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Pineview Reservoir in Weber County is hosting
great rafts of waterfowl and many Common Loons. I birded
there this morning from 8:30 to 12:30. I spent most of my time along
the Narrows area sandwiched between UT 39 and 158 and just east of the
dam. I settled down for an hour or so to study a large mixed
raft where the Narrows opens up to the reservoir. This turnout
overlooks the water between mile markers 15 and 16 on UT 39. The
turnouts from the dam east to this spot are good for scoping because the
birder is high over the water on the southern edge of the Narrows and the
morning sun is mostly to your back.
I saw Common and Red-breasted Mergansers,
Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, a Northern Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Mallards,
Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, a Common Goldeneye, Redheads and American
Wigeon. American Coot and Eared Grebes slept and bobbed with the
ducks like family. Five or six Western Grebes circled around the
outside of the raft and then cut through like trespassers in a back
yard. I also saw one lone white goose I assumed was a Snow and now
I'm kicking myself that I didn't agonize a little more over the ID. It was
oddly marked with red on its mantle and that feature absorbed my
attention. I couldn't tell if this was an injury or some type of
artificial marking, but I found it strange that the goose was not with others of
its own kind. The goose seemed to fluster the raft, which was a
blessing for me. When it approached the raft the resting ducks pulled
their heads out of the tucked position and swam, making them easier to
identify.
Both Ring-billed and Bonaparte's Gulls coursed over
the water, zipped back and forth, and dove vertically and erratically out of the
air to pluck bits off the surface. The Bonaparte's white leading edge
paired with the black trailing edge wing pattern and sharp wing shape is a
refreshing antidote to the routine of looking at Ring-billed Gulls all the
time.
I was surprised to see a lone female Wood Duck
swimming in the Narrows area. She stayed so close to the brown rocks along
the edge that I frequently lost her. When she climbed out of the
water onto a rock she blended invisibly and that was that. I also saw a
mysterious, small brown duck swimming alone near the spillway. My best
guess at the ID is either a juvenile Ring-necked Duck or juvenile Lesser
Scaup. It was all brown, had no facial marks and appeared to have a
rounded head from the high angle at which I scoped it. It had a white
eye-ring and a strong gray bill with a wide terminal black mark. The black
bill mark was so wide I can't even use the term, 'nail'. I've dubbed this
bird Mysterious smallbrownduckus because I couldn't figure out its real
name.
Common Loons are all over the place. They
haven't completely gained back their basic plumage, so the many loons I watched
showed a wide variety of blacks, whites and dusty grays. The heads of many
of them had a dark chocolate brown cast and some are still sporting
lots of white spots on their backs. I watched one loon preen.
It flipped over its entirely white belly and flopped its gun metal-gray foot in
the air. It also stretched its head high and then pointed its beak down at
a sharp angle, scissoring its breast. It used that
lethal-if-you're-a-fish-bill to fluff up the gray and still-spotted white
feathers on its back. One loon dove so frequently I could barely get the
scope on it before it was gone. I saw mere tail feathers followed by
rings on the water many times before I chuckled and acquiesced to this
loon's greater powers of concealment.
I saw and heard other non-swimming
species, including Belted Kingfisher, American Pipit, American Goldfinch,
House Finch, Common Raven, American Magpie, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier,
American Kestrel, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco and my favorite of the
day, a female Downy Woodpecker at the North Arm Natural Area working vocally and
industriously on the many Mullein spikes swimming amid a sea of brown
Teasel. No Bald Eagles at the reservoir yet, but I'm sure it won't be
long!
You can reach Pineview Reservoir in two ways.
Exit I-15 at 347 and turn east onto UT 39. Follow the road through Ogden
Canyon and you'll reach Pineview Dam at the top. Either remain on UT 39 or
turn left over the dam and pick up UT 158. You'll find many turnouts with
good views of the water along the Narrows with either choice of routes.
You can also reach Pineview by exiting I-15 at 326 near Lagoon in
Farmington. The sign says US 89 and South Ogden. Follow US 89 north
to I-84, take I-84 east to exit 92 (Mountain Green) and UT 167, and follow 167
as it becomes Trapper's Loop and runs east of Snow Basin Ski Resort. UT
167 ends at an intersection with UT 39; turn left toward the Narrows.
Kris
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