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On Saturday Alton Thygerson and I went to Bear
River Refuge with Mark Stackhouse in an attempt to see many of the plovers and
sandpipers (shorebirds) we had not seen this year, and also to see what was
happening with the migration, as previously reported. We were happily
rewarded with a view of many birds. It looked like a very large
gathering a phalaropes. But, fortunately, with a lot of searching, we were
rewarded with sightings of other birds. Both Alton and I were able to add a number of birds to our year's
list.
All three of us agreed that the bird(s) of the day
was a pair of Stilt Sandpipers, still in breeding
plumage. We saw them with a small group of Dowitchers on the east
side of the auto tour, just north of the first bridge (75 paces) , as you
again start north on the final lap of the auto tour route.
Lovely birds, and a life bird for both of us.
We did the auto tour in the morning, then took an
interlude to check out Willard Bay north of Harold Crane, then went back for
another try in the afternoon. We finished the day (at least I did) with a
review of the Antelope Island Causeway. A list of our sightings (not in
order of birds seen), from the "Plovers and Sandpipers" section of Field
Checklist of the Birds of Utah (1998), included the following
birds:
Snowy Plover (adult and young)
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Marbled Godwit
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope (AIC)
We saw a total of 20 species from this
category. In addition, at Bear River we saw several Common Tern and Black
Tern, and at AIC some Bonaparte's Gull that had already changed to winter
plumage.
This was a very long, but rewarding and enjoyable
day of birding. Thanks Mark for your expertise and
hospitality.
Alton and Glenn
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