Shorebirds, cont'd

[Mark Stackhouse <westwings at sisna dot com>]

The shorebird migration is really hot at Bear River MBR. It took us over 5 hours to bird the
auto-tour loop today - the numbers of shorebirds were mind-blowing. Including a quick trip to
the back side of Willard Bay (which was also filled with shorebirds), we saw 20 species of
shorebirds, and a total of 98 species for the day (we were cut short of 100 by a flat-tire late
in the day). Here's a partial list:

American White Pelican - BRMBR, Willard Bay; 1000-2000
White-faced Ibis - BRMBR, Willard, fields; 8000+
Snowy Plover - Willard; 3 adults, 7 chicks/juveniles
Semipalmated Plover - BRMBR; 2
Killdeer - BRMBR, Willard; 150+
Black-necked Stilt - BRMBR, Willard; 30,000+
American Avocet - BRMBR, Willard; 1000+
Greater Yellowlegs - BRMBR, Willard; 100
Lesser Yellowlegs - BRMBR, Willard; 300
Solitary Sandpiper - BRMBR; 7
Willet - BRMBR, Willard; 25
Spotted Sandpiper - BRMBR, Willard; 50
Long-billed Curlew - BRMBR; 3 (1 ad., 2 juv.)
Marbled Godwit - BRMBR, 300; Willard, 4000+
Semipalmated Sandpiper - BRMBR; in mixed "peep" flocks, 15,000+ total (5%)
Western Sandpiper - BRMBR; in mixed "peep" flocks, 15,000+ total (20%)
Least Sandpiper - BRMBR; in mixed "peep" flocks, 15,000+ total (30%)
Baird's Sandpiper - BRMBR; in mixed "peep" flocks, 15,000+ total (45%)
Pectoral Sandpiper - BRMBR; 5-6
Long-billed Dowitcher - BRMBR, Willard; 100
Wilson's Phalarope - BRMBR, Willard; 300
Red-necked Phalarope - BRMBR; 25
Franklin's Gull - BRMBR, Willard; 25,000+
Common Tern - BRMBR; 2
Black Tern - Willard; 150

Especially exciting (but a bit frustrating for those of us who had worked a good ways through
the flocks) was when an immature Golden Eagle flew over the mudflats at the east end of the
auto-tour, kicking up all the birds, included all of the peeps (wow!), and completely
re-shuffled the deck.

Adding in the Whimbrel (Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve), and Sanderlings (Antelope Island
Causeway) which we saw yesterday; we've seen 22 species of shorebirds in two days of birding
around the Great Salt Lake. Not too bad for a "desert" state . . .

Good birding!

Mark

Mark Stackhouse
Westwings, Inc.
1432 Downington Ave.
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
(801) 487-9453
westwings@sisna.com

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