RE: [birdnet] Farmington Bay

["Neville, Ann (KUCC)" <kanevill at kennecott dot com>]

Farmington Bay is indeed hopping with Eagles this weekend - I went down Pages Lane to the south entrance and there were 15 eagles in the trees on the north, before the Desert Nursery - great close ups!  More in the trees near the dump and over 30 in the middle pond just north of the dump - around a mile north from the parking lot.  Saw a few HUGE gulls I couldn't I.D. (I was 'running' not 'birding' - so no binos), lots of ducks (saw female ruddy), teal, geese, swans, coot, roughies, harriers, kestrel, marsh wrens, and a killdeer.  

A new feeding behavior for Northern Shovelers - they were feeding on the dead carp!  Rather grisly site, them poking into carp body cavities, but there they were - anyone else ever seen that?

All the best birding!
Ann Neville

- -----Original Message-----
From: Steve C Coleman [mailto:colehouse1@juno.com]
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 9:41 PM
To: birdnet@utahbirds.org
Subject: Farmington Bay


I had 2 great days at Farmington Bay. Yesterday (Saturday) I took my
Brother in law out we met some visitors here from back east for the
Olympics and took them on a very impressive tour of the interior of the
refuge. We counted about 200 Bald Eagles in all on the canals that flow
through the center of there refuge and out on the ice. we saw several
short eared owls, and rough legged hawks, one very nice red tailed hawk
and many harriers. On the east side there was a small flock of 25 tundra
swans sitting on the ice and saw a few flying overhead. The visitors were
amazed at the Number of Bald Eagles. We also saw the usual ducks grebes
coots etc. also many kestrels.

I went back out today (Sunday) with my son and saw pretty much the same
thing but in addition a flock of 15 to 20 common mergansers, these are a
new bird for my life list. Though I have seen hooded mergansers and red
breasted these were my first common mergansers. On the small pond east of
the main road just as it turns west there were 50 tundra swans playing in
the open water. we were within 20 yards of the birds and they very
active. In all we counted 75 swans today, and more than a hundred eagles
still very active.

All in all a very good weekend Happy Birding Steve
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