river while ignoring the stream of tourists trudging up and down the trail behind it.

I was quite surprised to find a hermit thrush, just like the ones we see in Estabrook Park, but here it is.

The canyon wrens were even more plentiful than in the morning, and this one finally showed its darling little face.

Finally, as we headed back south on our way out of the park, mule deer seemed to be everywhere along the river, and this one was kind enough to wish us a safe journey home.

With all the obligatory pictures of the canyon out of the way yesterday, I could focus on the wildlife this morning, and this is what I have to show for it.

Here’s the best I could do, so far, for a mountain chickadee, a brand new bird for me.

Even more elusive than the chickadee, here’s a pygmy nuthatch, another new bird.

For contrast, here’s a Steller’s jay, whom we first saw in Glacier National Park back in 2021, almost begging me to take its portrait.

Here’s another spotted towhee portrait. After all the excitement of seeing one yesterday, there was a sextet of them foraging on the ground this morning more boldly than house sparrows.

Finally, while I was searching for birds in the woods, Anne took a nice hike along the rim trail, and over breakfast afterwards she asked me if I had seen the elk. When I admitted that I had seen none, she had us drive along the rim on our way out of the park until we encountered this beauty. By the time we found them, there were only two left, but they were quite inured to people and about twice the size of the white-tailed deer I see in Estabrook Park.

That’s it for the Grand Canyon, and tomorrow we’re off to Zion National Park. Wish me luck!

Anne and I arrived safe and sound at the Grand Canyon this morning, and Arizona’s big erosion problem is truly a sight to behold, but the critters we encountered along the south rim were just plane amazing.

The western bluebirds were thick, and this one was the pick of the litter.

This red-breasted nuthatch was too busy for pictures, but this is only the second time I’ve gotten a picture of one, so here you go.

I’ve seen spotted towhees only a couple of times before, and I even got a picture once in Big Bend National Park, but this is my first portrait of one.

The Woodhouse’s scrub jays were almost as plentiful as the bluebirds, but they were a lot noisier.

Ravens appear to have learned that humans drop food on the ground, and this one was trying to convince a woman to move along so it could have the Fritos that she had dropped.

We also saw a couple of mammals, and here’s a rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus).

There was a good-sized group of dark-eyed juncos, and this one appears to be of the so-called “pink sided” variety (Junco hyemalis mearnsi).

Finally, the other mammal we saw was this cliff chipmunk (Neotamias dorsalis).

Anne and I are on the road again, and I won’t get to take any pictures today, so here’s one more glimpse of the winter wren from a couple of days ago.

We got some snow overnight in Estabrook Park but not a lot, only an inch or so, and it’s above freezing out, so I don’t think it will stick around for long. With a pretty thick cloud cover, the day took its time getting light, so I was out later than usual. Luckily, the snow seemed to discouraged some folks from visiting, or kept them to the pavement, so I had the river trail mostly to myself, which is always a treat.

I didn’t see or hear any winter wrens or red-winged blackbirds this morning, but I was relieved to find our American coot waiting for me in its usual spot. I must have spooked it at first, and it started to swim off before I could take a picture. But it soon calmed down and swam right back to where it had been standing. It even turned its head for me so what little light there was could light up its pretty dark red eye for us.

At the far north end, there was a Cooper’s hawk perched high above the meadow, and perhaps I’ve finally learned to show enough deference because it let me walk around to the north side of it so we could see that gorgeous chest.

Meanwhile, out on the water, all the common mergansers appear to have moved on, at least for today, but the red-breasted merganser drake was still fishing in the waters around the northern island.

Finally, by the pond, I almost got a nice picture through the sticks of one of the white-throated sparrows that have begun to sing there on occasion.

Our recent interlude of mild winter weather continues in Estabrook today, and it was a beautiful morning for a walk in the park.

Our American coot is still with us, and here it is in the exact same spot as the last two mornings. Man, it must really like it there.

A red-breasted merganser drake is back on the river at the north end again, and this is what happens when I spot it far away, try to sneak up on it for a better picture, but it moves while I can’t see it to a location on the river a lot closer than I expect when I emerge from the woods, then we both spot each other at the same moment, and my shutter speed is set way too slow for such an action scene. “Sorry, Buddy!”

Here he is again after taking a moment to settle back down.

This nuthatch, on the other hand, flew up to a branch right in front of me, with the sun at my back and that beautiful blue sky behind it, but then it commenced foraging so energetically that this was the best shot I could get.

Finally, this chickadee followed the nuthatch but then let me take my sweet time getting this nice portrait. “Thanks, Sweetie!”

It was a greyish morning in Estabrook Park, with bright spots in the cloud cover, and a bit warmer than the previous two days, but still cool enough to firm up the mud in the river path.

As I hiked north along the river, I was thrilled to find our American coot again, in the same spot as yesterday, even though I was a bit late today. Better still, the lights over the UWM parking lot above the far riverbank reflected beautifully off the water. Best of all, the coot’s shadow on the water surface lets us have a glimpse of its amazing, huge, and almost-webbed feet.

At the far north end, I spotted our common merganser drake, but he stayed out past the island, so I left him alone. The red-winged blackbird was singing from atop the island again, while a couple dozen geese were still sorting out nesting sites below. The exciting show, however, was our white-bellied red-tailed hawk swooping low over the river and appearing to make a try for a mallard, at least the mallard sure seemed to think that was the plan, but coming up empty. Finally, the hawk parked over the island where I could get a picture.

At the pond, I could hear another red-winged blackbird and a couple of white-throated sparrows, but this white-breasted nuthatch struck the best pose.

From the pond, I hiked back down to the river, just to see what might have changed since my first pass, and look who was up on shore for their naps. The near common merganser hen even seems to have something to say about the goose photobombing her portrait.

As I headed back to stairway number 8 to climb back up the bluff, I found at least a half dozen robins taking turns bathing in the stream that drains from the pond into the river.

Finally, right at the base of the stairs, this winter wren, whom I’d been hearing and occasionally glimpsing since last week, finally gave me a chance. “Hello, Cutie!”

What an absolutely fabulous morning it was in Estabrook Park. The air was cool, crisp, and still, the skies were crystal clear, and the river path mud was frozen solid. There was even enough light for me to head out before 7am for the first time this year.

My first reward for starting so early was finding the American coot from yesterday still just waking up from the night and not yet busy rustling up its breakfast.

A bit further north I found another sleepy head, a common merganser drake, perhaps waiting for the sun to rise before getting to work diving for his own breakfast.

The big surprise for the day came at the north end where I found my first red-winged blackbird of the season perched high over the northern island and loudly announcing his arrival.

He was soon joined by a male northern cardinal, who chimed right in with his own song.

As I was trying to get a decent picture of the cardinal and blackbird on the island, I caught a glimpse of this grey squirrel sneaking into its nesting cavity in a huge maple tree. I gave it a few “tsk, tsk, tsks”, in hopes that it might come to see who was making that noise, and sure enough, here it taking a peek.

Finally, the pond is completely refrozen, although I wouldn’t walk on the new ice if I were heavier than a squirrel. I found five cardinals perched together in a tree above it and warming up in the bright morning sun. Here’s the one least obscured by branches and against that beautiful blue sky.