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| HOME |
GSL BIRDING MAP & KEY |
AREA
DESCRIPTIONS: |
1-10 | 11-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-40 | 41-49 | ||
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TRIP
REPORTS: |
1-10 | 11-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-40 | 41++ | ||||
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GREAT SALT LAKE
BIRDING TRAILS
TRIP REPORTS FOR SITES 31 - 40 |
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[35] Mirror Lake |
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| Below the Dam -- Jordanelle Reservoir |
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[33] Jordanelle Trip
by Les Talbot (3/19/05) |
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When I recorded the weather at 7:00am the temperature was 41E, the wind was 9
mph out of the SSE giving a wind chill of 39E. The sky was mostly overcast and
it didn’t look promising for seeing a lot of birds.
By the time we got to the dam it was a Pooh-Bear day, cold and blustery. We can always tell when Carolyn & Mort arrive because Carolyn is always wearing her white hat. Alas, that is no longer to be. The wind blew her hat off while we were standing on a bridge watching Dippers. The last time we saw it, it was floating down the Provo River. Fortunately Carolyn found a blue, wide-brimmed hat at the Rock Cliff Nature Center, so now we need to look for it so we will know when they arrive. At the dam, we saw two Bushtits, lifers for me, and several Black-capped Chickadees. From the dam we drove down to the lower wetlands. By then the wind had stopped and the sun was shining. Rock Cliff proved to be productive. During lunch Jack got some good photos of a Yellow-bellied Marmot sunning itself on a rock. The Nature Center had feeders on the porch and Black-capped Chickadees were coming in for sunflower seeds. Three chipmunks were feeding on the seeds that were spilt by the chickadees. Sharen said the chipmunks were participating in Spring activities. We checked out Deer Creek to see if any Loon had arrived yet. There were not any Loon, but we did see Common Merganser and gulls. Altogether we saw 35 bird species, 10 mule deer, marmot, chipmunks, and four trout in the Provo River. We saw the following birds: Eared Grebe (2), Great-blue Heron (14), Turkey Vulture (2), Canada Goose (60), Mallard (109), American Wigeon (15), Common Goldeneye (15), Common Merganser (9), Duck species ? (30), adult Bald Eagle (3). Red-Tailed Hawk (2), Sandhill Crane (12), Ring-billed Gull (234), California Gull (6), Rock Pigeon (77), Northern Flicker (3), Western Scrub-jay (6), Black-billed Magpie (53, American Crow (5), Common Raven (2), Black-capped Chickadee (16), Bushtit (2), American Dipper (2), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1), Mountain Bluebird (2), American Robin (12), European Starling (68), Fox Sparrow (1), Song Sparrow (9), Red-winged Blackbird (68), House Finch (2), and House Sparrow (4). Trip participants were: Jack Rensel, Keith Evans, Gayle Allen, Carolyn and Charles Oborn, Shirley Lee, Sharen Perry, Joyce Overdiek, Joanne Cole, Carolyn & Mort Somer, Dwight and Ee Cheng Waller, and Les Talbot.
I’d like to thank Sharen for keeping track of the species and the numbers of
each species. Until next time, happy birding.
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[33] HEBER VALLEY
by Les Talbot (5/25/03) |
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Twelve of us met at DWR to visit the field north of Heber City, the riparian
area below Jordanelle Dam, and Rock Cliff Nature Center. Michelle Soper, from
Midway, met us at the Other End Bar which was our starting point.
Keith kept seeing Bobolink in his scope but by the time any of the rest of us got to the scope the Bobolink had flown. Just prior to going to Jordanelle everyone did get to see several Bobolink and three Western Tanager. There were several Common Snipe in the fields. We could hear a lot of Chorus Frogs in the ditches along the road. Keith got one in his scope. I had my bird Identflyer with me. Tyler put the frog card in it and the Chorus Frogs would answer to the call on the card. Below Jordanelle we stopped at the Provo River Reclamation area and saw several species there. Then we went to Rock Cliff. There were a few birds out but not a lot. The entrance fee at Rock Cliff is now $9.00 for a day-use pass. We did see a Yellow Warbler building a nest. We also saw a Bullock's Oriole building a nest at the Provo River area. Participants were: Harold Driver, Joyce Overdiek, Kristin Purdy, Lynn & Kristy Merrill, Bill & Lorna Kennedy, Lynn Carroll, Shirley Lee, Keith Evans, Michelle Soper, and Les and Tyler Talbot. We saw forty species: Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Ring-necked Pheasant, Sandhill Crane, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Western Wood-Peewee, Warbling Vireo, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Marsh Wren, American Dipper, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Western Tanager, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bullock's Oriole, Cassin's Finch, and American Goldfinch. |
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[33] HEBER VALLEY
by Les Talbot (5/26/01) |
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Today's trip was a welcome break from the heat. The day began with an overcast
sky and a temperature of 69 degrees Fahrenheit. It cleared off in mid-morning
and the temperature rose to the 70's.
Our first stop was at the Rock Cliff Nature Center on the east arm of Jordanelle Reservoir. Birds were everywhere. It was hard to see all of them because everywhere you looked there was a bird flitting through the trees. The river was running high and at the east end of the boardwalk there was not a lot of bird activity. However, as we walked towards the reservoir the activity picked up. The park naturalist told me where we could see a Golden Eagle and a Red-tailed Hawk nest. After lunch we drove to the Eagle nest; but one was home. The naturalist said there were two young in the nest. The nest sits in an alcove in a cliff, it looked like it curved around the corner, so we were unable to see the complete nest. The nest was also a long way from us. With the spotting scope on 35 power we could see the nest, but it was in indirect light and hard to see details. We didn't find the hawk nest. I think we didn't drive far enough east on Highway 32. We then drove to Potter Lane north of Heber. It is a good area for Bobolink and Sandhill Crane. From the lane you can make a loop through the northern Heber Valley fields and then return to Highway 40. It was late afternoon and bird activity had come to a standstill. We did drive through a herd of about 80 cows with calves. We ended up in the middle of the herd and it seemed like a long time before we could work our way through. Another time it would be best to do the Potter Lane area first and then go to the Nature Center. If one timed it right that area would be a great place to see Sandhill Crane. We were able to get a positive ID on 27 species, had one unidentified and two maybes. Identified Species: American Kestrel, American Robin, Black-billed Magpie, Brewer's Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bufflehead, California Gull, male and female Canada Geese with five goslings, Cassin's Finch, Cedar Waxwing, Common Merganser, Killdeer, Mallard, Northern Flicker, Osprey, Pine Siskin, Song Sparrow, Spotted Sandpiper, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Western Grebe, Western Scrub Jay, and Yellow Warbler (a lot of them.) Unidentified: Flycatcher Maybe: Clark's Grebe and Bobolink |
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[33] HEBER VALLEY
by Les Talbot (4/22/00) |
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The morning of April 22 was cool and cloudy with threatening clouds in the
west. Twelve of us: Martha Ann Albretsen, Lynn Carroll, Keith Evans, Brad and
Lisa Galvez, Shirley Lee, Wendy Loomis, Joyce Overdiek, Mort & Carolyn Somer,
myself & son Tyler met at the DWR office for our first Heber Valley trip.
As we approached the heron rookery east of Henefer a Great Blue Heron flew over. There were several herons sitting on the rookery nests. Between Henefer and Echo Reservoir we saw Turkey Vulture. We stopped at an Echo Reservoir overlook to look for loon. We found a couple. A Northern Harrier flew over. We stopped at the Hailey Visitor Center at Jordanelle State Park. Ann Pearce, from Great Salt Lake Audubon, joined us there. Our first official Jordanelle stop was at the Rock Cliff Nature Center on the east arm of reservoir. By then it was raining. So much for the weather report. All three TV channels said it wouldn't rain until evening. While there we saw Cassin's Finch, Northern Flicker, Brewer's Blackbird and American Dipper. Two dipper were sitting on a nest. Some of the group saw a mink. As we left the nature center the sky began to clear. By the time we arrived in Midway it was partly cloudy and warm. Joe Morgan met us at the St. Moritz Resort Development. He talked about the development and its consequences to the environment. If it goes through there will be around 100 single family homes, hotel rooms, restaurant, and shops. The area is a vital wetland for local wildlife. The land where the development will be is unstable. Mr. Morgan said it is believed there is a major aquifer under the land. Geologic testing of the area has not been done yet. He asked for our support in stopping the development. On our way to Deer Creek Reservoir we passed the fish hatchery, which was closed because of whirling disease. Some of the hatchery fish will be released into Deer Creek, which is already infected with the disease. The other fish will be destroyed and the hatchery sterilized. We saw three Osprey south of the hatchery. Deer Creek was our lunch stop. It proved to be the most productive part of the trip. Three Common Loon were on the east end of the reservoir. Mort spotted Sandhill Crane a long way off. You could identify them in a scope but were too far off to see in binoculars. Eared Grebe, Clark's Grebe, and Western Grebe were swimming just below us. We saw all species of Utah swallows except the Cliff Swallow. They were feeding on an insect hatch just above the water. After lunch the trip broke up and everyone went his or her separate ways. Martha, Wendy, Tyler and I decided to go back to Rock Cliff since the weather had cleared up. Once we got back on Rte. 32 it clouded up and we drove through a small thundershower. It was clear when we got to Rock Cliff but soon clouded up and the thundershower caught up with us and it poured for about 15 minutes and then cleared off again. We walked out to the Osprey nesting platform. Two Osprey were sitting on the nest. We saw more Cassin's Finch at the feeders. Martha spotted a finch that had a lot of red on it. The red extended onto the bird's side. She thought it might be a Rosy Finch. We couldn't find anything in the bird book that looked like it. We saw a muskrat swimming in the pond. We were probably a month early for this trip. Joe Morgan said there are a lot of Sandhill Crane in May. This is an exciting area to bird and should be visited again. Even though the trip was early in the year we saw 28 species. |
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[33] HEBER VALLEY
by Tyler J. Talbot (4/22/00) |
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I went on the Heber Valley trip. We met at the DWR office in Ogden.
We stopped at the Echo Reservoir to look for loon. All we could see was the guard rail along the side of the freeway. A Northern Harrier flew over head. We stopped at the Rock Cliff Nature Center. It rained the whole time we were there. We saw Cassin's Finch, American Dipper, and Black-capped Chickadee. Then we went to Midway to learn about the St. Moritz Resort development. My dad got lost in Midway. We had a hard time finding where they want to build the development. We drove past the fish hatchery and saw three Osprey. At Deer Creek Reservoir we saw Common Loon, Eared Grebe, Clark's Grebe, and Western Grebe. My dad and I and two women went back to Rock Cliff and saw more Osprey and a muskrat. Rock Cliff is really nice. I wish it was in my backyard. |
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(You will find a detailed description of Rock Cliff Nature Center
HERE
)
(You will find a detailed description of the Jordanelle Hawkwatch Study Site HERE ) |
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| Mirror Lake Carolyn Somer |
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[35] MIRROR LAKE
by Les Talbot (8/23/03) |
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Our first sighting was at the Great Blue Heron rookery east of Henefer. About
a dozen Turkey Vulture were perched in a Cottonwood. Just before the I84-I80
junction eight Sandhill Crane were feeding on the south side of the freeway.
Lee Shirley had to stop at the Samak Store to get some of the best jerky in Utah. When we came out we spotted a bird in a dead tree at the top of the hill south of the store. It was too far away to identify so Lee put his scope on it. It was a magpie. But things got better as we continued on our way. However we did lose Lee and Paula. Lee asked me where the next stop was and I said the Provo Falls and then corrected myself and said the Provo River lookout. Apparently Lee didn't hear me and waited at the falls for about 20 minutes, gave up and went fishing at Trial Lake. He caught about nine fish. It took us a while to get to the falls and when we arrived I was really surprised. There was a torrent of water coming down. They must have had quite a bit of rain the night before. Mirror Lake was busy with people, as usual, but pretty dead bird-wise. From Mirror Lake we drove to the pullout across from Hayden Peak to scope out the Mountain Goat. It took us a while but we did find six. Three at the very top and three down lower. A couple from Arizona, Frank and Pat Wilczek, met us in Kamas and tagged along. I told them that we always saw goat on Hayden Peak. The birding was so poor on this trip that I didn't even keep a checklist. We actually saw more goats than we did species of birds. Even the end of the trip was a bummer. We stopped at the Bear River State Park in Evanston to look for American Goldfinch and saw three magpie and several Brown-headed Cowbirds. Participants were: Les and Tyler Talbot, Shirley Lee, Karen and Deloy Pierce, Paula and Lee Shirley, and Frank and Pat Wilczek. Observed birds: Turkey Vulture, Osprey?, Black-billed Magpie, Brown Creeper, American Robin, White-crowned Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, an unidentified warbler, and four unidentified something-or-others at Mirror Lake -- they wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get the scope on them and they were too far away to identify through binoculars. Altogether it was a nice trip. Traffic was light, the weather was just right, and we were with good people. |
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[35] MIRROR LAKE
by Les Talbot (8/24/02) |
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Due to the drought I expected to see very few birds on this trip. This held
true until we reached the Upper Provo River Falls. We saw a few Sandhill Crane
between Peoa and Kamas and that was about it.
We stopped at the Provo River Overlook, but didn't see any birds. We did see a chipmunk. Across the road from the pullout there wasn't any kind of animal life out and about. There was more water coming over the Provo Falls than there was last year, but not much. Most of the water was draining on the far right of the falls with a little bit coming down the middle. Gracia saw a warbler, but was unable to identify it. Tyler climbed up above the falls and saw a Dipper. There were several birds just east of the Mt. Baldy parking lot. We watched some Slate-colored Juncos for a few minutes and then had lunch. After lunch we walked northeast from the parking lot. When we got on top of the hill there was a strong wind blowing and the bird activity had stopped. So we gave up and went to Mirror Lake. At the lake an Osprey was circling the lake. We saw a couple of Robins and some Black Rosy-Finch. Going back to the truck I ran into Barbara Watkins and Bob Montgomery from Salt Lake Audubon. They had come in from Evanston. They were doing serious birding in the campgrounds. They had seen 25 species. Barbara told me that Wasatch Audubon was the best Chapter in Utah. I agree with her. We stopped to look at the Mountain Goat. We couldn't see any through the binoculars. I scanned the cliff with the scope and spotted two. I had both scopes and put both of them on the goats. It is interesting that after looking through both scopes everyone would use the Kowa rather than the Bausch & Lomb. A few minutes later two other goats moved into view. We watched them for awhile and then headed home. We came down through Chalk Creek. The road was really rough for about a half mile. Going down the northeast side of Echo Reservoir we saw some Turkey. Altogether we saw 31 species of birds and the four goats. Birds seen were: Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed hawk, Ring-necked Pheasant, Wild Turkey, Sandhill Crane, California Gull, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Western Kingbird, Western Scrub-Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Barn Swallow, American Dipper, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, European Starling, an unidentified Warbler, Green-tailed Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Slate-colored form of the Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black Rosy-Finch, and House Sparrow. Those on the trip were: Sharen Perry, Gracia Roemer, Joyce Overdiek, Jordan Bowden, Paul Bowden, Tyler and myself. Jordan is a Boy Scout working on his Bird Study Merit Badge. He needed to attend the trip as one of the requirements. He also needed to identify five birds by sound. I tested him on those with my bird identifier and he did very well. I was able to sign his merit badge card at the end of the trip. |
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[35] MIRROR LAKE
by Les Talbot (8/25/01) |
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The movie title
Far from the Maddening Crowd
was very appropriate for this trip. The birds were and we were not. On
August 25, John and Christine Lewis (from Chico, California), Barbara Webb
(from Bountiful), Dwight and Ee Cheng Waller, Gayle Allen, Ev and Mary Doman,
and Tyler and I set out on the trip.
At Kamas we ran into a large group of people. A mycology (fungi) society was having a national convention that attracted about 2,000 participants. Around 100 of them were headed to the Trial Lake area to look for mushrooms. There was a lot of traffic on the Mirror Lake loop. The Mirror Lake parking lot was overflowing. Our first stop was at the Provo Overlook. At the overlook we saw a Brown Creeper, an unidentified Chickadee (probably a Mountain - it wouldn't sit still long enough for us to see). We walked across the road and saw a Townsend's Solitaire, two Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a red squirrel. The Upper Provo Falls was very disappointing. Gayle spotted a sandpiper. It flew and we didn't see it again. We saw an American Dipper there. The disappointing part was the lack of water. There was a little bit running down the east side. Tyler and Gayle walked down the middle of the falls and didn't get wet. Lunch was enjoyable at Mount Baldy. It was actually warm there, even in the shade. After lunch some of us walked up the trail looking for Rosy Finch. We did not see any birds in the Mount Baldy area. We did see a chipmunk though. Our next stop was at Mirror Lake. It was really crowded. Even though there were many people there it was our most productive stop for birding. An Osprey was flying around the lake. We saw a mother Spotted Sandpiper with two chicks. One of the chicks was small and was not able to fly yet. We also saw two American Robin, two White-crowned Sparrow, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. After leaving Mirror Lake Tyler saw a deer. It ran down the hill, so he was the only one to see it. He also was the only one to see a mammal sitting on a rock. He said it was larger than a squirrel. The most likely candidate would be a Yellow-bellied Marmot. We stopped to look for the Mountain Goat. I spotted a Billy. And then we found two more just below the skyline on the north end of the peak. These two were moving around quite a bit. I know we saw three for sure. The pair were moving in and out of the rocks, so it was hard to tell if we were seeing the same two all of the time. Between the toll booth (east of Kamas) and the Mountain Goat viewing area we saw a total of 17 birds. Tyler and I had to leave before everyone else. I had to be home by six so I didn't have time to look for birds on the way home. Even though the birds were few in number and there were a lot of people, it turned out to be a very enjoyable trip. |
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[35] MIRROR LAKE
by Les Talbot (8/19/00) |
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The 19th of August was bright, sunny, and warm. Six of us, Martha Ann
Albretsen, Lynn Carrol, Keith Evans, Shirley Lee and my son Tyler and I met at
DWR and headed for Kamas. John Bellmon and his wife, Carol, caught up with us
after we passed Morgan.
Our first stop was at the Provo River Overlook where we saw a Brown Creeper. We crossed the road and were heading up the dirt road on the other side when we spotted a brown bird in a tree a distance away. Keith, Tyler, and I tried to get close enough to make it out but didn't. John and Tyler were closing in on it when John scared up a Mule Deer that then came bounding down the hill past us. The bird turned out to be a Townsend's Solitaire. Tyler wanted to see the western portal of the Duchesne Tunnel so we stopped there. The tunnel is six miles long and is used to divert water from the Duchesne River to the Provo River. At peak runoff 6,000 cubic feet of water per second runs through the tunnel. Our next stop was at the Upper Provo River Falls where we saw no birds, but there was a lot of water coming down the falls. Lunch was at Mount Baldy. We had to put on a jacket while eating, it was so cold and windy. We saw Mountain Bluebird, Vesper, White-crowned and Chipping Sparrows and a Gray Jay. We then drove to the pullout north of Mirror Lake to look for Mountain Goat. We eventually found six. They were a long way off and not moving much and you had to be at just the right angle to see them through two dead trees. Lynn was the first to find them. All we could find were rocks until Lynn saw one of the rocks move. Sure enough it was a goat. On the way to the Wyoming border we saw two large Moose. We had seen one earlier east of Kamas. We came back to Ogden by way of Chalk Creek and saw a few birds along the way including five Sandhill Crane. Altogether we saw 23 species of birds and four kinds of mammals. |
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[35] MIRROR LAKE
by Mort Somer (8/23/99) |
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While at Mirror Lake, looking up at 12,000
foot mountains and the sky and looking down
on 9,500 foot lake and forests, I was struck
by the fact that here was a place of incredibly
great beauty, equal to that of far more famous
destinations, and yet unknown to most people
outside a rather small area. How lucky we
are to be in on it.
Although it was remarkably quiet, avian-wise, around Bald Mountain, we did see a variety of wildlife along our route. The bird highlights were a flock of Sage Grouse, a Williamson's Sapsucker and a Spotted Sandpiper bobbing on the lakeshore. We also spotted cranes, pheasant, ibis, snipe and osprey. We saw mule deer, weasels and pika. Seven mountain goats foraged on the side of Hayden Peak and then paused to rest in a rocky alcove up there as we viewed them through the scopes. We enjoyed a great day in an awesome area. |
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[35] BALD MT., TRIAL LAKE & VICINITY
by Keith Evans (8/22/98) |
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On August 22, 1998, Keith Evans, Darrell
Greenfield, Joyce Overdiek, Maria Florence,
Carolyn and Mort Somer, Mary Ann and Ethan
Albretsen, Karen Stock, Myrna Burbank, Mary
Lou Christensen, Lee and Paula Shirley, Jay
and Barbara Hudson, John Bellmon, Val Laramee,
Luellyn Whithrow, and Pat Ziegler enjoyed
a day in the high Uinta's. The highlight
of the day was having lunch at the historic
John Grix cabin on Trial Lake. Many thanks
go out to Mary Lou! I recorded 32 species
of birds, but probably missed a few.
Bird highlights included a Black Rosy-Finch,
Pine Siskin, Cassin's Finch, Clark's Nutcracker,
Mountain Bluebird, Brown Creeper, Osprey,
and Sandhill Crane.
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| (You will find a detailed description of Mirror Lake HERE ) |
| HOME |
GSL BIRDING MAP & KEY |
AREA
DESCRIPTIONS: |
1-10 | 11-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-40 | 41-49 | ||
|
TRIP
REPORTS: |
1-10 | 11-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-40 | 41++ | ||||