Washington County update

["Rick Fridell" <rfridell at redrock dot net>]

Hello,
Following are a few recent noteworthy bird sightings from around Washington
County:

Yesterday (4/26) Kevin Wheeler and I put in a full day of birding.  Together
we tallied 140 species, starting at Oak Grove and camping at Lytle Ranch.
Highlights included:

Green Heron (three at Berry Springs Marsh)
Blue-winged Teal (male at Gunlock Reservoir, with a small flock of Cinnamon
and Green-wings)
Solitary Sandpiper (two at Seegmiller Marsh)
Vaux's Swift (yes another one!, this one flying over Berry Springs Marsh)
Cassin's Kingbird (one along Santa Clara River below Gunlock Res, and 2 at
Lytle Ranch)

Today (4/27) on the way home, we stopped by Ivins Reservoir and saw another
Solitary Sandpiper, and a Semipalmated Plover.

This afternoon at about 7:00 pm, I stopped by Quail Creek Reservoir and saw
a flock of ~60 Red-necked Phalaropes (They were in a tight group in the
middle of the reservoir).  Also at Quail dodging the boat traffic were huge
flocks of grebes (Eared, Western, and Clark's), 12 Common Loons (in breeding
plumage), 9 Caspian Terns, and ~80 American Avocets.

Take care and enjoy the spring!

Rick Fridell
Hurricane, UT