Great Backyard Bird Count

BY JEFF RUGG

Let’s all thank the calendar makers that February is so short. In just a few weeks, winter will be over. Most birds will be happy it is over, too. The typical sparrow or cardinal that comes to a backyard feeder weighs about as much as a quarter. They spend virtually every waking moment looking for food (just like teenagers) and may consume 15% of their body weight on a cold winter’s night trying to stay warm.

February is “National Bird-Feeding Month” as noted by the National Bird-Feeding Society. If you are new to bird feeding or just want to learn more about feeding birds, you can go to the Society’s website for more information (www.birdfeeding.org). You will find sev- eral educational pamphlets to improve your wild bird feeding experience, including a list of the top 10 tips for a better bird feeding experience, a bird food preference chart, a bird feeder preference chart, brochures on keeping birds safe and a bird identification sheet.

Bird feeders filled with seeds will help some birds make it through the coldest nights. To find out an approximate number of the birds that have survived over the winter and before many migrant birds start arriving from the tropics. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology operates the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). This year it will take place Feb. 17-20 and you can do it from the comfort of your living room if you want to. It is an annual fourday period when bird watchers create a snapshot of where the birds are across the

(stacks of rocks) along the way. Some trails have self-guiding brochures available at the trailhead and visitor center.

Popular backcountry hikes in the southern section of the park include Upper and Lower Muley Twist Canyons and Halls Creek and in the Cathedral Valley area.

Descriptions of these hikes are available at https://liveandlethike.com/category/utah/capitol-reef-national-park/

Capitol Reef offers so much to explore, Laini says, you really need more time there. Tourists overrun the main part, but there is a whole “backcountry” side that most miss. (https:// www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/ trailguide.htm and https://www.nps. gov/care/planyourvisit/hiking.htm)

Scenic Byway 12

Driving out of Capitol Reef we come to an overlook just as the sun is at a perfect angle to make the red rocks blaze.

We drive 64 of the 124 miles of the Scenic Byway 12 to Escalante. Scenic Byway 12 is Utah’s first “All-American Road,” (and one of Laini’s favorite roads in the country) winding through vast slickrock benches and canyons.

Because the forecast had been for temps in the 20-30s, Dave and Laini again booked a cabin at Canyons of Escalante RV Park, right in Escalante. And we’re able to have dinner at one of their favorite places from their previous adventures, Escalante Outfitters, serving up the best pizza outside of New York.

I find this day’s hikes in Capitol Reef perfect to acclimate and just become immersed in the spectacular scenery. And, I soon find out, these hikes are so very different from what we have yet to experience in the Grand StaircaseEscalante, where our Utah Adventure continues. Because Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument is for the hardcore.

Next: Grand Staircase-Escalante continent. Anyone can be a bird watcher for those four days. A ‘backyard’ can be anywhere you happen to be: a schoolyard, a local park, an apartment balcony or a wildlife refuge.

Doing the count is easy -- all you do is count the birds you see at any location. The highest number of each species seen on any of the days is recorded. Then you go to www.birdcount.org to record your list online. There is a photo contest for those interested.

The GBBC helps everyone prepare for their trip to the backyard, whether they choose to watch birds only around their home or make the effort to see which birds are using public lands. The website is full of tips of all kinds, including information

Continued on next page

© 2023 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com.