Utah Bird Report for 3/16/99
Submitted by Mark Stackhouse (westwings@sisna.com) to the bird net

Birds mentioned

Snowy Egret Box Elder Co.
Snow Goose Utah Co.
Wood Duck Salt Lake Co.
Blue-winged Teal Utah Co.
EURASIAN WIGEON Box Elder Co.
Virginia Rail Box Elder Co.
American Avocet Box Elder Co.
Greater Yellowlegs Box Elder Co.
Baird's Sandpiper Box Elder Co.
Bonaparte's Gull Box Elder Co.
BLACK-TAILED GULL Box Elder Co.
Herring Gull Box Elder Co.
Thayer's Gull Box Elder Co.
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL Box Elder Co.
GLAUCOUS GULL Box Elder Co.
VARIED THRUSH Cache Co.
HARRIS' SPARROW Salt Lake Co.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Cache Co.
Black Rosy-Finch Cache Co.

Transcript

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

BOX ELDER COUNTY

An apparent BLACK-TAILED GULL was seen on Sunday, 03/14 at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR). The bird was in either 3rd-winter or adult plumage, and was observed for about 10 minutes at about 3:30 PM, circling over the "gull feeding place," about 1/3 mile north of the southeast corner of the auto-tour loop. It flew off to the north, and could not be relocated (M&PD,TR,MS). If accepted, this will be the first record of this species in Utah.

A male EURASIAN WIGEON was seen in a pond on the north side of the road to BRMBR, about 4 miles west of I-15 on Saturday, 03/13 (DG,KL).

Other gulls seen at the "gull feeding place" at BRMBR included about 5 1st- and 2nd-winter GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and 3 GLAUCOUS GULLS, 1 adult and 2 2nd-winter, along with numerous HERRING GULLS and THAYER'S GULLS on Sunday, 03/14 (M&PD,TR,MS). An adult Glaucous Gull and several Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen again at the same place on Tuesday, 03/16 (LW).

Several other interesting birds were seen at BRMBR this past weekend. They include a SNOWY EGRET, seen on Tuesday, 03/16 (LW), and AMERICAN AVOCETS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and BONAPARTE'S GULLS seen on Saturday, 03/13 and Sunday, 03/14 (m. obs.).

A VIRGINIA RAIL was seen feeding in the stream behind the campground host campsite at Willard Bay SP on Sunday, 03/14 (CR).

CACHE COUNTY The VARIED THRUSH, which has been seen in several yards at the west end of Sunset Drive in Logan, just north of the Logan Country Club, continues to be seen. The bird was seen on Friday, 03/12 (RDA), and on Sunday, 03/14 (M&PD,TR,MS,DW,LW).

Two BLACK ROSY-FINCHES were in a large flock of GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES at a feeder in Hyde Park on Saturday, 03/12 (RDA).

SALT LAKE COUNTY The immature HARRIS' SPARROW, which has been in the brush along the ponds and the canal across the road from the Federal Express building at the Salt Lake International Airport, was seen again on Saturday, 03/13 (DG) and on Tuesday, 03/16 (MS).

Two pairs of WOOD DUCKS were seen at the mouth of Emmigration Canyon on Thursday, 03/11 (HR).

UTAH COUNTY The season's first report of BLUE-WINGED TEAL comes from just northwest of Salem, where a pair was seen in the slough near the Salem Sewage Treatment Ponds on Sunday, 03/14 (DS).

SNOW GEESE were seen in the pond near the north end of 4000 West in Lakeshore on Sunday, 03/14 (DS).

This concludes the Utah Bird Report for Tuesday, March 16, 1999.

Observers: RDA=Robert(Bob) D. Atwood; M&PD=Matt & Pia DeVries; DG=Dana Green; KL=Kent Lewis; HR=Hana Ramsburger; CR=Cal Robbins; TR=Tuula Rose; DS=Dennis Shirley; MS=Mark Stackhouse; DW=David Wheeler; LW=Larene Wyss

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