Sunday bird sightings

[Joel Beyer <twobirders at juno dot com>]

Today, Sunday March 10, Kathy and I visited Gunnison Bend Reservoir in
Delta.  Along with 2000-3000  Snow Geese (mostly Lesser, some Greater),
there were at least 100 Ross' Geese in the fields east of the Reservoir. 
Parked on the highway shoulder, we watched as the Snow and Ross' Geese
slowly worked their way across the large field until they were feeding
less than 10 yards away (too close to use our scope).  Fantastic! 
Observations in past years have noted a handful of Ross' Geese at best,
so we were astonished by the numbers today.  Also in the mix was one
adult "Blue" phase Snow Goose and one adult dark phase Ross' Goose, and
two Snow Geese with numbered/lettered bands on their necks.
There was a single Trumpeter Swan on the ponds adjacent to the highway
just east of Lynndyl, and five
Sandhill Cranes were seen flying overhead near Leamington.
Along the Provo Airport dike road, we saw two Sandhill Cranes flying
over, five female hooded mergansers in the canal, and several Greater
Scaup amongst the hundreds of ducks.

On a disturbing note, while watching the field full of geese, a pickup
truck drove down a private farm road on the opposite side of the field,
stopped, and a young couple and their dog got out.  For the next 15
minutes, the couple encouraged and directed their dog to chase after the
geese, eventually flushing the entire flock of 2000+ geese and forcing
them to fly to a more distant field.  Whereupon they called their dog,
got in the truck and drove back the way they came.  I guess that was the
interactive version of birding.

Have fun!
Joel Beyer