Field trip announcements

["Utah Birds" <utahbirds at excite dot com>]

Two free Watchable Wildlife field trips - to view some unique birds in northern Utah - will be offered by the Division of Wildlife Resources at the end of the month. Please see the pasted and attached DWR news releases for details.

Burrowing Owl Field Trip July 27

Salt Lake City -- Burrowing owls will be the focus of attention during
a Division of Wildlife Resources Watchable Wildlife field trip held west
of the Salt Lake City International Airport on July 27.

The field trip is free, but reservations are required. To reserve a
spot, or for more information, call Bob Walters, Watchable Wildlife
program coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, at (801)
538-4771.

Field trip participants will meet at 6 p.m. at the south entrance of
the Department of Natural Resources building, 1594 W. North Temple in
Salt Lake City. Participants will follow Walters in their own vehicles
to the viewing site, which is behind locked gates northwest of the
International Center in Salt Lake City.

Binoculars and spotting scopes will be provided, but people who have
their own are encouraged to bring them, along with any food or drink.

Those who attend the field trips will see a unique owl that's fun to
watch, Walters says. "Burrowing owls have a peculiar motion, and bob
up and down by bending at their knees," he said. "That makes them
pretty comical."

Walters says burrowing owls are active during the day, which is another
unique trait. They also inhabit grasslands and areas of sparse
vegetation, and nest in burrows made mostly by prairie dogs and other
burrowing animals.

Even though they're 10- to 11-inches tall, Walters says people often
miss seeing them because of their brown-colored bodies and their habitat
of perching close to the ground.

Burrowing owls have large families, with broods of up to six young
common. "Those attending the field trips should see the young and
their parents chasing insects on the ground and flying about, looking
for food," Walters says.

Because of declining populations, the burrowing owl is noted as a
Species of Special Concern on the Division of Wildlife Resources'
Sensitive Species List.

###


Osprey Watching Field Trip July 28

Summit County -- Large fish-eating birds called ospreys will be the
center of attention during a free Division of Wildlife Resources
Watchable Wildlife field trip July 28 in Summit County.

With their five-foot wing span, the ospreys will be easy to see, and
those attending the field trip might even see some turkey vultures and
great blue herons, says Bob Walters, Watchable Wildlife program
coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Participants will meet at the Rockport Reservoir dam from 6 to 7 p.m.
To reach Rockport, travel on I-80 to Wanship and then exit the freeway
and travel south on SR-32 to the dam observation site. Participants
will follow Walters in their own vehicles to viewing sites in and near
Coalville, Wanship and Rockport State Park.

People who would like to join the field trip at one of the viewing
sites can make arrangements by calling Walters at (801) 538-4771.

Walters will have some binoculars and spotting scopes available, but
people who have their own are encouraged to bring them.

During the trip, participants will see osprey pairs and their young.
Walters says each pair had two to three young, called eyases, this
spring.

While there's a chance those attending the trip will see the ospreys
fly, it's more likely they'll watch as they feed and exercise their
wings while on their nests. Sometimes three feet or taller in height,
the nests themselves are something to see. "The nests start looking
like chimneys," Waters says. "Sometimes I think they'd rather
build nests than fish. It's just incredible."

During the trip, Walters also will point out waters people can visit at
a later time, to witness the spectacular feet-first 'plunge dive' of
the osprey. Ospreys make these out-of-the-air dives to snatch fish
swimming under the surface of the water.

Walters says ospreys are highly specialized to capture fish. Their
outer toe is reversible and their talons are covered with sharp hooks on
the lower surface that enable them to grasp slippery fish in the water.

Walters calls the osprey's plunge dive, "one of the true spectacles
of nature."

###

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