Review Species Reported This Month:
    Cackling Goose  Cache Co.  Davis Co.
    Common Redpoll  Cache Co.
    Lawrence's Goldfinch  Washington Co.

BOX ELDER COUNTY

Bridget Olson - Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge - Waterbird/Raptor Count 3/21/08 Migration is now in full swing. Total waterfowl around 235,000. This is about double the average 131,000 for this week in March. Total shore birds around 1300, average for this week is about 2600. All units are open and ice free. ..About 30% of all birds tallied were observed from units around the tour loop viewing area. ...Eurasian Wigeon 2 ...Long-tailed Duck 1 ...Barrow's Goldeneye 2 ...Baird's Sandpiper 3...

Jack Binch (10 Mar 2008) - On Sunday I relocated the Greater White-fronted Goose that Bob Huntington reported last week.  This time it was north of the first duck club and on the east side a hundred yards or so out. The one that has the mobile home and looks abandoned. It was with a half dozen Canada Geese. Don't bother to look at the paired up geese, just look at the groups. Bob found it close to the actual entrance to Bear River MBR, so it moves around a lot.

Kristin Purdy (9 Mar 2008) - Chalk up one more report of good geese in Northern Utah. Yesterday, John Bellmon, Keith Evans, Jack Rensel and I saw a Greater White-fronted Goose in Corinne in Box Elder County. The bird was hanging out with a bunch of Canadas and we saw it several times during the day. This bird is a first year and hasn't quite developed the black speckles across the belly that give the species the moniker "Speckle Belly" among the hunting fraternity. The speckling has just begun along the flanks. However, the other critical field marks fell into place to distinguish this bird from a Graylag.

Kris Purdy (2 Mar 2008) - I just got a call from Bob Huntington (12:20 pm, Sunday), who has found a Greater White-fronted Goose on the road to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Box Elder County. Bob and the bird are at the Bear River Club, the duck hunting club with the big red buildings just after the road takes a jig to the north as you're headed west to the refuge. Bob said the goose was just north of the road and keeping company with Canada Geese and Tundra Swans.

CACHE COUNTY

Ryan O'Donnell (29 Mar 2008) - Thanks to a tip from Keith Archibald, I and several others found two Horned Grebes at the ponds just west of the Landfill in Logan this evening.

Ryan O'Donnell (23 Mar 2008) - Had a great day of birding around Cache Valley today ...Highlights included a pair of Hooded Mergansers at the Logan Fish Hatchery; a continuing Greater White-fronted Goose off of Sam Fellow Road; a pair of Trumpeter Swans near the Amalga Barrens; and a Common Redpoll at a feeder at a private residence in Richmond.

Buck Russell (22 Mar 2008) - I went out birding around Cache Valley today and saw several year birds and one lifer. Just north of the Benson Ox-bow at the first westbound road there was a flock of about 200 Tundra Swans, numerous Canada Geese, Northern Pintails, Mallards, and one Greater White-fronted Goose.

Craig Fosdick (15 Mar 2008) - Other birds of interest at Rendesvous Park (there weren't that many) were a possible Winter Wren (70-80% sure I heard the chimp-chimp alarm call, but I was standing right next to the Logan River, which is quite loud; I never could find the wren), 2 Brown Creepers, and a White-throated Sparrow (between the intersection of the paved trail from the parking lot and its connection with the paved trail along the river, SOUTH of the railroad tracks; the bird was in the bushes near one of the benches on the wood overlook platforms. Is that confusing enough?). No idea if this is a different White-throated Sparrow than the individual I had been seeing on S 100 E and E 400 S in Logan from Dec 30, 2007 to January 5, 2008. It's only about a mile between the two locations.

Craig Fosdick (8 Mar 2008) - Today while birding in the Cache Valley, Ryan O' Donnell, Stephanie Cobbold, and I found a Greater White-fronted Goose on 4600 N, between Sam Fellow Rd (Sam-Feller Rd in Benchmark's Utah Atlas, p. 37; 3800 W at Mapquest) and 3200 W. ...This same field held, at various times during the 4 hrs that Keith Archibald and I were glassing it (before Ryan and Stephanie arrived) at least 1,000 Canada Geese, at least 1,000 Ring-billed and California Gulls, 4 Tundra Swans, 15-20 Snow Geese, 1 Ross's Goose, 2-3 Cackling Geese, and two hybrid geese.

DAVIS COUNTY

Steve Coleman (31 Mar 2008) - In case any are still looking for the wigeon, I spent the morning at Farmington Bay Nature Center Saturday and after looking at hundreds of Wigeons, I did see the Eurasian Wigeon on the playa between Goose Egg Island and the Nature Center. He was pursuing a hen quite actively, not sure if she was a Eurasian or an American Wigeon hen.

Joel Beyer (30 Mar 2008) - The "minima" [Cackling Goose] was with a couple dozen of Canadas in the field just east of the Nature Center [Farmington Bay] yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. It was one of the 19 new birds we saw, which put our total birds seen in Davis County this March at 110.

David Jensen (26 Mar 2008) - Loads of ducks today at Farmington Bay on the monthly last-Wednesday-of-the-month trip. Other birds as well. We looked quite thoroughly for the Eurasian Wigeon but came up wanting on that one. Best sighting: just after turning south to take the little road to the nature center buildings we stopped to look at the birds in the pond to the west, just before the center. Paddling around between a couple of "standard" Canada Geese was a minima Cackling Goose. Perfect sighting: tiny bill, steep forehead, very small overall size (nice to have the Canadas right there for comparison), dark breast, AND it had the added bonus of having a very narrow but easily seen white neck ring. The cackler flew off with the Canadas and landed in a field east of the pond.

Jeff Langford (23 Mar 2008) -  at Farmington Bay Sunday afternoon. ... had a pair of Tree Swallows (first of season), Sandhill Cranes, all of the usual ducks, including the Eurasian Wigeon in the east pond, and an estimated 1,000 American White Pelicans.

Joel Beyer (23 Mar 2008) - This afternoon we found an Eurasian Wigeon in the pond northeast of the Antelope Island Causeway entrance station. At Farmington Bay WMA, the previously reported Eurasian Wigeon is still on the pond along the east side of the entrance road.

Cindy Sommerfeld (15 Mar 2008) - Steve and I spent the morning on Antelope Island. Nothing unusual. ...On the way home we stopped at Farmington. At Glover Lane ponds we saw our first of the year Avocets. Also near by a Ross's Goose and Snow Goose were grazing. From the look out hill, in Farmington Bay, Steve found a Eurasian Wigeon. It was on the pond North of the look out. Possibly the same bird as last year?

Dave Allen (4 Mar 2008) - Me and Mike Johnson birded Antelope Island on Monday. Best birds were 4 Long-tailed Duck on the causeway at the big bridge and 1 Northern Shrike. The Shrike was at the small dirt pull off just below the bistro. It was working the north side of the hill down where the sage brush started. It made a couple of passes in that sage brush area.

Joel Beyer (1 Mar 2008) - In Davis Co. this morning, a "minima" Cackling Goose was at the Kaysville Ponds. A 2nd-winter Glaucous Gull was at Farmington Bay WMA. And the accommodating and rather wet Red-shouldered Hawk was on Park Lane in Farmington about 3:00 this afternoon.

Jack Binch (1 Mar 2008) - The Red-shouldered Hawk was at the previously reported spot on Park Lane this afternoon. I half-heartedly looked for it a couple of times, but today had a good look at it.

UTAH COUNTY 

Dennis Shirley (7 Mar 2008) -  I took a late afternoon spin around Benjamin Slough and Lincoln point today. Among all the common waterfowl species there was a drake and a hen Wood duck and a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese along Beer Creek in the slough. I glassed the area from the West Mountain hillside using a scope. They were found along the meandering "goosenecks" of the creek about a half mile from Utah Lake.

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

MarJean M. (17 Mar 2008) - My sisters and I also visited St. George this last week. Thanks to Rick Fridell's excellent directions we also saw the Lawrence's Goldfinch. What a great sighting. We spent about 2 hours or more watching, and photographing this bird.

Rick Fridell - Yesterday afternoon (3/14) Quinn and I sent for a stroll around the campground loop at Red Cliffs Recreation Area (Washington Co.). The highlight was an adult male Anna's Hummingbird. It appears to be on territory and usually sits on a Desert Almond on the left (south) side of the road just past the second speed bump from the entrance kiosk area.

Larene Wyss (15 Mar 2008) - David Wheeler and I drove down to Southern Utah this morning and saw one male Lawrence's Goldfinch at the feeder in Santa Clara. It came in around 8:10 after a Sharpie left a nearby tree.

Rick Fridell (7 Mar 2008) - There are two male Lawrence's Goldfinch visiting a residential feeder in Santa Clara. There are some special circumstances with the home owners, so anyone interested in trying for the finches, please contact me and I can give you the details and coordinate your visit. Fortunately the birds are visiting a feeder visible from the main road and have been coming in regularly.

Keith Davis (5 Mar 2008) - Just had a call from R.J. Hughes. He saw Lawrence's Goldfinches at his feeder the past two days. R.J. lives just east of Jacob Hamblin's historic home in Santa Clara on that back road. That area has always been a great place for neat birds.