Black-capped Chickadee
Courtesy Hilary Shughart
One of the species that may be seen
Saturday February 22, 2025
Birding with Bridgerland Audubon at Trapper Park and the Logan River Icon Trail.

Trip report: A cold frosty morning greeted us at the Icon River Trail. Temperatures were in the teens, no wind and thick rime of hoarfrost coated all of the vegetation obscuring our views in some areas. There were around 18 or 20 participants most of them meeting us at the Trapper Park area. Not everyone stayed for the full 2 hours. Unfortunately, the city had not plowed the paved trail since the last snow and there was ice and hard crunchy snow in some spots making it more difficult to hear birds over the sound of people walking. It had melted off in some areas also, so it was walkable, but a little tricky footing.

We had a good mix again of experienced seasoned birders and some newer people, old and young. Kim Sullivan and Eric Bingham were in attendance. We decided after the fact that it might have been better to split up a group this large and go in two different directions. We will plan to do this in the future if we have a bigger group show up and other people that could act as leaders present.

We ended up seeing 19 different species. Linda Sargent kept an eBird list for us and posted it on-line. Highlights were good looks at a Belted Kingfisher in flight and perched, Green-winged Teal, Spotted Towhee and multiple Song Sparrows. We did find one mystery sparrow that was later determined by photos to be a rare Swamp Sparrow. This bird stuck around and was seen by several other people later that day.
Trip leader Dawn Holzer (dawnholzer80@gmail.com, 435-799-1991)

***** Future Events & Trip Reports *****

January 25 – First Dam and USU Water Lab
February 22 – Trapper Park and Logan River Icon Trail
March 22 – Wellsville Reservoir
April 12 – Sue’s Pond – Logan River Wetlands and Shorebird Playa
May 17 – Third Dam/Spring Hollow
June 21 – Bud Phelps Wildlife Management Area
July 19 – Tony Grove
August 23 – Amalga Barrens
September 27 – Benson Marina and Railroad Trail
October 25 – King Nature Park and Green Canyon
November 22 – Hyrum Reservoir and State Park
December 6 – Lundstrom Park Trail

***** Background, Trapper Park and the Logan River Icon Trail *****

eBird:
Birdlist for Logan River Icon Trail: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2107185/bird-list
Recent Checklists for Logan River Icon Trail: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2107185/recent-checklists
Media Images for Logan River Icon Trail: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?regionCode=L2107185

Trapper Park and Logan River Icon Trail, Places to Bird in Cache County, Utah Birds, http://www.utahbirds.org/counties/cache/FirstDam.htm

Birdlist for Trapper Park: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4629436/bird-list
Recent Checklists for Trapper Park: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4629436/recent-checklists
Media Images for Trapper Park: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?regionCode=L4629436

Signed waivers required for all participants. Complete form, print results and bring printed waiver to meeting point.

American Wigeon Mareca americana
Courtesy US FWS, Valerie Fellows, Photographer
One of the species that may be seen
Saturday March 22, 2025
Birding with Bridgerland Audubon at Wellsville Reservoir.

Trip Report
Fourteen people joined us at Wellsville Reservoir on Saturday morning. The weather was overcast with a temperature of around 40 degrees and a little wind, which dissipated as we got away from the north end of the lake. Several people had caravaned from the Hyrum Senior Center and had never been birding before. It was great to see them watching American Coots and learning that they are not ducks, but more closely related to cranes and rails. Wild Turkeys were one of the highlights seen walking around town on the way in. We also saw Ring-necked Ducks, Redheads and one of the first female Red-winged Blackbirds of the season. We were treated to songs of the Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos and a Great-tailed Grackle’s crazy electronic vocalizations. We also noted multiple Bullock’s Oriole nests from previous seasons that appeared to be made entirely out of fishing line. See Scott Erickson’s eBird checklist for all 21 species noted.

***** Future Events & Trip Reports *****

January 25 – First Dam and USU Water Lab
February 22 – Trapper Park and Logan River Icon Trail
March 22 – Wellsville Reservoir
April 12 – Sue’s Pond – Logan River Wetlands and Shorebird Playa
May 17 – Third Dam/Spring Hollow
June 21 – Bud Phelps Wildlife Management Area
July 19 – Tony Grove
August 23 – Amalga Barrens
September 27 – Benson Marina and Railroad Trail
October 25 – King Nature Park and Green Canyon
November 22 – Hyrum Reservoir and State Park
December 6 – Lundstrom Park Trail

***** Background, First Dam *****

eBird:
Birdlist for Wellsville Reservoir: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L805147/bird-list
Recent Checklists for Wellsville Reservoir: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L805147/recent-checklists
Media Images for Wellsville Reservoir: https://media.ebird.org/catalog?regionCode=L805147

Signed waivers required for all participants. Complete form, print results and bring printed waiver to meeting point.