Review Species Reported This Month:
    Brant  Davis Co.
    Red-necked Grebe  Davis Co.
    Neotropic Cormorant  Washington Co.
    Parasitic Jaeger  Utah Co.
    Magnificent Hummingbird  Cache Co.
    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher  Salt Lake Co.

BOX ELDER COUNTY

Cindy Sommerfeld (10 Aug 2008) - Yesterday (Saturday)...We hurried over to Bear River Visitors Center in time to tag along on one of their tours. The water is down and many places were dry. At one of the few places with water we did see a Common Tern.

CACHE COUNTY

Bob Atwood. (16 Aug 2008) - ...I offer the following which I have not seen or confirmed. The camp hosts at Lewis Turner Campground, 7 miles below Tony Grove in Cache County, Utah have been feeding humming birds all summer. They told me recently that a larger hummingbird with blue tint came to their feeder 3 times. After looking at their bird book they think it may have been a Magnificent Hummingbird. They are not birders, but said a man had been at their feeders photographing Rufus. They asked him to take a photo of the unusual hummingbird which he did. I requested they get a copy of the photo to me. They said they would. I have not heard anything yet and they are not in a cell phone range. If anyone gets up that way please visit them...

Craig Fosdick (10 Aug 2008) - Today I hiked the Tony Grove-Coldwater Spring-Cottonwood Canyon trail (not the whole way!) and found eight White-winged Crossbills, and two Three-toed Woodpeckers. ...Seven Purple Martins were flying around at Tony Grove backcountry trailhead and over the adjacent meadow. There were at least two adult males. ...

DAVIS COUNTY

Joel and Kathy Beyer (31 Aug 2008) - Farmington Bay WMA had some nice birds late this afternoon, seen shortly before the cold front arrived. We saw a basic plumaged Red-necked Grebe along the west dike, about halfway between the second bridge and the end of the road. A Brant was observed flying across the large pond located southeast of the end of the west dike. It landed out of sight behind the Pelicans on the far eastern shore. Also seen along the dike road were large numbers of Black Terns and a Common Tern. A Solitary Sandpiper was at the shallow pond just inside the entrance gate, and a Sage Thrasher was seen near the refuge buildings. Shortly after sunrise this morning, we saw a Great Egret and an American Bittern from the observation tower at the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve (Layton). Over 100 Sandhill Cranes flew by the tower during the hour we were there.T he migration at Garr Ranch on Antelope Island was fairly slow. Notable birds were Nashville Warbler, Gray Flycatcher, Northern Waterthrush, and Calliope Hummingbird (2 or 3).

Tim Avery (20 Aug 2008) - At Farmington Bay WMA the pond at the first major bend to the west was all but dried up and covered with shorebirds. Highlights included Solitary Sandpiper, several Spotted Sandpiper, numerous Killdeer, several Stilts and Avocets, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalarope and 2 foraging VIRGINIA RAIL. On the main resting pond there was a single Common Tern, as well as a lone Forster's Tern, around 14 BLACK TERN, and several Clark's and several hundred Western Grebe.

Jack Binch (17 Aug 2008) - ...[Garr] ranch did not have a lot either. A lone Northern Waterthrush, Wilson's Warblers, Western Tanagers, Lazuli Buntings, Warbling Vireos, and a couple of empids. I did not spend a lot of time there, but it seems to be a bit early for warbler migration.

Stephen T Carlile (2 Aug 2008) - Went to Antelope Island again this morning. Met up with Steven and Cindy Sommerfeld and later with Lynn Christiansen. The big find of the day was by Lynn who found the Ruddy Turnstone reported last week. Thank you Lynn. This is a Utah bird for me. It was about .10 of a mile east of Mile marker 1, on the South side of the causeway and still in very "crisp" plumage. The bird moved back and forth along the causeway in the same general area while were there.

SALT LAKE COUNTY

Tim Avery (31 Aug 2008) - Jeff Bilsky, Paul Lombardi and I found a flycatcher along Wright Brothers Drive between Amelia Earhart and Harold Gatty that appearred to be a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. The bird was very YELLOW with a rather short and stout bill. It had basically no primary projection and a stub of a tail. My first thought was of a 'Western Flycatcher' but the bird lacked a tear drop and instead sported a thin pale eye-ring. I ran back to the car and got my camera while Jeff and Paul stayed on the bird. However, it soon flew and headed north to the area at the corner of Harold Gatty and Wright Brothers Drive where luckily I was able to get about a dozen shots before the bird flew off. ...We were able to relocate the bird about 100 yards to the west of Wright Brothers Drive on Harold Gatty before it flew back to Wright Brothers and headed back south in the general direction it was originally found. It seems very skittish as with all the migrants out here today, and not letting us get anywhere near it.

Geoff Hardies (24 Aug 2008) - I visited the International Center by the SL airport at 8:30 Sunday morning...  The only thing unusual sighting was a Great-tailed Grackle on 5600 West near Nichol's Foods. It looked similar the one in Sibley's, but the breast and throat were a lighter brown with some speckling. There was a Common Grackle near by which was a little smaller and didn't have as prominent a bill or as long a tail. They were gorging themselves on dead dragonflies in the ditch.

Jeff Bilsky (17 Aug 2008) - I took a stroll up to Willow Lake towards the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon this evening, birding along the way. Seems like a pretty good spot - there was a lot of bird activity. The highlight was a beautiful, male, White-winged Crossbill calling from the top of a conifer.

Tim Avery (15 Aug 2008) Yesterday I was conducting a survey in Northwest Salt Lake County on private property near the Great Salt Lake when I had an apparent adult Glossy Ibis flyover twice. I flushed the bird off a canal and it flew away to the north before looping back and passing. On the first pass I saw what looked like a blue facial skin but didn't have time to snap a shot. The bird circled and then flew by yet again, this time I was able to get a nice clear shot as it passed over and out into a marsh. The bird was with 3 White-faced Ibis, but there were at least 500 White-faced Ibis in the area.  Although the area is private, it may be worth checking the Lee's Creek Area along I-80 between 7200 West and Saltair.  Other birds of note were a Common Tern...

Cindy Sommerfeld (10 Aug 2008) - This morning Steve and I went to Big Cottonwood Canyon hoping to fill a couple gaps in our year list. Our target birds were Swainson's Thrush and Goshawk. Our first stop was Donut Falls trail head. We walked about a hundred yards back down the road from the parking lot and I heard White-winged Crossbills singing. We were able to locate them an had some great looks. For the next several hundred yards we came across even more. All totaled we saw at least ten.   Next stop was Silver Lake. Just west of the parking lot, again we found White-winged Crossbills. This time only about four. At the hummingbird feeders near by. Steve spotted a Calliope Humming bird along with Broad-tailed and Black-chinned.

UINTAH COUNTY

Diane Penttila - Ouray National Wildlife RefugeGeneral Waterbird Survey 8/19/08 The following birds were seen within the survey route (that I could get to): ...Wood duck 2... Great Egret 1... American bittern 1...

UTAH COUNTY 

Lu Giddings (29 Aug 2008) - At about 3:15 p.m. today at LeBaron point I spotted what I believe was a Parasitic Jaeger chasing a ring-billed gull. The two birds were flying over the water, reeds, and fragmides, roughly 30 yards from the road. The bird was roughly the same size or slightly larger than the gull it was pursuing. It was very darkly plumaged, and I first thought it was a juvenile gull but quickly realized that its shape, coloration, and behavior indicated otherwise. ...This pursuit last roughly 30-60 seconds, which gave me enough time to pull over, exit my truck, and pull out my binoculars. As the bird flew north, away from me, it was still sufficiently close to see a pair of feathers protruding about 1-1.5" from its tail, one on either side of the tail's center line. I immediately consulted Sibleys and National Geographic in an attempt to identify the bird, as parasitic jaegers are not a specie I see on a frequent basis. I have since returned home and also checked "Harrison's "Seabirds of the World" and there is a photo in his book similar to the bird I observed. But I'd welcome any informed suggestions. LeBaron Point is the Utah Lake sportsman's access found near Genola.

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

Rick Fridell (30 Aug 2008) - I managed to get out for while this evening and saw some noteworthy birds at a few Washington County locations. ...The willows along the inflow at Ash Creek Reservoir had a few good migrants highlighted by a male Indigo Bunting and a Northern Waterthrush. ...The best bird tonight was in the Hurricane Fields. I was driving along the main north/south road through the fields and noticed a small flycatcher in the apple tree hedge running perpendicular to the road. I stopped and was surprised to see an adult female Vermilion Flycatcher. While watching the flycatcher, I saw another bird fly into the tree. I noticed it was a small yellow oriole. I hopped out of the truck to get a better view, and eventually was able to confirm the bird was a female Orchard Oriole! Let me know if any would like any more information or any additional details. Regards,

Rick Fridell (20 Aug 2008) - I've had a couple of inquiries on the Ivin's Reservoir Neotropic Cormorant and finally had a chance to stop by and it was still present yesterday (8/19). It was sitting on the dead tree in the middle of the reservoir with a couple of young Double-crested Cormorants (offering a nice comparison).

James McKay (17 Aug 2008) - There was a Northern Waterthrush working the northern edge of the Springdale Pond this morning (8/17) at about 10:00 am.

Mark Stackhouse (7 Aug 2008) - As Rick Fridell reported, the Neotropic Cormorant was still on Ivins Reservoir as of Tuesday afternoon. When Sean and I saw it, at about 8 p.m., it was it the trees at the back of the reservoir and not immediately visible, as it moved in and out amongst the trees looking for a stable perch in high winds. It was keeping company with a Double- crested Cormorant, making for a great size/shape comparison. Also of note there was a Green Heron and a Great Egret, among the usual waterfowl/grebes/coots, etc.

Rick Fridell (1 Aug 2008) - Yesterday (7/31), I photographed an adult Neotropic Cormorant at Ivin's Reservoir, Washington County, Utah. It was still present this morning (8/1)on my way back through town. It appears to be the only cormorant currently at the reservoir. I also saw a few shorebirds, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, and Black-crowned Night Heron at Ivin's Reservoir.