Steller's Jay

Scientific Name: Cyanocitta stelleri

Population Estimate: 4.4M

Range / Habitat: Year-round in montane evergreen forests of western North America, Canada and Mexico.

Field Notes: Noisy, inquisitive and conspicuous like most jays. Coloration is quite dark -- black head and neck with crest and bright blue body. No white markings.

Personal Notes: Richard had been trying to get a photo of this bird for some time. We were finally rewarded at Barr Camp on Pike's Peak. A fitting end to the summer in Wyoming (bottom photo). The top photo was from a group of more subdued jays in Apache-Sitgreaves Forests in Arizona and better demonstrates the plumage and crest. 

Common Starling

Scientific Name: Sturnus vulgaris

Population Estimate: 310M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year-round in urban areas throughout the US and all but northernmost Canada, introduced from Europe. Similar habitat throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa. Also introduced to Australia and New Zealand.

Field Notes: Stocky, medium-sized songbird with short tail. Overall glossy black, with iridescent purple and green. Pale spots on back and brownish wings.

Personal Notes: These birds are EVERYWHERE in the US and yet we waited until 3 weeks before our departure for New Zealand to get a photo for the blog.... Also known as European Starling.

Prairie Falcon

Scientific Name: Falco mexicanus

Population Estimate: 40K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year round in grasslands of the American West. Extends up some into Canada and more extensively into Mexico.

Field Notes: Large for a falcon, medium-sized for a hawk. Fairly uniform pale brown back. Whitish chest with brown spots and bars. White supercilicary, dark mustache mark on face, dark ear patch. In flight, all light underneath except for dark "armpits," no tail stripes.

Personal Notes: A surprise find while hiking Painted Rock Canyon (looking for the elusive Canyon Wren) in Wyoming, then we saw a pair the following week at Devil's Tower. The top photo was from a nesting site on Deseret Ranch in Utah. 

Black Rosy Finch

Scientific Name: Leucosticte atrata

Population Estimate: 20K

Range / Habitat: A bird of the high mountain tundra of the American West. Nests above tree-line at 3000-4300M. Often the bird on the highest elevation on a particular mountain.

Field Notes: Dark brown / black on back, breast, neck, and face. Grey patch wrapping around back of head. Black forehead, white tuft at base of bill. Pink on belly, rump, and in wings. Grey-crowned Rosy Finch with more grey on head. Brown-capped Rosy Finch without the grey on head.

Personal Notes: A wonderful surprise find while summiting an unnamed 12K foot peak in the Big Horn Mountains.

Bobolink

Scientific Name: Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Population Estimate: 11M

Range / Habitat: Full migrant found almost exclusively in grasslands. Summers / breeding in upper US and into Canada, excluding the far west. Winters in the middle of South America.

Field Notes: Typical blackbird size / shape. Male in breeding plumage has black face, bill, and underparts, white on back and wings, yellow half-hood. Female and non-breeding male with yellow underparts, brown tail and wings, black eyestripe and streak on top of head, yellow superciliary, pale bill.

Personal Notes: We finally got to see this species (with the help of the Wyoming bird list serve) on a gravel road between Fort Phil Kearney and Story, Wyoming. We were quite excited to find him later in St. Paul MN at Kaposia Landing, a former superfund site. 

Upland Sandpiper

Scientific Name: Bartramia longicauda

Population Estimate: 350K

Range / Habitat: Grasslands in the upper half of US, excluding far West, up into Canada and interior Alaska in summer. Full migrant to grasslands of southeastern South America in winter.

Field Notes: Medium sized sandpiper with long neck, small head, short yellow bill, yellow legs. Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs have grey, not brown backs, and longer dark bills.

Personal Notes: Seen en route to Devil's Tower National Monument in Wyoming. From then on he was known by the Spolts as "Pylon Plover." 

Pygmy Nuthatch

Scientific Name: Sitta pygmaea

Population Estimate: 2M

Range / Habitat: Year-round resident of montane forests in the American West and down into Mexico.

Field Notes: Stocky nuthatch with disproportionately large bill. Black eye stripe, grey head and back, white belly with subtle orange wash. Range does not overlap with Brown-headed Nuthatch. Red-breasted Nuthatch has white supercilium and red belly. White-breasted Nuthatch larger with plan white face.

Personal Notes: Seen while hiking at Devil's Tower National Monument.

Bullock's Oriole

Scientific Name: Icterus bullockii

Population Estimate: 3.8M

Range / Habitat: Open woodlands, summers in the American West, winters in Mexico not including Yucatan.

Field Notes: Male unmistakable in range with black cap and eye stripe on yellow / orange head and chest. Large white wing bar. Black back and throat. Female more drab without black markings on head / chest.

Personal Notes: The bloke in the photo above and his mate were seen while hiking just above the prairie dog 'town' at Devil's Tower National Monument. We saw him (and an eastern kingbird) get chased off a big dead Ponderosa pine by a red-headed woodpecker.

Buff-bellied Pipit

Scientific Name: Anthus rubescens

Population Estimate: 20M

Range / Habitat: Prefers open, rocky areas. During summer / breeding season found in tundra of northern Canada, most of Alaska, and into a portion of the most elevated regions of the American west. In winter, migrates to the southern US and all of Mexico.

Field Notes: Slender, drab bird. Appears similar to sparrows but thinner bill and longer tail. Has habit of bobbing head like a pigeon. Pale supercilium and lateral throat stripe. Light streaking on the breast. Dark legs compared to other pipits.

Personal Notes: Fortuitous sighting at Beartooth Pass (on the Wyoming / Montana border) on the Fourth of July. Seen again at Acadia NP, ME. Also known as American Pipit.

Western Tanager

Scientific Name: Piranga ludoviciana

Population Estimate: 8.9M

Range / Habitat: Summers in montane forest of western US and Canada. Winters throughout Mexico exclusive of Yucatan.

Field Notes: Breeding male (top photo) with red head, yellow belly and rump. Otherwise black with two yellow wing bars. Female or juvenile (bottom photo) drab olive yellow on head, rump, belly. Still with black back and two yellow wing bars.

Personal Notes: We first spotted the female outside our friend Patrick's window in Puerto Vallarta. We then spotted a male in classic plumage in the courtyard of the Grand American Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT. The top photo was taken en route to Rainbow Lake in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Montana. The light was so bright that morning, the camera had a hard time with the color!

Common Nighthawk

Scientific Name: Chordeiles minor

Population Estimate: 11M

Range / Habitat: Full migrant from most of South America excluding Chile up to western Mexico, all of the US and most of Canada. Found year-round in Caribbean islands. Found in a variety of habitats, both urban and rural, but prefers grasslands for breeding.

Field Notes: Distinct nightjar shape and cryptic coloring (Sibley's phrase) as seen above. Long, dark primaries with white bar at the base (seen in flight) which distinguishes from Common Poorwill, Whip-poor-will and Chuck Will's-widow. Swift shape but larger when flying, which is primarily at dawn and dusk, catching insects.

Personal Notes: First seen feeding on bugs at dusk during a walk at Birdwing Spa in Litchfield MN. We were latter pleased to come across the above bird on a hike to Coney Lake in the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Scientific Name: Regulus calendula

Population Estimate: 70M

Range / Habitat: Temperate forest dweller. Summers throughout parts of the American West, Canada, and the interior of Alaska. Winters throughout the southern half of the US and throughout much of Mexico excluding the Yucatan.

Field Notes: Tiny, dull olive-green bird with light wing-bars and eye ring. Short tail and pin beak. Constantly in motion and continually flicking wings. Small ruby crown of the male is rarely seen. Golden-crowned Kinglet has yellow crown, white eyebrow and black eye-stripe.

Personal Notes: One of our favorite birds; we delight in seeing the crown and were fortunate to actually capture on the above photos.

Sage Sparrow

Scientific Name: Amphispiza belli

Population Estimate: 4.3M

Range / Habitat: Dry shrub land up to 3000m. Year-round along the southern US Pacific coast into Baja. Summers in the American West with winters in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico.

Field Notes: Medium-sized sparrow, relatively long-tailed. Grey head and brown back. White eye ring and supraloral spots. White and black lateral throat stripes. Breast buffy with central dark spot. Five-striped Sparrow similar but little overlap and grey breast.

Personal Notes: First seen on a beautiful drive along the southwestern edge of the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming and then again in the Petrified Forest NP.

Lark Bunting

Scientific Name: Calamospiza melanocorys

Population Estimate: 27M

Range / Habitat: Tall, dense grassland. Winters in northern Mexico. Summers in Great Plains of the United States.

Field Notes: Medium-sized sparrow with short, thick, bluish bill. Large white patches in wing. Breeding male all back with white wings. Female and nonbreeding male grayish brown and heavily striped.

Personal Notes: Seen at Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, South Dakota.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Picoides dorsalis

Population Estimate: 800K

Range / Habitat: Year-round in boreal and montane coniferous forests across all of North America

Field Notes: Medium-sized black-and-white woodpecker, more black than white. Head black with a white mustache stripe and a thin white line behind eye. Yellow cap in male. Throat, breast, belly and midline of back white. Black barring on flanks. Black-backed Woodpecker with all black back. Hairy Woodpecker with more white on face, no barring on flanks, red cap in male.

Personal Notes: Seen in the Laramie Mountains (Medicine Bow National Forest).

Mountain Chickadee

Scientific Name: Poecile gambeli

Population Estimate: 12M

Range / Habitat: Year-round in dry, montane forests of the American West up to western Canada.

Field Notes: Small, active passerine with oversized round head. Striking black and white head with black neck and grey body. The white eyebrow differentiates from Black-capped Chickadee, Boreal Chickadee, and Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

Personal Notes: Chickadees are hard to photograph but we have been able to "lure" them by tapping rocks together and mimicking their call.

Green-tailed Towhee

Scientific Name: Pipilo chlorurus

Population Estimate: 4.1M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year-round in dry shrub land of montane American West. Winters extending into Mexico.

Field Notes: Small towhee but large and long-tailed for an American sparrow. Overall grey bird with striking rufous crown, white throat, and olive-green patches on wing. Ascending cat-like mew call, reminiscent of a Grey Catbird.

Personal Notes: Seen at Vedawoo outside of Laramie, then again in the Bighorn Mountains. Once again seen on Deseret Ranch in Utah.

Mountain Bluebird

Scientific Name: Sialia currucoides

Population Estimate: 5.2M

Range / Habitat: Ranch land and other open areas of the American West. Winters extending into Mexico. Summers extending into Canada.

Field Notes: Slight thrush. Male bright blue back, duller blue underneath. Bill, eye and legs black. No other markings. Female duller grey / blue. Eastern Bluebird and Western Bluebird similar but both have red on their breasts. Lazuli Bunting with short, thick bill, white wing bars, and extensive white on chest and belly. Townsend's Solitaire similar to female but with white eye ring and wing bars.

Personal Notes: Seen in various montane locations in Wyoming and Montana.

Eastern Kingbird

Scientific Name: Tyrannus tyrannus

Population Estimate: 13M

Range / Habitat: Found in generally open areas throughout most of North America in the summer, excluding the southwest portion. Winters in the interior of South America.

Field Notes: Widespread, large flycatcher with dark head, back and tail. White belly and white tip to tail.

Personal Notes: This fellow actually thrives pretty far west, and overlaps range with the Western Kingbird, though they look nothing alike.

Clark's Nutcracker

Scientific Name: Nucifraga columbiana

Population Estimate: 1M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year-round in montane pine forests of the American West. Outside breeding season this species may wander down from its traditional altitude of 3000 - 13,000 feet (500 - 3000 meters).

Field Notes: Large grey bird with prominent black wings and tail. Its call belies its inclusion in the crow and jay family. The only similar bird in its range is the Grey Jay, whose appearance is spotty throughout the Clark's range, and who is much more demure in appearance with small bill, fuzzy black cap, and no starkly contrasting black or white on the wings or tail.

Personal Notes: We originally found this bird in the High Uintas of Utah (although the photo above was taken later in the Beartooth Mountains), outside Salt Lake City. It was the call, size, and flashes of black on grey that solidified our attention. We didn't see it crack any nuts. Later we were in Lost Creek Canyon on Deseret Ranch and came across perhaps as many as one hundred of these birds flocking together. It was an unusual sight as they are usually quite solitary birds.