Birdnet Hotline Highlights
Compiled by Eric Huish

Review Species Reported This Month:
     Eurasian Collared-Dove  Uintah Co.

BOX ELDER COUNTY 

Andy Peterson - (Thursday, January 02, 2003) Ed posted on 30 Dec. that he had found several Short-Eared Owls near the
entrance to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Thanks for the tip! I drove out there last night at 4:00, and spotted a flock of Sage Grouse about 1\2 mile before the entrance in a large field to the south of the road.

CACHE COUNTY 

Betsy Beneke -  Saturday, 4 January, 2003 - There were about 10 pairs of Barrow's Goldeneyes at the Hydro Park in Logan early this afternoon. ...

DAVIS COUNTY 

Tony Jones - (Sun, 26 Jan 2003)  Today I took a drive before the big game to Farmington Bay and Mueller Park Canyon in Bountiful. Farmington Bay had a flock of about 10 American Tree Sparrows on the back side of the big mound (egg island?). ...Mueller Park was a bit more birdy. I found a flock of 10 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 5 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Stellers Jays, and 4 Brown Creepers.  Also, I heard a Blue Grouse pounding. I could never locate the bird but could hear the deep pounding coming from somewhere. I have heard Blue grouse when they are seeking a mate, but never in the middle of winter.

KC Childs - (Sat, 18 Jan 2003)  ... We then went over to the Bountiful Dump and saw not a large number of Gulls. But there was Herring, California, Ring Billed and the bird of the day which was a Glaucous Gull. It was a life bird for me. It was a second year gull, and was easy to pick out.

Bryan Shirley - (Thu, 2 Jan 2003) This morning after searching through every horned lark and pipit on the causeway I finally found the flock of snow buntings. ... There also was a Long-tailed Duck on the north side of the road between mile 2 & 3. I never saw the least sandpipers that were reported yesterday, but there was a flock of almost 30 Sanderlings near milepost 2.

Joel Beyer - (Wed, 1 Jan 2003)  This afternoon, we saw 13 (Yes, 13!) Snow Buntings along the south side of the Antelope Island Causeway between mile markers 1 and 2. They were with a group of American Pipits and Horned Larks. ...

GRAND COUNTY 

Damian Fagan - The Moab CBC was held January 4th. Unusual sightings included Harris' Sparrow, Merlin and Mourning Dove.

SALT LAKE COUNTY 

Pomera Fronce - (Mon, 27 Jan 2003)   If anyone is looking for Bushtits, there are some in Rose Canyon. I found a
flock of them at about 15500 South on Rose Canyon Road where the Juniper trees are quite dense...

Pomera Fronce - (Fri, 24 Jan 2003)  Today I birded the Mehraban Wetlands in Draper. There were three pair of Wood
Ducks on the southern most pond. I saw several other species including a Belted Kingfisher and a Spotted Towhee. On 11800 South and approximately 4400 West was a Merlin perched on a telephone pole on the north side of the street.

Pomera Fronce - (Thu, 23 Jan 2003)  Before linking up with Julie, I birded the Salt Lake City Cemetery. I was in
the general area of 980 East and 445 North. The birds were very active around 1:00 and I saw 15 species in about 30 minutes. There were a few Townsend's Solitaires and lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches. There were many Flickers and
Downy Woodpeckers and one Red-naped Sapsucker. Bob Bradley was out birding on his lunch hour and told me he saw a White-breasted Nuthatch.

Pomera Fronce - (Mon, 20 Jan 2003) For the second time in three weeks, I saw a Prairie Falcon in the desert area west of Riverton/South Jordan. Today, he was perched on a telephone pole on 11800 South about a quarter of a mile east of where the road Ts at U-111. ...

KC Childs - (Sat, 18 Jan 2003)  ... Next we were off to Saltair in Salt Lake County. Right at the gift shop at Saltair was the Say's Phoebe. He was doing some flycatching and looking good. We searched the Gulls and only saw Herring and California Gulls here.

Pomera M. Fronce - (Sat, 18 Jan 2003)   Today I saw four Barrow's Goldeneyes mixed in with about fifty Common
Goldeneyes on the Jordan River Parkway. ... There was a nice assortment of other kinds of ducks - Buffleheads, Gadwalls, Shovelers, etc.

Jack Holley - (Wed, 08 Jan 2003)  This morning right after the fog lifted I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow along the Jordan River.

KC Childs - (Sat, 18 Jan 2003)  ... We then drove into the town of Vernon in hopes of seeing Great Horned Owls. We got a really good look of a Great Horned Owl sitting out in a conifer across from LDS church in Vernon. ... We then went up to Clover Springs. Here we saw two Juniper Titmice, Townsend Solitaires, and a Winter Wren on the west end of the campground. ...

UINTAH COUNTY 

Kathy Paulin - The Dino-Jensen CBC was Saturday, Jan. 4 and was a great success. ...New species or forms for this CBC were Lapland Longspur, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Eurasian Collared-Dove, western screech-owl, short-eared owl,
Harris's sparrow, and American pipit. ... [E-mail about the Eurasian Collared Dove] "Kim Potter, Rich Levad, Amy Levad and I saw the Eurasian Collared-Dove on a power line on Hwy 40 just east of the Jensen visitor center. We, the group from Colorado, all had a great time on your CBC and hope to do it again next year. You have a great area, good birds and very nice people. ~ Dona Hilkey"

Kathy Paulin - (Tue, 7 Jan 2003)  This isn't a "sighting" in the usual sense of the word, but another birder here in Vernal came across an American Redstart recently. Since it was so far out of season, I thought it was of interest and asked for details. Here's what she sent me: "Found a.m. January 3rd on Castle Cove Road, top of Dry Fork. Was stuck to the headlamp of a truck, so could have been hit anywhere along Dry Fork Road or even in town. Was soft, not frozen, and freshly killed.... There is no question in my mind that it was a redstart. I identified it with both specimen and bird book (National Geographic) in
hand."

UTAH COUNTY 

Alton Thygerson -  January 29, 2003: After work this afternoon I took a hike up Rock Canyon (east of Provo's LDS
Temple). The following were seen: 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Townsend's Solitaire, 2 Steller's Jays. Audible but unseen were: Canyon Wren and Chukar.

Bryan Shirley - (Sat, 25 Jan 2003)   Today my Dad, my brother J and I birded along the creek through
camalot woods in springville. Still no luck with finding any of the winter wrens that have been reported. We did see another
Swamp Sparrow though. If you follow the four-wheeler tracks there were some white flags tied on a tree near the area where the sparrow was seen.

Alton Thygerson - January 25, 2003  (Orem Water Treatment Plant) ... Also in the area was a Yellow-shafted form of the Northern Flicker.. While clinging to a tree trunk, the bright yellow undertail was very obvious (this race is rare in the west during the winter).

Joel and Kathy Beyer - (Mon, 20 Jan 2003)  This morning we stopped at the Timpanogos Water Treatment Plant and were
rewarded with a view of the wintering Swamp Sparrow. There was a Common Loon near Powell Slough, on the large pond just west of the Orem Water Treatment Plant. At Camelot Woods (west of Springville) we found a Great Horned Owl, and 2 Winter Wrens along Hobble Creek. West of Elberta, just off of Highway 6, we saw a large flock of Bushtits, along with a
Bewick's Wren.

Bryan Shirley - (Fri, 03 Jan 2003) Today I went in search of the winter wrens at camalot woods in springville that were reported on the provo christmas bird count. I wasn't able to find a winter wren, but I did see a Swamp Sparrow.  It was about where the trees end if you follow the river toward the lake. The swamp sparrow at the A.F. location is still around too -
I saw it yesterday afternoon.

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

WEBER COUNTY 

Leslie Loeffel - (Thu, 16 Jan 2003) ... Last Saturday my husband (Dave Deutch) and I saw a flock of rosy-finches in a tree just below the Hidden Lake Lodge at the top of Powder Mountain ski area. However, it was a brief look, and we weren't sure which type they were. Today (Jan.16) he went back and saw a definite Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch on the ground in the parking lot at Hidden Lake Lodge. ...Last Saturday we also saw a pair of Blue Grouse while cross country skiing about 1 1/2 miles from the Hidden Lake Lodge parking lot. There were tracks in the downhill ski area too, so it might be worth a look around.