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Oct 13 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: Craig Fosdick and I birded several times around Cache County this weekend. On Saturday, we started at "Sue's Ponds", A.K.A. Logan River Wetlands, just west of the Logan Landfill. The ponds closest to the paved road were essentially empty, but the shorebird playa had decent numbers of gulls and shorebirds. We estimated about sixty Long-billed Dowitchers along with three PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. Next we went to the Benson Marina, where we got a tip from a DWR worker named Adam that he had seen a FERRUGINOUS HAWK along Highway 23 north of Highway 30 (Petersboro). We immediately set off in search of this bird, but couldn't relocate it. We did find our first ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK of the season while looking, though. On Sunday we birded Hyrum Reservoir, Hardware Ranch, and Porcupine Reservoir. Hyrum Reservoir had an adult BALD EAGLE and increasing numbers of COMMON LOONS: fifteen by my count, up from one the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. Hardware Ranch was pretty quiet but we did see one Cooper's Hawk and a Golden Eagle, along with lots of Mountain Bluebirds and Westen Meadowlarks. Porcupine Reservoir was almost barren, with only a single raft of waterfowl consisting of fifteen American Wigeon and one Lesser Scaup. On the drive down from the reservoir back to Avon we came across a large and active mixed songbird flock that had ten or so Black-capped Chickadees and dozens each of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
Oct 7 - Lori Jenkins reports: In Mendon; she has about 150+ sandhill cranes showing up every morning just behind her house at 5330 Red Fox Lane (220 S 5400W).
Oct 2 - Craig Fosdick reports: Stepped out of the office today (1100 am) and heard lots of Sandhill Cranes calling. Several flocks totaling at least 125 birds were kettling and flying around out over 3200 W north of Utah Hwy 30 in Cache Co., apparently moving south or preparing to.
Oct 1 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: I birded around northern Cache County with Stephanie Cobbold yesterday evening. We didn't see any unexpected birds, but did make some observations of habitats that might be helpful for other area birders. We found what looks to me to be a good fall warbler migrant trap at the Lewiston Cemetery, almost in Idaho. From Logan, go north on Hwy 91,
then west on Hwy 61. The cemetery will be on your right (north) in about half a mile. The cemetery has some nice mature trees and both flowing and standing water, with very few trees for the mile or more to the north. We saw about 20 Yellow-rumped Warblers here yesterday evening along with Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins, and a Northern Flicker, but my sense is that this would be a good place to find an unexpected warbler, and I intend to be back to keep looking. In other habitat notes, Newton Reservoir is very low and although it didn't have any birds on it at dusk last night, some parts of the shoreline might be worth checking for shorebirds right now.
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Sept 30 - Craig Fosdick reports: Stepped out of the office today (1100 am) and heard lots of Sandhill Cranes calling. Several flocks totaling at least 125 birds were kettling and flying around out over 3200 W north of Utah Hwy 30 in Cache Co., apparently moving south or preparing to.
Sept 28 - Craig Fosdick reports: Bryan Dixon e-mailed me with an update on the Wellsvilles Hawkwatch's count yesterday. By 6pm, when Bryan and Jean left, the counters had tallied over 300 birds (more than double their highest count so far this year), including 4 more Broad-winged Hawks (for a daily total of 7, and a season total of 17), as well as a merlin.
I also forgot to mention that there a total of ~20 visitors at one point...
Sept 27 - Craig Fosdick reports: Today, Ryan O' Donnell, Mike Sipos, and I climbed to the Wellsvilles Hawkwatch and were rewarded with three Broad-winged Hawks; these three birds bring the Wellsvilles season total for Broad-winged Hawk to 13. A single first-year Bald Eagle was only the second of the season for the Wellsville Hawkwatch.
Ryan pointed out that this is the only time this year that he and I have gone birding (and we have spent the majority of our free time birding) and found the specific uncommon/rare bird that we made the trip for! We have almost always found something else new for our year lists, but never the exact bird we were looking for.
Approximately 200 raptors were seen today; this was the Wellsvilles best day of the season and the weather and the birds were great. And the Hawkwatch crew of Josh and Ethan (hope I got their names right!) were great fun to bird with, and very accomodating in pointing out birds. The trip is well worth the steep (and I mean steep!) climb. I highly recommend it!
Location: Wellsvilles Hawkwatch
Observation date: 9/27/08
Number of species: 14
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier X
Sharp-shinned Hawk X
Cooper's Hawk X
Broad-winged Hawk 3
Swainson's Hawk X
Red-tailed Hawk X
Golden Eagle X
American Kestrel X
White-throated Swift 2
Northern Flicker X
Clark's Nutcracker X
Common Raven 25
Sept 26 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: Birded a bit up Logan Canyon with Stephanie Cobbold today. We found my
first DUSKY GROUSE of the year at the USU Forestry Field Station, then
went up to Tony Grove. On the trail from Tony Grove to Naomi Peak, we
saw one male AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, and on the way down, we saw
one GRAY-HEADED JUNCO among the Pink-sided Juncos, and one MERLIN.
Sept 25 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: I birded Hyrum Reservoir and Sue's Ponds (A.K.A. Logan Mitigation
Wetlands, Logan River Wetlands. Near the Landfill.) with Bob Atwood
this evening. The highlight was our first COMMON LOON of the season
near the dam at Hyrum Reservoir. Two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were still at
the SE end of the Reservoir, but we did not see the Black-bellied
Plovers which were there a couple of days ago. Sue's Ponds had nothing
new for the year - a smattering of gulls and shorebirds (mostly Killdeer with a good number of Wilson's Snipe).
Sept 22 - Ryan O' Donnell repoprts: Today I birded at Hyrum Reservoir and Sherwood Hills Resort, both in
Cache County. I started at Hyrum in search of Sabine's Gulls. I did
find lots of gulls, including one early juvenile HERRING GULL and
hundreds of FRANKLIN'S GULLS, but no Sabine's. However, I did find what
appears to be the best shorebird habitat around the county at the
moment, at the east end of the reservoir where the Little Bear River
flows in and forms mudflats. There, I found several species of
shorebirds, including two PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and three BLACK-BELLIED
PLOVERS, both firsts of the year for me. After Hyrum, I headed up Sardine Canyon to Sherwood Hills Resort in
search of Cassin's Vireos, thanks to advice from Kris Purdy. The first
fifteen minutes I was there I didn't see or hear a single bird, but just
as I was about to turn back to the car, I heard some chickadees in the
distance. I chased down the chickadees and found an active mixed flock
which included at least two CASSIN'S VIREOS. This was at the end of the
road near the golf course pro shop.
Location: Hyrum Dam
Observation date: 9/22/08
Number of species: 16
Eared Grebe 2
Turkey Vulture 3
Black-bellied Plover 3
Killdeer 44
American Avocet 8
Western Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 2
Pectoral Sandpiper 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 2
Franklin's Gull 400
Ring-billed Gull 200
California Gull 40
Herring Gull 1
Caspian Tern 1
Black-billed Magpie 3
American Crow 1
Location: Sherwood Hills Resort
Observation date: 9/22/08
Number of species: 8
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Cassin's Vireo 2
Black-capped Chickadee 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 8
Western Tanager 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Sept 07 - Craig Fosdick reports: Birded Sherwood Hills this morning looking for migrants. Yellow-rumped Warblers were the most numerous migrant. I also had three Red-breasted Nuthatches; they seem to be popping up a lot in the past couple of weeks. I think I've found a couple everytime I've birded in the mountains or foothills. On the way home I also quickly checked both the Logan Mitigation Ponds (aka Sue's Ponds) and the Bear River Oxbow (the Pacific Corp access point) on 3800 West. Nothing new at either location.
Location: Sherwood Hills
Observation date: 9/7/08
Number of species: 18
Northern Flicker 1
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 10
Barn Swallow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 1
Cedar Waxwing 4
Nashville Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
MacGillivray's Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 1
Chipping Sparrow 20
Dark-eyed Junco 7
Pine Siskin 25
Location: Logan Mitigation Ponds
Observation date: 9/7/08
Notes: >2 peeps, 1 unidentified dowitcher spp., 100 gull spp., California/Ring-billed.
Number of species: 8
Mallard 10
Northern Shoveler 2
White-faced Ibis 45
American Avocet 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Western Sandpiper 3
Franklin's Gull 80
Ring-billed Gull 38
Location: Bear River Oxbow
Observation date: 9/7/08
Notes: 200 gulls too far to identify; either California or Ring-billed. Not Franklin's Gulls.
Number of species: 7
Canada Goose X
American White Pelican 10
Great Blue Heron 1
White-faced Ibis 500
Sandhill Crane 6
Killdeer 1
Barn Swallow 10
Sept 06 - Craig Fosdick reports: Ryan O' Donnell and I birded High Creek, Cache Co., today looking for Dusky Grouse. We did not find any (when do you ever find what you are looking for?) but we did find a nice variety of migrants along the trail, including two TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS and a GRAY FLYCATCHER.
Location: High Creek
Observation date: 9/6/08
Number of species: 28
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Golden Eagle 1
Mourning Dove 1
Red-naped Sapsucker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 4
Northern Flicker 1
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Gray Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 2
Steller's Jay 2
Clark's Nutcracker 3
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Mountain Chickadee 35
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Townsend's Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 3
Wilson's Warbler 4
Western Tanager 6
Chipping Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 4
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Aug 31 - Dan Zemecnik reports: Saturday there were six of us (good birder from Michigan met us there) on the Antelope Island Audubon trip. The birds seen are as follows:
western meadowlark
mourning dove
sandhill crane
virginia rail
western kingbird
red necked phalarope
wilson's phalarope
killdeer
swallows - barn, tree
western or semipalmated sandpiper
robin
eared grebe
sparrow sp.
flycatcher sp.
black bellied plover
raven
harrier
burrowing owl
bald eagle
black necked stilt
american avocet
long billed curlew
warblers - yellow, MacGillivray's, Wilson's
gulls - Franklin's, california, ring billed
. . .we stopped by the TNC preserve on the return where we saw the Virginia Rails (4-5) running through the typha
Aug 31 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: I birded around Cache County with Craig Faulhaber today. We started up Deep Canyon in the Wellsville range, just north of Mendon. Birding was very slow here with a total of eight species in about an hour and a half of hiking, but we did see one NASHVILLE WARBLER, a first for me.
We next went to the Logan Wetlands, a.k.a. Sue's Ponds, just west of the Logan Landfill. There were hundreds or maybe even thousands of Franklin's Gulls but nothing unexpected or new for the year. Shorebirds were sparse, with a few killdeer, a stilt, and a dowitcher that I assume was a long-billed, but I didn't really check. On the road to the south of the Logan Landfill, we saw and heard three BLUE GROSBEAKS, one adult male and two females/immatures. Blue Grosbeaks have been seen several times along this road this year, and the presence of multiple females/immatures may indicate that they successfully bred here.
We finished for the day at Rendezvous Park and the Logan River Golf Course trail, which was almost eerily quiet. We saw only four species here in about a half hour or so of walking before the storm hit, and we had to rush back to the car amid falling branches. One of those four species was a juvenile WOOD DUCK, though.
Aug 31 - Jason Pietrzak reports: Today I went up the Wellsvilles with my friend Seth. Nothing out of the ordinary... Thrushes, Tanagers, Chickadees, Siskins, Juncos, etc... below the ridge. The Mountain Ash are a beautiful shade of orange, and they were full of birds. I should note that in Mendon, before beginning my hike, there was a swirling mass of hawks at about 8 AM today. Perhaps 40+ although I didn't stop to check as I wanted to get hiking... Just below the ridge, there is a Cooper's Hawk (I was told it is very regularly there) diving and chasing other things around. On the ridge up to Hawk Mountain there were Golden Eagles, Swainsons Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks along with 1 Osprey flying over the top.
Aug 27 - Jason Pietrzak reports: Our feeder and patio area has been pretty slow this summer, but we've kept it stocked all the same. This morning, however, we had out first major influx of birds including new patio-birds which made me think the cold morning had something to do with it. Nothing too exciting, but well over a dozen House Finches, half a dozen Chickadees, a pair of Western Tanagers, a Goldfinch, a Mallard, and a pair of Wilson's Warblers (one of which landed not 2 feet from my chair). Anyway, this is the first time in a while that we've had more than 2-3 House Finches and a Chickadee, so it was an exciting morning for us!
Aug 23 - Craig Fosdick reports: This morning (before I visited the Logan Mitigation Ponds) I birded Rendezvous Park in Logan, Cache County. Rendezvous Park is located on US 89/91 just south of the Golf Course on the south end of Logan. Quite a few Warbling Vireos moving-my count of 10 is conservative.
Location: Rendezvous Park
Observation date: 8/23/08
Number of species: 18
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 5
Mourning Dove 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
Warbling Vireo 10
Black-capped Chickadee 15
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 6
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 1
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
Lazuli Bunting 1
Bullock's Oriole 2
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 4
This morning I birded the Logan Mitigation Ponds aka Sue's Ponds, on 1900 West, Logan, Cache County. No surprises, and a LOT of Franklin's Gulls.
Location: Logan Mitigation Ponds
Observation date: 8/23/08
Number of species: 15
American Wigeon 1
Mallard 15
Redhead 3
White-faced Ibis 7
American Coot 1
Killdeer 15
Black-necked Stilt 5
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Western Sandpiper 4
Wilson's Snipe 1
Franklin's Gull 1500
California Gull 30
Mourning Dove 1
Barn Swallow 1
American Goldfinch 2
Aug 22 - Craig Fosdick reports: Birded the 1st mile of Deep Canyon in the Wellsvilles, Cache County, this morning, 750-915 am. Fairly good parade of birds, including some migrants. Best find for me was three Nashville Warblers, a species I have had trouble finding in Cache Co.; I missed this species this spring and could not find it last fall either.
In addition to the checklist below, there were several unidentified warblers giving flight calls that did not sit still for me, along with at least 1 unidentified Empidonax, and a Cassin's/Plumbeus Vireo that I heard sing briefly, but could not locate.
Location: Deep Canyon
Observation date: 8/22/08
Number of species: 15
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 4
Brown Creeper 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 5
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 3
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
MacGillivray's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 1
Spotted Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Black-headed Grosbeak 5
Aug 20 - Craig Fosdick reports: No new species at the Logan Mitigation / Sue's Ponds on 1900 W in Logan.
Heard a Swainson's Thrush call several times this evening from thick cover along an irrigation canal at my apartment on The Island in Logan; good new yard bird.
Location: Logan Mitigation Ponds
Observation date: 8/20/08
Number of species: 17
Mallard 6
Green-winged Teal 5
Redhead 8
Ring-necked Pheasant 1
White-faced Ibis 7
American Coot 1
Killdeer 25
American Avocet 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Western Sandpiper 2
Baird's Sandpiper 4
Franklin's Gull 200
California Gull 150
Bank Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 30
American Goldfinch 2
Aug 19 - Craig Fosdick reports: Birded Rendezvous Park in Logan, Cache Co. this am; eBird checklist below. Migrants included a Townsend's Warbler, Swainson's Thrush giving a contact call, Western Tanager, Rufous Hummer, and likely some of the Warbling Vireos and Gray Catbirds. The catbirds were fattening on berries; 6 were in one bush. Also heard a very hard "dzzzt" call, much harder and sharper than Lazuli Bunting. I would guess Blue Grosbeak, but I did not have time to look; work beckoned just when things started to really get hopping.
No luck with migrants at Lundstrom Park (also in Logan) yesterday evening.
Location: Rendezvous Park
Observation date: 8/19/08
Number of species: 17
Mourning Dove 1
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 1
Warbling Vireo 6
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 10
Cedar Waxwing 6
Yellow Warbler 10
Townsend's Warbler 1
Western Tanager 1
Song Sparrow 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 2
Lazuli Bunting 3
American Goldfinch 5
Aug 16 - Craig Fosdick reports: This evening I did a quick check of the Logan Mitigation Ponds, aka Sue's Ponds, just west of the Logan Landfill on 1900 West. Nothing new, but nice numbers. Water levels in the shorebird playa, which is the largest and westernmost pond, have been lowered to expose large expanses of mudflats, and that's where most of the shorebirds were.
Black-necked Stilt-12
Willet-3 (shorebird playa)
Western Sandpiper-5 (shorebird playa)
Baird's Sandpiper-6+ (at least six on the first pond south of the access road, 2 more ?different? on the shorebird playa)
Semipalmated Sandpiper-2 (shorebird playa)
Least Sandpiper-3 (first pond south of the access road)
Wilson's Snipe-5 (first pond south of the access road)
Spotted Sandpiper-7+
Killdeer-40+ (majority on Shorebird playa)
Wilson's Phalarope-15+ (shorebird playa)
Redhead-10
Mallard-x
Teal spp.-30 presumably Cinammons, they all took off as I approached the shorebird playa.
Barn Swallow-x
Black-crowned Night-heron-1 Juvenile flying around pools several times squawking, trying to figure out what to do with itself.
American Coot-x
Yellow-headed Blackbird-30+
The action at my two hummingbird feeders on The Island in Logan has been heated, to put it mildly. I have at least 12 different hummingbirds visiting my feeders; that's the highest number of birds I have been able to count at or trying to land on the feeders at one time, in one field of view. The actual number is probably more like 20-30 birds given that for the last two days both feeders are half-empty within 4-6 hours of being topped off. And there is no sharing, just lots of standoffs, chases, and violence. Right now it is primarily a Rufous Hummingbird / Black-chinned Hummingbird show. I haven't seen a Broad-tailed in several days now, and although I do have at least one Calliope Hummingbird visiting, I see her very rarely. It's also worth noting that this year I have not had a single male Rufous at my feeder. Last year I had at least a couple visiting my feeders in early August. Anyhow, the action is definitely worth the effort of keeping the feeders filled.
Aug 9 - Jason Pietrzak reports: Ryan O'Donnell suggested I submit today's bird observations from our BAS fieldtrip around Logan. We started and ended at Sue's Ponds, with stops at the Polishing Ponds, Oxbow, Barrens, and points in between.
The following is what I believe to be the complete list of today's birds that I copy&pasted from ebird. The mixed Phalaropes were mainly at the Polishing Ponds. No big surprises today, but a decent number of species nevertheless...
X Canada Goose
X Mallard
X Cinnamon Teal
X Ruddy Duck
X California Quail
X Pied-billed Grebe
X Eared Grebe
X Western Grebe
X Clark's Grebe
X American White Pelican
X Great Blue Heron
X White-faced Ibis
X Turkey Vulture
X Northern Harrier
X Swainson's Hawk
X Red-tailed Hawk
X American Kestrel
X American Coot
X Sandhill Crane
X Killdeer
X Black-necked Stilt
X American Avocet
X Spotted Sandpiper
X Solitary Sandpiper
X Greater Yellowlegs
X Willet
X Lesser Yellowlegs
X Semipalmated Sandpiper
X Western Sandpiper
X Least Sandpiper
X Long-billed Dowitcher
X Wilson's Snipe
X Wilson's Phalarope
X Red-necked Phalarope
X Franklin's Gull
X Ring-billed Gull
X California Gull
X Western Kingbird
X Eastern Kingbird
X Black-billed Magpie
X Bank Swallow
X Cliff Swallow
X Barn Swallow
X Marsh Wren
X European Starling
X Song Sparrow
X Lazuli Bunting
X Red-winged Blackbird
X Western Meadowlark
X Yellow-headed Blackbird
X Brewer's Blackbird
X Brown-headed Cowbird
X House Finch
X American Goldfinch
X House Sparrow
Aug 6 - Jim Cane reports: Folks- My wife Linda and I hiked up to Steam Mill Lake, and amid the forest of big old aspen along the early steep ascent, we once again encountered the nesting colony of purple martins. Earlier in previous years, the males territorial warbling was a treat to hear. As I recollect, do they also nest around the gravel pit road on the way up to Tony Grove? Checking maps in my field guides, I was surprised to see that the mountains of northern Utah seem to be the species' only nesting area in the Rockies. Is that just the Bear River Range, or the Wasatch and High Uintas too? How special are our nesting colonies here? They are special to me, of course, as this is the only natural nesting colony that I have ever seen, but how special is it for the species or our regional populations?
Aug 6 - Craig Fosdick reports: Yesterday afternoon, I found 4 Baird's Sandpipers at the Logan Mitigation Ponds/Sue's Ponds, on 1900 West, just west of the Landfill in Logan, Cache County. All four birds appeared to be juveniles. When I first arrived, all four Baird's were on the first pond south of the access road. After 15 minutes, they left and went to the far south/southwest corner of the largest pool, which I believe is called the "Shorebird Playa". The Baird's (and other "peeps") were still visible when they were on the far side of the playa, but a scope with a zoom eyepiece is very helpful. You can walk around the pond, but you run the risk of flushing the birds that are present.
Other shorebirds present at the same location were:
Lesser Yellowlegs-3
Killdeer-20
Long-billed Dowitcher-2
Willet-6
Western Sandpiper-2
Least Sandpiper-1
American Avocet-32
Black-necked Stilt-3
Aug 4 - Ryan O' Donnell reports: I just got back from a trip and did a little birding around the valley
with Craig Fosdick and Jake Davidson to try to relocate some of the birds that were reported while I was gone. We went to the Logan Wetlands (also known as Sue's Ponds or the Mitigation Ponds, just west of the Logan Landfill) and the Polishing Ponds (in Benson). We saw neither Semipalmated Plovers nor Solitary Sandpipers, two species I was hoping for. We did happen upon a young BLACK TERN foraging at the Polishing Ponds. This species has apparently been numerous around the Great Salt Lake lately, but up in Cache County this species is considered "occassional (does not occur every year)" on the county checklist, and has proven hard to find so far this year. A photo is here: http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/BLTE.jpg
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