Utah Bird Report for 4/11/00
Submitted by Mark Stackhouse (westwings@sisna.com) to the bird net

Birds mentioned

Common Loon Wasatch Co.
Horned Grebe Millard Co.
Great Egret Salt Lake Co.
Snow Goose Juab Co., Wasatch Co.
Ross's Goose Juab Co.
Tundra Swan Davis Co.
"Bewick's" Swan Box Elder Co.
Wood Duck Utah Co., Weber Co.
AMERICAN BLACK DUCK Utah Co.
Blue-winged Teal Utah Co.
Greater Scaup Davis Co.
Red-breasted Merganser Davis Co., Utah Co., Wasatch Co.
Osprey Wasatch Co.
American Coot (leucistic) Box Elder Co.
Sandhill Crane Wasatch Co.
Marbled Godwit Box Elder Co.
Least Sandpiper Box Elder Co.
dowitcher sp. Salt Lake Co.
Franklin's Gull Salt Lake Co.
Caspian Tern Davis Co., Salt Lake Co.
Hermit Thrush Salt Lake Co.
Sage Thrasher Utah Co.
SPRAGUE'S PIPIT Salt Lake Co.
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW Salt Lake Co.
Great-tailed Grackle Salt Lake Co.

Transcript

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

BOX ELDER COUNTY

A "BEWICK'S" SWAN with a neck collar was seen at BRMBR on Sunday, 04/09. Other spring arrivals noted at the refuge on that day included MARBLED GODWITS and LEAST SANDPIPERS (C&LW).

Another bird which startled a few birders at BRMBR was a nearly pure-white AMERICAN COOT, which was seen near the southeast corner of the auto-tour loop on Sunday, 04/02 (BP,CR). The only black observed on the bird was a bar on the wing.

DAVIS COUNTY The pond at the west end of Glover Lane, which is the northern tip of FBWMA, had a few interesting birds over the past week. Two CASPIAN TERNS were seen there on Saturday, 04/08 (YS), 3 pairs of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were seen on Monday, 04/03 (CG), and a pair of TUNDRA SWANS were seen on Friday, 03/31 (JM).

Also at FBWMA, 6 GREATER SCAUP were seen on the pond on the west side of the entrance road on Friday, 03/31 (JM).

JUAB COUNTY A mixed flock of about 30-40 SNOW and ROSS'S GEESE was seen at the north end of Mono Reservoir on Saturday, 04/01 (DS).

MILLARD COUNTY At Fool's Creek Reservoir, on April Fool's Day, Saturday, 04/01, a breeding plumaged HORNED GREBE was seen (DA,DS,others).

SALT LAKE COUNTY A possible SPRAGUE'S PIPIT was seen near the JRP on Friday, 04/07, and again on Monday, 04/10 (JH). To get to where the bird was seen, take 3300 South to 900 West, and go south to the end, then turn right (west), and park at the end of the road. Take the path which leads to the JRP, and look in the fields to the south, and along the fence on the north side of the trail. On both occasions, the bird was seen in the early morning about halfway along the fence. There have been several reports of Sprague's Pipit in Utah, but as yet no accepted records.

The WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, which has been seen along the JRP just north of the power sub-station at about 3100 South, was seen again on Sunday, 04/09 (DG).

Other birds seen near 3300 south along the JRP on Sunday, 04/09, included several FRANKLIN'S GULLS, a HERMIT THRUSH, and a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE. On the same day at nearby Decker Lake, 2 CASPIAN TERNS and 6 dowitchers (species undetermined) were seen. On Saturday, 04/08, a GREAT EGRET was seen flying over the JRP at about 3900 South (JH).

UTAH COUNTY An AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, which was first seen near the Provo River Parkway on Friday, 03/31 (MW), has been seen again several times over the past week, with the most recent report from Friday, 04/07 (BW). The bird has been seen only in the early morning at some small, marshy ponds along Boat Harbor Road, which parallels the Provo River on the north side, at about 1.2 miles east of the entrance to Utah Lake SP. There are many records of Black Duck in Utah, but this is only the third report in the past ten years.

At the oxbow pond along the Provo River Parkway, about 1/2 mile east of the entrance to Utah Lake SP, a pair of WOOD DUCKS was seen on Monday, 04/10 (DG,KS).

A RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and a SAGE THRASHER were seen at the Provo Airport on Wednesday, 04/05 (CP).

A BLUE-WINGED TEAL was seen at the north end of 4000 West in Lakeshore on Sunday, 04/02 (KL,JVM).

WASATCH COUNTY On Sunday, 04/02, 6 COMMON LOONS, 3 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, and 23 SNOW GEESE were seen at Deer Creek Reservoir, and 3 OSPREY and 8 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at the Midway Fish Hatchery (EC).

On Saturday, 04/01, 5 COMMON LOONS were seen near the marina at Jordanelle Reservoir, and 11 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at the end of Deer Creek Reservoir (HG,GG).

WEBER COUNTY A pair of WOOD DUCKS was seen at the Ogden Nature Center on Saturday, 04/01 (CR). They were seen on the creek near the bridge.

This concludes the Utah Bird Report for Tuesday, April 11, 2000.

Note:
Two graduate students, Sarah Hume and Douglas Hume, are conducting a survey of birders, who use electronic rare bird alerts, to study how electronic rare bird alerts have impacted the behavioral, identity, actions, emotions, and other aspects of birders. This study will also try to determine how these changes in behavior effect local economies. This electronic survey is strictly confidential. The website of the survey is: http://members.aol.com/lithicat/survey.htm If you have any questions or concerns you can contact Sarah and Douglas at d.hume@uconn.edu.

Observers: DA=David Allan, EC=Edward Conrad, JH=Jack Holley, HG=Hugh Gillilan, DG=Dana Green, GG=Gary Grubb, CG=Carol Gwynn, KL=Kent Lewis, JM=Janet Maxfield, CP=Cheryl Peterson, BP=Bill Pollack, CR=Cal Robbins, DS=Dennis Shirley, KS=Kay Stone, YS=Yvonne Stroup, JVM=Julie Van Moorhem, MW=Merrill Webb, C&LW=Cliff & Lisa Weisse, BW=Bonnie Williams

Abbreviations used:
AIC = Antelope Island Causeway
BRMBR = Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
CBC = Christmas Bird Count
FBWMA = Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area
JRP = Jordan River Parkway
NM = National Monument
NWR = National Wildlife Refuge
SR = State Route
SP = State Park
WMA = Waterfowl Management Area

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.