Field Trip Report
Sanpete County Tour - April 16, 2005
by Leena Rogers

Utah County Birders near Yuba Dam - April 16, 2005  (photo by Eric Huish)

Saturday, April 16, turned out to be an excellent day of birding for nine Utah County Birders and six BYU students. We set out from the Sam’s Club Parking lot in south Provo on a beautiful but very chilly morning for Sanpete County. Our first stop was along I-15 at Juba Reservoir, then back up to Hwy 28 with a stop at Chicken Creek Reservoir. From there we continued south on Hwy 28 to Painted Rock State Park on the southeast shore of Juba Reservoir [not marked on all maps]. There seemed to be almost as many people as birds out on the reservoirs ,and the insects [thankfully the non-biting kind] were out in full force too. A sure sign that spring is here! We then drove up Hwy 89 to Nine Mile Reservoir, made a quick stop at the wetlands near Fayette, then on to Palisades Park by Sterling. Our final stop of the day was along Hwy 132 at Wales Reservoir near Moroni.

It was great to have the students with us. The enthusiasm they showed each time a new bird was spotted gave the rest of us seasoned veterans an opportunity to see our feathered friends through “fresh eyes.” The kids had Saturday finals and left the group early but the rest of us continued on until mid-afternoon. A magnificent Golden Eagle perched on top of a roadside telephone pole near Wales Reservoir capped off a great day of birding! Grand total of birds seen by the group was 75. Trip leader was Tuula Rose. Following is a list of the highlights at each stop:

Juba Reservoir
Loggerhead Shrike, Red-tailed Hawk, Rock Wren, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Black-necked Stilt, American Robin, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Canada Goose, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Shrike, Eared Grebe, Green-winged Teal, Kildeer, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, House Sparrow, Gadwall, Brewer’s Blackbird ,House Finch, European Starling, Brown-headed Cowbird, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Common Raven, American Coot, Cinnamon Teal, Mallard.

Chicken Creek Reservoir
Lesser Scaup, Say’s Phoebe, Redhead, Willet, American Avocet, Barn Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Sage Thrasher, Long-billed Curlew, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Snowy Egret, Bufflehead, California Gull, White-faced Ibis, Franklin’s Gull ,Violet-green Swallow, Western Kingbird, Horned Lark.

Painted Rock State Park
Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe.

Fayette Wetlands
Double-crested Cormorant, White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Sandhill Crane, Northern Harrier, Swainson’s Hawk, Osprey.

Nine Mile Reservoir
Canvasback, Common Loon, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Vesper Sparrow, Red-breasted Merganser, Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon), Black-billed Magpie, Rock Pigeon.

Palisades State Park
Canyon Wren [great looks up close], Yellow-rumped Warbler [Myrtle race], American Goldfinch.

Along the Way
Mountain Bluebird, Mourning Dove, Kestrel, Lark Sparrow.

Wales Reservoir
American Wigeon, Ruddy Duck, Golden Eagle.

Thanks Tuula for arranging such a successful birding trip, and thanks to those who were willing to drive. Happy spring birding everyone.