Wasatch Audubon: Trip Reports Sites 26-30

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GREAT SALT LAKE BIRDING TRAILS
TRIP REPORTS FOR SITES 26-30

Below are trip reports/photos of: [26]  North Arm Wildlife Viewing Area
[29]  Morgan-Henefer Loop
[29a]  Lost Creek
[29b]  East Canyon Grouse Lek


North Arm Entrance	Keith Evans

[26] NORTH ARM WILDLIFE VIEWING AREA
by Karen Anne Stock (7/15/98)

Our trip to North Arm on July 15 was highly successful despite weather forecasts of three-digit temperatures. As the group, consisting of Barbara Hudson, Sandy Mills, Keith Evans, Larry Vanderplas, Karen Stock, Ann and Graydon Lindskild, Gay and Everett Doman and Gracia Roemer, along with our organizer, Mort Somer, met at Rainbow Gardens to carpool to the area, we were greeted by the brisk morning canyon breeze which was almost crisp, as some jacketless members observed.

The waitress at the Oaks did a double take at seeing such a large early morning breakfast group, but we were rewarded while waiting by watching Black-chinned Hummingbirds breakfasting at the numerous feeders of the scenic outdoor section. We had one highlight of our trip before we even got a start by seeing a Golden Eagle circling around the peaks across the road. It soon alighted and posed on a rocky perch against the skyline for a delightful scope view from the onlookers.

At North Arm we entered a cool corridor consisting of orchard and swamp grass taller than our heads framed by a shady canopy of cottonwoods and willows--dotted on the ground with bright colors of wild hollyhock, monkey flower, buttercup, wild mustard, dock (Indian tobacco), beggar-tick and burdock, while hearing melodic bird songs accented by sights of dragonflies.

A comic interlude was an indescribable (you'd have to see it) real-live demo given by Keith Evans of how a moose removes willow leaves from a branch with his (its) teeth.

Other birds observed were: Turkey Vulture, Song Sparrow, warbler(?), Black-billed Magpie, Red-winged Blackbird, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Red-tailed Hawk, Spotted Towhee, Black-capped Chickadee, Lazuli Bunting, American Robin, and European Starling. It was a pleasant, therapeutic trip for all involved.

(You will find a detailed description of the North Arm Wildlife Viewing Area HERE )

East Canyon Reservoir

[29] EAGLE COUNT TRIP
by Les Talbot, Field Trip Chair (2/26/05)

The day was a big contrast to my first Bald Eagle Trip. The first one was snowy and bitter cold. For lunch I had purchased a self-heating dinner. When I heated it I was sitting in John Bellmon’s SUV on the south frontage road between Henefer & Echo. It was bitter cold outside and the heat from the dinner steamed up all of John’s windows. It was a cool 30F at 7:30 a.m. By the time we got to the Spring Chicken Inn, it was warm enough to shed my jacket. It was a real beautiful, warm day. This is probably why we didn’t see the numbers of birds that we normally see. Because of the warmth they were not concentrated in any one given area.

The highlight of the trip was seeing the eight Long-eared Owl that were roosting in a shrub on the south side of East Canyon Reservoir. They were flushed from the front side of the shrub. They flew around to the back and nestled in so they were difficult to see.

Even though the numbers were not high we did see 25 species, which were: Canada Geese (18), Common Goldeneye (15), Common Merganser (7), Bald Eagle (26 Adults & 11 Immature), Northern Harrier (?), Red-tailed Hawk (10), Golden Eagle ( 7 Adult & 3 Immature), American Kestrel (8), Prairie Falcon (?), Wild Turkey (3), Ring-billed Gull (?), Rock Pigeon (158), Long-eared Owl (8), Northern Flicker (4), Steller’s Jay (2), Black-billed Magpie (60 , about 30 were in one group), American Crow (13), Common Raven (2), Black-capped Chickadee (4), American Robin (23), European Starling (164), Song Sparrow (?), Red-winged Blackbird (70), Western Meadowlark (3), and House Finch (39). We also saw 17 Mule Deer and 2 Yellow-bellied Marmots. One Marmot was really brave. It was sitting on a rock and several Eagle were soaring overhead.

Participants on the trip were: Keith Evans, Jack Rensel, Joyce Overdiek, John Bellmon, Les Talbot, Claudia Cook, Lorna & Bill Kennedy, Carolyn & Mort Somer, Carma Dorney, Paula & Shirley Lee, Barbara & Jay Hudson, Linda & Arnold Smith, and Sharen Perry.

I would like to thank Keith for leading the trip and Sharen for keeping the bird count. I had to leave early due to the fact that I had tickets for the Bar J Wranglers, which was another highlight of my day. Birding and the Bar J Wranglers make for an excellent day. Happy birding.

[29] EAGLE COUNT TRIP
by Les Talbot, Field Trip Chair (2/21/04)

All the way to Henefer we thought we were going to see more Mule Deer than Bald Eagle. Most of the Eagle were on the Henefer side. We did see a lot of Turkey as we drove up East Canyon. The reservoir was frozen over so we didn't go down the east side.

While driving about 30 mph Arnold spotted a Great Horned Owl off to the side of the road. It was well hidden in shrubbery. It was still hard to see when we got a scope on it. It blended in with all the branches and all we could see was its outline and ear tufts.

My count of eagles is: Bald Eagle - 37 adults and 28 immature for a total of 65. Golden Eagle - 5 adults and 2 immature.

Participants were: Martha Ann Albretsen, Pat Bean, Joyce Overdiek, Sharen Perry, Shirley Lee, Jack Rensel, Jim Mateski, Keith & Betty Evans, Bill & Larna Kennedy, Dorothy Jones, Valeen Glasmann, Lee & Paula Shirley, Jim & Joyce Peters and their two children and Tyler and I.

Species seen were: Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Wild Turkey, California Quail, Rock Pigeon, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Scrub-jay, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, American Robin, European Starling, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and House Sparrow.

[29] MORGAN-HENEFER LOOP
by Keith Evans (2/20/99)

Wow what a trip! First, it's great to have a clear mild day in February, then it's an added bonus to have a field trip scheduled.

A short distance out of Peterson we enjoyed several active Red-tailed Hawks and continued to observe more red-tails than we usually do. These hawks came in all color phases (morphs), so provided a good visual aid for birders interested in the challenges of hawk identification. At the Spring Chicken Inn, we observed a flock of Bohemian Waxwings -- the food was good, too.


Mule Deer	Carolyn Somer

All in all, 27 observers enjoyed seeing all or part of the 29 species trip list. We counted 50 Bald Eagles -- 30 adults and 20 young -- and 17 Golden Eagles. Observers, with the help of John Bellmon's chart, were able to study all the differences between Bald and Golden Eagles and between immature and adult birds.

At one eagle stop, we had the added highlight of observing a Great Blue Heron and a Stellar's Jay along with the more common winter birds of the area. Deer and elk also provided viewing highlights along the route. By late afternoon only the hardcore birders remained on the trip but they were rewarded with the sighting of 23 Wild Turkeys.

For more information, visit with Keith, Lee, Paula, Jack, Linda, Shirley (please don't confuse Lee Shirley with Shirley Lee), Jean, Janice, Carol, Judith, Lester, Debra, Cory, Joyce, Carolyn, Mort, Dan, Will, Faye, Dorothy, Lorna, Brad, Lisa, John, Jim, Christopher, or Claudia.

(You will find a detailed description of the Morgan-Henefer Loop HERE )


Birding Lost Creek Reservoir	Carolyn Somer

[29a] LOST CREEK
by John Bellmon (2/21/98)

Our Chapters annual trip up Lost Creek and beyond to spot Bald Eagles was a success. February 21, 1998 was a very balmy day and breakfast at the Spring Chicken Inn got us fortified to search for eagles. Twenty-one Auduboners formed a caravan and headed up the canyon. A total of 32 Bald Eagles were spotted (29 adult, 3 immature). We also saw 9 Golden Eagles (8 adult, 1 imm.). Total number of bird species identified on the trip was 16.

(You will find a detailed description of Lost Creek HERE )

[29b] EAST CANYON GROUSE LEK
by Les Talbot (4/19/03)

This has to be the best trip that I have ever been on.

Ten of us met in the wee hours of a cool, dark morning to watch Sage Grouse exhibit their annual mating ritual at the lek south of Henefer. There were approximately 16 male grouse and about four females on the lek. They were already strutting when we arrived.

It soon became an ethereal scene as a fog bank rolled down the mountain and encompassed the grouse. It was unreal to see their white breasts pulsating in the fog. We could see the rest of their bodies but their white breasts really stood out.

After about an hour the strutting began to wind down so we headed for East Canyon Reservoir. The true symbol of the wilderness dominated the scene at the reservoir. About 70 Common Loon were on the water calling back and forth to each other. It must have been the peak of their migration. We actually saw six flying across the water. Jack said he had only seen one fly before in his life. Other than the haunting sound of the loon the area was quiet and peaceful. I was reminded of when I heard my first loon. I was camping with a group of scouts on Lake Of The Woods just south of Yellowstone. It was dark and everyone had gone to bed. The sound of the call reminded me that I was in the wild, and it helped erase the memory of the mischievous boys that I had to put up with as we drove to camp.

While enjoying breakfast at the Spring Chicken Inn, Arnold came in and told us there was a lot of ducks on the Morgan water treatment ponds, so we decided to go there instead of birding our way to Stoddard. It was a wise decision. We saw several species of duck, a Greater Yellowlegs, a muskrat, and listened to a cacophony of Chorus Frogs. Keith spotted a frog with his binoculars and put Jack's scope on it. It isn't very often that you get to see them. Normally they feel your vibrations as you approach, get quiet and hunker down in the vegetation.

Participants were: Martha Ann Albretsen, Randy Lemon, Jack Rensel, Keith Evans, Sharen Perry, Kris Purdy, Bob Lavery, Carolyn Oborn, Terry Freeman, and myself. Gracia Romer and a friend were already at the lek when we arrived. They stayed at the lek until the birds were finished and then met us at the Spring Chicken Inn.

Species seen (41) were: Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Sage Grouse, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Rock Dove, Northern Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Rock Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, and American Goldfinch.

Non-bird species: Mule Deer, Muskrat and Chorus Frog.

[29b] EAST CANYON GROUSE LEK
by Les Talbot (4/20/02)

All the way to Henefer I kept wondering whatever possessed me to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drive in a blizzard. When I left home, the temperature was in the mid 50's and it was trying to sprinkle.

Six of us met at DWR and headed up the canyon. By the time we got to the mouth of the canyon it was snowing. Most of the time I couldn't see which lane I was in so I just followed the semi in front of me and hoped for the best.


Sage Grouse	Mort Somer

About one mile north of the lek we spotted a Long-eared Owl. It was a first for me. It was snowing pretty heavily at the lek. There were about 25 male grouse east of the highway strutting their heart out. After about five minutes a snowplow came along and turned around. He did a good job of flushing the grouse off the lek. So we headed for East Canyon Reservoir. At the reservoir we saw between 15-20 Common Loon. There were two Clark's Grebe on the water. We also saw two Osprey sitting on power poles.

We slowly birded our way to the Spring Chicken Inn. On the way we saw several Red-tailed Hawk, a lot of juncos and sparrows. It was hard to ID the sparrows since we flushed them down the canyon. We weren't able to get them to stop long enough or close enough to get a positive ID on most of them. We did identify one as a Song Sparrow. We did see a starling that had an abnormal beak. The beak was twice as long as normal.

After an enjoyable breakfast we birded our way to Stoddard. When we crossed East Canyon Creek, a Belted Kingfisher was sitting on a wire above the bridge.

Despite the adverse weather we were able to see 29 species, which were: Sage Grouse, White-crowned sparrow, Common Loon, Clark's Grebe, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, American Kestrel (they were all over the place), Sandhill Crane, Brewer's Blackbird, Northern Flicker, European Starling, Red-winged Blackbird, Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Long-eared Owl, Western Meadowlark, Townsend's Solitaire, House Finch, Turkey Vulture, Belted Kingfisher, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Western Scrub-Jay, Franklin's Gull, and possibly a Swainson's Hawk. The hawk was on the north side of the freeway and we were on the old road in Milton. Through the scope we could tell that the wings extended beyond the tail.

Participants were: Jay and Barbara Hudson, Kristin Purdy, Gracia Roemer, Adam Kozlowski, and Les Talbot. Adam is the new Nongame Biologist for the northern DWR region. He is finishing up a graduate degree at USU. Adam is very knowledgeable and will be a big asset to DWR and our chapter.

HOME	GSL BIRDING MAP & KEY	AREA DESCRIPTIONS:			1-10	11-20	21-25	26-30	31-40	41-49
HOME	GSL BIRDING MAP & KEY	TRIP REPORTS:			1-10	11-20	21-25	26-30	31-40	41++