OCR Text |
Show B8 Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Vernal Express Observe turning leaves and changing feathers By Law Hot Guest writer Fall is definitely here. Storms have frosted the peaks with snow, though aspens still gild the lower slopes. In the valleys, cottonwoods, willows and shrubs display about half a rainbow, some still green, others running the spectrum through yellow, orange, and red. The change of season also brings changes for many birds. Rufous hummingbirds, yellow warblers and Bullock's orioles are long gone, and the bright colors they flashed in summer are left to the turning foliage. Conversely, many male waterfowl water-fowl - both familiar year-round residents such as mallard, and migrants such as American Wi-geon-are donning their breeding finery again, after a summer in plain brown plumage similar to their mates. Swallows have largely vacated local canals, but barn, cliff, tree and violet-green swallows were still swooping around Ouray National Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 7, in pursuit of the last flying insects. Most insect eaters must migrate when freezing temperatures tempera-tures eliminate their prey, but yellow-rumped warblers and mountain bluebirds shift their diets to include berries and other plant food, and may even stay through milder winters. Woodpeckers, Wood-peckers, of course - especially northern flickers and downy woodpeckers in the Uintah Basin - can drill into tree trunks for hidden grubs all year. Seed eaters are well suited for chilly Uintah Basin winters and house finches American goldfinches and black-capped chickadees are probably familiar to anyone with a feeder. Storms sometimes bring -down their mountain cousins - Cassin's finches, pine siskins and mountain moun-tain chickadees. All these species stayintheregionyear-roundjbut may make short "migrations" upward or downward as storms pass through. A sure avian sign of autumn is the dark-eyed junco. In 1973, zealous "life-list" birders were n ' U? j i 00' in Can't Miss Out! x Stop In Today! ' II E bLl 3 Piece Sectional Prices on LA-Z-BOV A 17' i 1 . . in - ii ii ii 1 1 it ii. i rz -n- in in ii t . i ill" 1 1 i v w u rti'i l w 1 li KY UM I it Hi I Ai ilJ I. vy ., -J Kin i i iLinrrr a V '1 r'nr'J 7 n J "Wr iUUj S T"- J If I , i 1 '1 JT t ", si d V i c ft r t rf 1 t - Z'J Sofa & LoveseaW '' "ir chagrined to see several junco color variations combined into a single species. All juncos share a sparrow-like shape, whitish belly, and conspicuous white outer tail feathers, but they range through several shades of grays and browns. The Oregon subspecies, which breeds mainly in the Pacific Northwest and is the Basin's most common winter junco, has the typical sooty-gray to black "hood" over its head and breast, and reddish-brown back and flanks. The pink-sided subspecies (mainly northern Rockies but a local migrant) is like a bleached-out bleached-out version. The slate-colored form goes to the other color extreme, ex-treme, its black hood only a shade darker than its somber back and flanks. Finally, the gray-headed subspecies is the Basin's summer junco, breeding in the mountain forests and now migrating south or east for winter. Its light gray hood blends into gray flanks, but contrasts sharply with a bright rufous back. In all of these, females fe-males are similar to males but often a shade lighter or browner, adding to the challenge of distinguishing distin-guishing any given subspecies. But whether you're an avid birder intent on identification or a casual observer, the changing chang-ing birds of autumn herald the season as clearly as the turning leaves. Linda West is a contributing writer from the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum. ...111. n n I! wim c neciiners. with Massage, Fold down tray, Speaker Phone, & Hide-A-Bed How its r: Commercial fr ? Washer Super Capacity 9 Cycles, MatchlnqlSKer $349 Side-By-Side Refrigerator 22cuft with Water & Ice in Door r. t Microfiber I Pillow Top I II ft. If Hi i u 11 X ) C Diana "lA ' hi l I ICbG VI l Jf If I V OakDresseri , ... SmrhT ufl I & Mirror I l- :k 1 f A i ; ' . I I ! I. ' n I y I Nnntstand. A K-tJ I I t is I I ' rlAA'1 6 Drawer 1 f ftffHTtfiTYTT. 7 1 P Dove tailed drawers front & badL 5lH3:fSF U Double ball barring GUdesJlZ 5 Piece .m j " vfe Dinette Set SH mm i -fJ an wood yni ian(gA !' vrjl PILLOW TOP SERTA Perfect Steeper Queen size Suoer Pillow Ton Reg 1049 0, Lii"o'" i i "l firi.jyiiji "i- SWEDISH MATTKSKS W PUOWS Set Queen Size Set I rl SERTA Perfect Sleeper Beautyrtst Queen Pillow Soft Pillow Top Reg 799 Queen Set Reg 999 $589 $1499 VltU 9 CPCB $ rna .j, 699 $499 $799 Tssjrta n n rp n PrWcss.- UNJUlEiLz UJ Vy 0JLC. 130 Esst Ugocn, Roesmlt Ojwn Csri C?m Kon. Sat 722-2233 Dark-eyed juncos arrive along with the first snows of autumn from the Oregon high country. Photo credit Linda West. A white "eyebrow" distinguishes the mountain chickadee from its black-capped cousin but both are are winter residents of the Uintah Basin. Photo credit Linda West. !-- V - X Yellow-rumped warblers often stay around longer than any of their relatives. Photo credit Linda West. wmk- ,j 54 North Vernal Avenue 1 www.vernal.com |