Part 5 - From Condor to Cassia Crossbill

Alaska, A Journey, not a Destination

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“I’ve been from Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma…” That pretty much sums up this blog.

After some big hugs and goodbyes with our daughter in Las Vegas, we got the memo that if we don’t start moving in a northerly direction, we may never make it to Alaska. After all, we were one month on the road and at a lower latitude than where we started. And worse than that, our next plan was to head back east a bit, not north. Grand Canyon area, here we come!

Some Bonus Birds Along the Way

There were no real birding targets in this area, but I did manage to find some lifer local residents in feathered form. I completed my North American nuthatch list with the Pygmy Nuthatch. I was scolded one morning by a lifer Red Crossbill. Oh, and there was the Williamson’s Sapsucker that was nearly a casualty on my windshield driving to the canyon one morning.

The real attraction was the Grand Canyon. We spent several days admiring this incredible feat of nature including a hike down into the canyon to the first stop, 1.5 miles in. Both the South Rim and the North Rim were visited.

We also visited many of the National Monuments that surround the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Utah. My favorite was Pipe Springs NM.

Pipe Springs National Monument

Stories of ordinary families who gave up everything to establish a new life in an unknown land intrigue me. This is the modern story of Pipe Springs. I wonder if I would have had the courage to load my family on a wagon and head into the unknown, risking everything.

As is the case in many parts of this region, it was the Mormons who settled here in the mid-1800’s and tried to live amicably with the native populations of the area. It is true that of all the major groups of settlers moving west in the 1800’s, the Mormons were most able to live and work peacefully with native groups. They viewed the natives as human beings and children of God and treated them as such.

Bird One - California Condor

To find a California Condor soaring above the Grand Canyon would surely be a moment of a lifetime for an avid birder, like me. Regarding this, there was no such moment. As most birders do, I looked at eBird to see where the bird is being reliably seen. It is well known that a few of them like to hang out at the Navajo Bridge. The Navajo Bridge must be crossed when driving from the South Rim to the North Rim.

I was expecting this to be a sure thing. When we arrived at the bridge parking lot, we came to realize that there are two bridges, one is pedestrian, and the other is vehicular. Fantastic!

Scanning the beams of the vehicular bridge, produced nothing. Searching the walls of the canyon produced nothing. Nothing but a lone Turkey Vulture perched way down on the rocky cliff. A shadow of disappointment started to darken my mood.

Another couple with binoculars around their neck were on the bridge and I approached them. We began to talk and talk and talk: about their adventures, about our adventures, about birds. After about 30 minutes of talking with them and scanning distant outcroppings and cliffs, we concluded that we came on a bad day.

After saying goodbye, I gave the Turkey Vulture a final look through my binoculars. It was a strange looking Turkey Vulture. Could it be? I took a photo with my camera and blew it up. It absolutely was a California Condor. I gave a shout to the couple, and they came and looked. We all high-fived! It was bird P8.

The Condor Problem

The California Condor was on the brink of extinction in the 1980’s. In 1987, a bold and controversial attempt was made to save the species. All remaining wild birds were captured and put into a captive breeding program. There were 22 wild California Condors in existence at that time and five in captivity.

Captive breeding was successful, and releases began in 1991. Today, the bird remains one of the most Critically Endangered birds in the world, but the population is growing. There are currently about 600 birds in the wild.

The program is the most expensive species conservation program in US history with over $40MM in total cost to date. The current annual budget for the program is $2MM.

Bird Two - Clark's Grebe

There are two grebes that to a bird watcher would assume to be the same species, but to a birder (lister birder, that is) they are as different as a sparrow and a hawk. The very common Western Grebe and more thinly dispersed Clark’s Grebe are the birds in question.

Utah is a great place to find this uncommon bird in the spring and summer, but you must pick through all the Western Grebes to find one. I failed at this a few years ago when I was more novice, but now I was determined.

The mission started with eBird reports of Clark’s Grebe. If one was reported within 20 miles of our track, we were on it. During these adventures, and there were many, nothing worked out. Everything I saw was Western Grebe. I was beginning to wonder if amateur birders were skewing the records with misidentification. It happens.

Identification of Grebes

The best way to tell a Western from a Clark’s is to get a good look at his head from the side. They both have black crowns above a white head, but the Clark’s crown does not extend to the eye, leaving white above the eye. The Western does not have white above the eye because its crown extends down to the bottom of the eye.

There are other differences, but they are all relative differences like thickness of stripe down back of neck or degree of gray on sides. Without having both birds in front of you, it is an unreliable ID.

As you might have guessed, I did find this bird. It was one of those never give up moments that pays off. I will tell you that this spot was the last chance for me to get this bird before leaving its range. That may or may not be true because I quit searching on eBird after that. But I think it really was my last chance.

The reports said that at this lake, that was pure chaos with boats and people and other water toys, was harboring a Clark’s Grebe. It was a state park and so I paid for this bird. I scoured the lake with my binoculars and spotting scope. Surprisingly, there were grebes, but only Western Grebes.

Once again, I felt close to failure and was ready to call off the search and head to Idaho. The little birding angel popped up on my shoulder and chirped in my ear, “don’t quit, there is one more place to investigate”. That was true, there was a narrow road into a small camping area with a berm with possible water on the other side.

I wasn’t too keen on driving down that road because we were travelling with the camper behind, and I wasn’t sure about the ability to turn around down that road. But with the birding angel chirping, what could I do? I drove down, parked where I could and got out.

I walked up on the berm and scanned the marshy habitat. Far off was a grebe. Too far to really tell which one. I waited patiently and slowly this bird came towards me like he was proud of who he was and wanted to show me. Indeed, it was the Clark’s Grebe. Persistence is the key to success in most everything you do in life. Never give up on something that you really want! A life lesson played out in real time in the world of birding.

Up next, the Cassia Crossbill!

Bird Three - Cassia Crossbill

The Cassia Crossbill was split from the Red Crossbill in 2017. It is nearly identical to the Red Crossbill and is best distinguished in the field by its flight call.

As the name suggests, the Cassia Crossbill’s primary place of residence is Cassia County, Idaho.

Since I do not get to Idaho very often, this would be a must find bird. Ground zero would be the Southern Hills and Albion Mountains in southern Idaho, south of Twin Falls. I never realized how high these mountains reach. Cache Peak is over 10,000 ft above sea level. The roads entering the mountains are all unpaved mountain roads of varying conditions. Fortunately, we have a high-clearance 4WD pick-up truck. We used every bit of it.

In preparation for this adventure, I listened repeatedly to the flight call of the Cassia and Red Crossbills so that I would be certain of an identification. We stopped frequently, where the habitat looked good and listened and even used some playback.

After a few hours of trying many areas, there was success. I heard the lower pitched flight call and when I played it back, he came rushing towards me. Like crossbills do, he remained high in the tree, so the photos do not do the experience much justice.

I was happy and confident that this was my target and added it to my list.

To celebrate, we relocated from Lower Goose Creek Lake on the east side of the mountains to Nah Soo Pah Hot Springs on the west side for a couple nights of relaxation. Oh, and I woke before dawn one morning to drive towards the Magic Mountain Ski Area and found Calliope Hummingbird at Brockman’s Hummingbird Feeding Station and Greater Sage Grouse along the road.

The End of This Verse

After the Cassia Crossbill success, we continued north through Twin Falls, western Montana, Coeur d’Alene and NE Washington. We captured a few more images and many more memories.

So ended this leg of the trip that closely paralleled Steve Miller Bands Rock’n Me Baby (just replace “job” for “bird”). There was so much great birding along this leg and a few good photos too.