Utah Bird Report for 2/5/99
Submitted by Mark Stackhouse (westwings@sisna.com) to the bird net

Birds mentioned

YELLOW-BILLED LOON Kane Co.
"BEWICK'S" SWAN Box Elder Co.
Ross' Goose Salt Lake Co.
Cinnamon Teal Utah Co.
Greater Scaup Box Elder Co., Utah Co.
Barrow's Goldeneye Box Elder Co.
Merlin Box Elder Co.
Gray Partridge Box Elder Co.
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL Box Elder Co.
GLAUCOUS GULL Box Elder Co.
hybrid "YS x RS" No. Flicker Salt Lake Co.
Northern Shrike Box Elder Co.
BLUE JAY Cache Co.
Hermit Thrush Utah Co.
Bohemian Waxwing Utah Co., Weber Co.
WESTERN TANAGER Salt Lake Co.
American Tree Sparrow Box Elder Co., Utah Co., Weber Co.
FIELD SPARROW Utah Co.
Lapand Longspur Box Elder Co.
Yellow-headed Blackbird Weber Co.
Black Rosy-Finch Davis Co.
Red Crossbill Weber Co.

Transcript

Utah Birdline
(801) 538-4730
Compiler: Mark Stackhouse
Transcriber: Mark Stackhouse

BOX ELDER COUNTY Two GLAUCOUS GULLS, and adult and a first-winter bird, were seen at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR) on Saturday, 01/30 (RJA,KJ,CN). A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was seen at the northwest corner of the auto-tour loop on Sunday, 01/31 (J&KB).

A "BEWICK'S" SWAN was seen at BRMBR on Thursday, 01/28, at the southwest corner of the auto tour loop (AC). The "Bewick's" Swan is the Eurasian race of the Tundra Swan, and has much more extensive yellow at the base of the bill than North American Tundra Swans.

About 4 miles east of the entrance to BRMBR, hundreds of AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR, and a "suckleyi" MERLIN were seen on Thursday, 01/28 (AC).

BARROW'S GOLDENEYE and several GREATER SCAUP were seen on Maheur's Pond in Brigham City on Sunday, 01/31 (DG,JVM).

Near the White's Valley exit from I-84 northwest of Tremonton, a NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen on Saturday, 01/30, and on the same day, about 30 GRAY PARTRIDGE were seen about 3/4 mile from the exit on the White's Valley Road (RJA,KJ,CN).

CACHE COUNTY Three BLUE JAYS were seen on Sunday, 01/31, at James Mack Park in Smithfield, in the thick brush along the stream (JM).

DAVIS COUNTY About 30 BLACK ROSY-FINCHES were seen near the Visitor's Center at Antelope Island State Park on Thursday, 01/28 (DH).

KANE COUNTY A YELLOW-BILLED LOON was found on Lake Powell on Monday, 02/01, not far from where a Yellow-billed Loon wintered from 1993-1996 (JS). The bird was sighted in the upper part of Warm Creek Bay. It was seen from a boat, but the bird may be observed from shore by driving to Crosby Canyon on the road from Big Water, and hiking to the east over a small divide along the north side of the flooded part of Crosby Canyon.

SALT LAKE COUNTY A female WESTERN TANAGER has continued to come to a suet feeder in Holladay, with sightings as recently as Saturday, 01/30 (JB).

The ROSS' GOOSE at the International Center west of the Salt Lake airport continues to be seen, with reports of the bird from Saturday, 01/30 (DJ) and Sunday, 01/31 (AS). The bird is in the pond to the south of the Hilton Hotel.

A hybrid "Yellow-shafted X Red-shafted" Flicker was seen in a yard north of Olympus Cove at the base of Grandeur Peak on Sunday, 01/31 (RA).

UTAH COUNTY The FIELD SPARROW which has been at the Lindon Boat Harbor since Saturday, 01/09, continues to be seen. It was reported most recently on Saturday, 01/30 (DA), and Sunday, 01/31 (RR). The bird is still in a mixed flock with juncos and AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, but may be expanding its area of activity, and is increasingly difficult to find, with many birders failing to locate the bird. On Saturday, it was seen in the afternoon about 150 yards west of the gate.

About 35 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGs were seen in the Provo Cemetery on Thursday, 01/28 (AH).

A male GREATER SCAUP was seen again on Salem Pond on Saturday, 01/30. Also on Salem Pond, a male CINNAMON TEAL was seen on Saturday, 01/30 (DS,MS,many obs.), and 3 male and 2 female Cinnamon Teal were seen on Tuesday, 02/02 (DS).

On Saturday, 01/30, two HERMIT THRUSHES were seen at Warm Springs WMA south of Utah Lake (MS,many obs.).

WEBER COUNTY RED CROSSBILLS were seen again in the Ogden Cemetery on Sunday, 01/31 (KM). Two BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were also seen in the cemetery on Sunday (J&KB). Ogden Cemetery can be reached by taking 20th East from Washington Blvd.

At about 7500 West and 12th Street west of Ogden, a flock of AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS and a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were seen on Sunday, 01/31 (DG,JVM).

ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will be holding it's annual Bald Eagle Day at seven locations statewide on Saturday, February 6. The locations are:
Salt Creek WMA - Box Elder Co.
Willard Bay SP - Box Elder Co.
Farmington Bay WMA - Davis Co.
Rush Lake and Ophir Canyon - Tooele Co.
Along Dinosaur Quarry Road in Jensen - Uinta Co.
Rush Lake Ranch - Iron Co.
Gordon Creek, between Helper and Price - Carbon Co.

For more information, call Bob Walters at (801) 538-4771.

This concludes the Utah Bird Report for Friday, February 5, 1999.

Observers: RA=Roy Adams; RJA=R.J. Adams; DA=David Allan; JB=Jim Bailey; J&KB=Joel & Kathy Beyer; AC=Alan Condie; DG=Dana Green; AH=Alona Huffaker; DH=Dick Hurren; DJ=David Jensen; KJ=Kevin Johnson; JM=Jim Messinger; KM=Keith Morlock; CN=Colby Neuman; RR=Ron Ryel; AS=Arlene Sant; DS=Dennis Shirley; JS=John Spence; MS=Mark Stackhouse; JVM=Julie VanMoorhem

Please report your sightings by calling the Utah Birdline at: (801) 538-4730 or by e-mail to westwings@sisna.com

You may e-mail questions and comments to westwings@sisna.com or you may call (801) 487-9453.

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