Another MoChick Irruption?

[Kristin Purdy]

Remember last winter’s Mountain Chickadee irruption? I wonder if several sightings over the past 9 days are foretelling another one.

 

On Saturday, September 19, my companions and I saw a Mountain Chickadee in an isolated chokecherry in the sagebrush-covered Ant Valley in Cache County. The habitat was very weird for a Mountain Chickadee even though the elevation was 6,971 feet.

 

On Tuesday, September 22, I saw a Mountain Chickadee in deciduous trees at Windsurfer Beach at Pineview Reservoir, Weber County, elevation 4,916 feet.

 

Yesterday, September 27 I had the weirdest sighting yet. I saw a Mountain Chickadee in a tamarisk along the Bear River near Bear River MBR in Box Elder County at 4,216 feet.

 

Is anyone else seeing Mountain Chickadees in unusual habitats and elevations that indicate the species is on the move?

 

Kris

[Kristin Purdy]

How weird is this? Just a few hours after I sent my original post this morning and received reports of numerous Mountain Chickadee sightings at lower elevations, a Mountain Chickadee appeared in my yard on the east bench of Ogden, Weber County, at about 5,000 feet. The only other time I’ve had Mountain Chickadees in the yard was last year during the irruption.

 

The other locations birders reported sightings were:

 

Tracy Aviary, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County

The Wild Bird Center, Layton, Davis County

Payson Kiwanis Park, Payson, Utah County

West Warren Cemetery, Weber County

 

So add those five sightings to the first three I reported and it seems as though yes, Mountain Chickadees are on the move again this fall and are being seen at uncommonly low elevations.

 

Kris

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