Review Species Reported This Month:
    Heerman's Gull  Washington Co.
    Anna's Hummingbird  Washington Co.
    Red-breasted Sapsucker Washington Co.
    Blue-headed Vireo  Washington Co.
    Chestnut-sided Warbler  Utah Co.
    Black-throated Blue Warbler  Washington Co.

BOX ELDER COUNTY 

Pomera Fronce (3 Oct 2003) - Kent, Julie and I were at the Willard Bay Campground on Friday morning. At about 10:00, Kent and I followed a soft call to a Russian Olive tree on the west side of the small pond... The bird continued to call and then suddenly flew and perched on a snag on the north side of the pond. In flight, the bird had light wing patches. I got a clean look when it landed and saw a grayish bird with a long tail and head crest. Kent also got a clean look and said he thought it was a Phainopepla.

DAVIS COUNTY 

Joel and Kathy Beyer (13 Oct 2003) - On Sunday we saw a male Yellow-shafted Flicker at Garr Ranch on Antelope Island. It was in the fenced field just south of the ranch house. We also found one of the Sage Sparrows previously seen at the second pullout as you head to the Antelope Island Visitor Center.

GARFIELD COUNTY

Matt Thorum (5 Oct 2003) - We did a little birding on Boulder Mountain. Near the summit we stopped and walked for a while (I believe it was the Pleasant Creek trailhead on the west side of the road). We saw about a dozen Western Bluebirds in a meadow and tons (50-100) Yellow-rumped Warblers in a flock foraging in the aspens along with a few BC Chickadees and RC Kinglets. On the south side of the mountain the Acorn Woodpecker was still at the same tree busily gathering acorns from the nearby Gamble Oaks.

UTAH COUNTY 

Pomera Fronce (23 Oct 2003) - When the new year began, my most desired bird was the Northern Pygmy-Owl. My thirst was quenched today as Alton, Glenn and I went in search of the owl KC and Eric found on Wednesday. [Aspen Grove - Mt. Timpanogos Trailhead area]... The owl came in to within fifteen feet of us and was only ten feet off the ground...

Tony Jones (4 Oct 2003) - Bob Bradley and I birded Provo airport dike and Utah Lake State Park and River Lane this morning. I saw a Chestnut-sided warbler at River lane. The bird was about 100 yards from the cattle guard as you reach the dirt road on River Lane. It was a juvenile bird. It was in the trees just as you come to a small spot on the river that waterfalls. You really can only hear the waterfall, you cannot see it. And it is not really a waterfall but some sort of dripping sound. I hope that helps, it is hard to describe a specific tree and I did not have anything to mark it with.

WASATCH COUNTY 

Milton Moody (27 Oct 2003) - On the Saturday Field Trip we saw several very nice birds... At Deer Creek Rec. we didn't find the Sabine's Gull, but we did see a Northern Goshawk along the shore eating a fish with feathers, apparently -- some people saw a fish and some saw feathers flying.

Tuula Rose - On Sunday 10.19.03 10 am, on the way to Jordanelle wetlands through Provo canyon, Milton and I stopped at the north end of Deer Creek Reservoir and found a small gull amongst a couple of dozen ring-billed.  It appeared to be a First Year Sabine's Gull with brownish wings and mantle, a dark crescent behind the eye and dark primaries extending well beyond the tail. It was foraging in shallow water in "phalarope fashion", and flew just once for a short distance. Luckily Milt had it in the scope at that moment and he could see the wing pattern.

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

Rick Fridell - This evening (10/31 5:20) there was a Pacific Loon and an immature female Surf Scoter at Quail Creek State Park (Washington Co., UT). The Pacific Loon was foraging with several Common Loons (15+) near the Quail Creek Dike parking lot. The Surf Scoter was loosely associating with a flock of Lesser Scaup in the middle of the reservoir. Due to the low water level in the reservoir, a scope is very helpful.

Larry Tripp (25 Oct 2003) - If anyone is going to be in the area looking for the Red-breasted Sapsucker at Lytle I saw it there on Sunday afternoon. Check the Persimmon trees closely. There was also a Steller's Jay there. Around St. George on Sunday morning I found 2 White-throated Sparrows ( 1 white-striped and 1 tan-striped) 1 immature Golden-crowned Sparrow and a male Williamson's Sapsucker. 

Merrill Webb (23 Oct 2003) - [Lytle Ranch]  ...On the dirt road leading to the new reservoir (which is now dry)- southwest of the ranch house on the other side of the stream, I found a White-throated Sparrow with a small flock of white crowned sparrows. Birding was very slow with only 25 species observed

Charlie Sheard (19 Oct 2003) - Anna's Hummingbirds continue to use the feeder in Leeds. Two females and one male. One female appears to have sustained some injury to a wing earlier in the year. However, her wing primary feathers are slowly growing back and she flies well enough to survive. The other female is well and active. The male is unusual looking and may well be a hybrid. He sings like an Anna's but his gorget lacks color except at the edges. Also, his gorget doesn't extend as long as is usual for an Anna's. Maybe an Anna's X Black-chinned hybrid? Perhaps as time goes on this bird will develop further.

Larry Tripp (18 Oct 2003) - Today at Lytle Ranch while looking for the R B Sapsucker and the Brown Thrasher ( which I was unable to relocate either, I did see the Williamson's.) I saw a female Black-throated Blue Warbler. Probably an adult female. It was in the area of the ranch houses. Just to the West of the stacked fire wood in the group of plum trees. It was very accommodating coming out in the open at eye level. I watched it for about 10 min and it was still in the same spot when I left.

Rick Fridell - This evening (10/17) Kevin Wheeler and I visited Lytle Ranch (Beaver Dam Wash, Washington County, UT). ...We saw a Downy Woodpecker and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker near the entrance. In the orchard we saw several Red-naped Sapsuckers and Northern Flickers. Next, we flushed a first-year female Williamson's Sapsucker from a persimmon tree. It flew into a large boxelder along the east border of the orchard, and while we were watching it, an adult male Red-Breasted Sapsucker (daggetti subspecies) landed in a nearby pear tree. I decided to run back to the vehicle and get a camera while Kevin kept an eye on the sapsucker. Just before I got back to the truck a Brown Thrasher flew across the road in front of me and landed in a huge creosote (near the covered camping area). I grabbed the camera but could not relocate the Thrasher. When I got back to the orchard, Kevin still had the RB Sapsucker, and we managed to get a few digital photos for documentation...

Rick Fridell - This evening (10/14) at 5:30p I observed a Bobolink in the Washington Fields (Washington County, UT). The Bobolink was near the west end of 2000 South in the alfalfa field north of the road.

Rick Fridell - Yesterday (10/11), Steve Summers located a winter plumaged Dunlin at the SR-9 Sewer Ponds (Hurricane, Washington Co. UT). The Dunlin is the NW pond. It was still present this morning (10/12) as well. This is the first Dunlin record in Washington County that I'm aware of. There are also a pair of Am. Avocets, two LB Dowitchers, and several Least Sandpipers present.

Bryan Shirley (4 Oct 2003) - Yesterday Alton Thygerson, my dad & I made a quick trip to St. George...We spent most of the afternoon at the Red Hills Golf Course looking for the Blue-headed Vireo. Just behind the #3 tees we saw a vireo that we believed to be a Cassin's. We were not able to study it as well as we wanted though because it quickly disappeared. We also was a Plumbeous Vireo in the same area.  Other birds of note were a Black-and-white Warbler and a Townsend's Warbler...

Kevin Wheeler (2 Oct 2003) - I was just returning from lunch to the office today, when I ran into Marilyn Davis, who had just seen a Heerman's Gull at the Southgate Golf Course in St. George, Washington County, while she was eating lunch there. I went out to see it with Matt Curtis, and it looked about like the 2nd winter Heerman's illustrated in the National Geographic guide. I returned about 2:00 and got pictures. Thanks to Marilyn for the after lunch tip.

Larry Tripp (2 Oct 2003) - Tonight at Red Hills G C in St. George I saw a Blue-headed Vireo. The bird was at the upper part of the course behind the 3rd hole tee box. It is a nice bright well marked bird.

WEBER COUNTY 

Kris Purdy (30 Oct 2003) - ... I saw the Lewis's Woodpecker again on a telephone pole in the 1500 block of Shadow Valley Drive in Ogden. The bird was working hard to excavate a pre-existing crack in the top of the pole. Small yellow woodchips peppered the snow at the base. I take this as a sign that the woodpecker is preparing a winter caching location for nuts and fruits and it's going to stick around. This is the fifth time I've seen it in the last 2 weeks or so.