Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Nature Experienceship – Birding with Merrill Webb


September 15, 2012

What an excellent birding adventure with Merrill Webb! We had the opportunity to see 34 different species of birds!!! We drove to different preselected sites around the Provo area. It’s incredible what amazing animals are around our own backyard. Merrill Webb discussed the details that differentiate each bird from one another. We were taught specific sounds different birds make. For example, the Killdeer sings its own name…truly amazing! We had the opportunity to watch a Red-tailed Hawk soaring around looking for food. We saw two large, graceful Sandhill Cranes. We even had the opportunity to see an Osprey (Merrill Webb’s favorite bird of the day). What a unique and fun experience it is to have an enthusiastic and experienced birder (Merrill Webb) guiding us through this fun adventure. Make sure you join us this upcoming winter as Merrill Webb takes us on another fun birding adventure. Who knows, this experience may just give you the desire to embark on your own “Big Year”! Join us on the 29th of September for Wild Edibles with Tom Smith or on October 20th for Aspen Forests with Sam St. Clair! Sign up HERE

Michael Silva, Museum Educator

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Here is a short video:





Here is a list of all the birds we saw during our birding adventure:

1. Canada Goose
2. Northern Shoveler
3. Green-winged Teal
4. Eared Grebe
5. Western Grebe
6. American White Pelican
7. Double-crested Cormorant
8. Great Blue Heron
9. Black-crowned Night-Heron
10. White-faced Ibis
11. Turkey Vulture
12. Osprey
13. Northern Harrier
14. Swainson’s Hawk
15. Red-tailed Hawk
16. American Kestrel
17. American Coot
18. Sandhill Crane
19. Killdeer
20. American Avocet
21. Franklin’s Gull
22. Ring-billed Gull
23. California Gull
24. Caspian Tem
25. Eurasian Collared-Dove
26. Northern Flicker
27. Black-billed Magpie
28. Common Raven
29. Tree Swallow
30. Barn Swallow
31. American Robin
32. European Starling
33. White-crowned Sparrow
34. Yellow-headed Blackbird