Feb 2010
Jack Binch (26 Feb 2010) - [Gunnison Reservoir,
Delta]. There are 15 or 20
thousand Snow Geese on the lake. Quite a few Ross's Geese and several Blue Geese.
Lu Giddings (21 Feb 2010) - 1000s of Snow Geese at
Gunnison Reservoir, Delta. A
Prairie
Falcon and a Ferruginous
Hawk atop poles along the road between Delta and Clear Lake, and also
what may have been a Rough-legged Hawk.
Tundra
Swans,
American Avocets, and Bald Eagles (2 adults, one juvenile) at
Clear Lake.
Bob Walters (19-21 Feb 2010) - June Ryburn and I ...observed fairly good numbers of Ross' Geese
mixed in with the Snow Geese and on Feb. 19, I "picked up" a lone,
Mountain Bluebird just south of
Gunnison Bend Reservoir.
David J. Allan (16 Feb 2010) - I observed two SANDHILL
CRANES flying together in the Fool Creek Sinks area of Millard County, Utah
at just about sundown Monday 2/15/10. ... the cranes were flying .. south
of the small town of Lynndyl, and were flying at a low altitude.
Bob Walters (2 Feb 2010) - Lynn Zubeck (DWR's Clear Lake
Waterfowl Management Area Supervisor) reported yesterday (Feb. 11) that an
estimated 5,000 Snow Geese are present in the Delta, Utah area.
Melissa Renfro and John B. Free (7 Feb 2010) - Hooded
Mergansers at Pruess Reservoir, seen 2/5/10. Location: Pruess Reservoir
Inlet (Pruess South)(Millard County, UT) ... 2 miles East of Garrison, UT, 10
miles east of Baker, Nevada.
Jul 2009
Flora M. Duncan (3 Jul 2009) - Esther and I have had a big day in Millard
County. We had a nice list--47 Birds--including a pair of Eastern Phoebes
on the fence at the corner of 2500 North 7500 West, Abraham. I don't know what
is considered righteous documentation. Sorry we did't take a camera with
us--not a neat picture as we had a few years ago with the
Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Fool's Creek.
David Allan (2 Jul 2009) - I just noticed my first Rufous Hummingbird of
the season in my Oak City backyard. Guess southern migration is underway.
Apr 2009
David Allan ( 25 Apr 2009) - I saw a single WHITE-WINGED DOVE Friday 4/24 at
~6:05 p.m. on Sink Road in Millard Co. The dove was perched on the guardrail at
the southeast corner the bridge crossing the Sevier River about 1 mile south of
Lynndyl.
Lu Giddings (25 Apr 2009) - A Stilt Sandpiper in non-breeding plumage
was seen in an irrigated field about five miles north of Delta at about 2 p.m.
this afternoon. It was feeding with long-billed dowitchers, greater and lesser
yellowlegs, and western and least sandpipers, which provided a nice opportunity
for comparison and contrast.
Sep 2008
Merrill Webb (29 Sep 2008) - Saturday I was birding... at Kaufman's Ranch
(Millard County).... At the ranch I counted five Pectoral Sandpipers
plus a female American Redstart and 20-30 Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Nov 2007
David J. Allan (12 Nov 2007) - I had a White-throated Sparrow (tan
morph) visiting a ground feeding station in my back yard [Oak City]
Sunday...It hung around most of the day. My wife thinks she saw two of them
late in the afternoon, but only gota fleeting look at one so she didn't count
it.
Mar 2007
Eric Huish (3 Mar 2007) - Lu Giddings led the Utah County Birders on a Field
Trip today to see the Snow Geese in Delta. We then headed to Clear Lake WMA
(south of Delta). Much of the area was frozen but there was a little open water
that was filled with waterfowl - mostly Pintail, Redhead and Wigeon. After
scoping through this flock for a while we spotted a Drake Eurasian Wigeon.
He was hard to follow through the flock of American Wigeon and Redheads but
eventually everyone in the group got a look at him.
Sue Hinde (2 Mar 2007) - I actually snuck away and took a quick trip down to
Gunnison. Yesterday, March 1, I found one Cackling Goose in with about 15
regular (?) Canada geese. They were feeding in a yard bordering on the
reservoir. I watched from my car for about 20 minutes from a distance of about
30 feet. It is really a very small goose; tiny bill and very rounded head. This
one avoided the other geese and finally took off and flew out onto the reservoir
with all the beautiful Snow geese. I also saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers
which did not fly and allowed me to observe them up close and personal.
Jan 2007
Stephen Carlile (24 Feb 2007) - Just returned from the Salt Lake Birder's trip
to the Delta Snow Goose Festival. A great trip with 43 species seen at Delta,
Clear Lake, and points in between; though little open water. The expected
thousands of Snow Geese seen....there were also lots of Ross's Geese. I have
never seen so many. ...Also saw two Cackling Geese (short neck and stubby
bill).
Sep 2006
Rick Fridell - ...Other highlights included: - Private Ranch, Millard Co.,
9/8 Greater White-fronted Goose (imm.), Anna's Hummingbird
(female), Lewis's Woodpecker, Baltimore Oriole (first-year male).
May 2006
Joel Beyer (4 May 2006) - Kathy and I made a quick trip to the St. George
area earlier this week, with the highlights as follows: Millard Co. Scipio -
Eurasian Collared Dove...
Mar 2006
Merrill Webb (4 Mar 2006) - On Saturday, after viewing the Snow and Ross's
Geese in the Delta area I decided to search the local places in the county to
see what other birds I could find... Northern Shrike near Fool's Creek
Reservoir(dry), and a Sage Thrasher in the same area... In addition, I
observed Eurasian Collared Doves in Oak City (4), Lynndyl (2) and in
Nephi, Juab County, (4)...
Carol Davis (4 Mar 2006) - ...Clear Creek WMA....in the water behind the
Rangers Station at Clear Creek were 12 Great Blue Herons and one Great
Egret all standing around in the water together--and what a peaceful
looking group they were.
Feb 2006
Kit and Janelle Wilkinson (26 Feb 2006) - 4 Trumpeter Swans were
seen 3/4 mile east of Lynndyl, Ut. on highway 132. These swans were seen at
5:30pm, in some small ponds about 1/10 mile south of the highway. They were
easily seen from a high vantage, overlooking the ponds from the road.
Oct 2005
Larry Tripp (15 Oct 2005) - Birded the last couple of days with a friend
visiting from Southern California, Peyton Cook. ...Friday we made a couple of
stops in Millard County and had the following: Horned Grebe, Male
"Yellow-shafted" Northern Flicker and a White-throated Sparrow.
Sep 2005
Rick Fridell (5 Sep 2005) - Kristen and I took advantage of the Labor Day
holiday...and made a run through the West Desert...There were fair numbers of
typical western migrants moving through Snake Valley. Other highlights of the
trip included a Northern Waterthrush, Eastern Kingbird, and a Long-eared
Owl at Foote Reservoir, Bishop Springs (Millard Co.).
Jun 2005
Terry Sadler - Yesterday, June 1, I observed a Clay-colored Sparrow
while doing a Breeding Bird Survey in the West Desert. The sparrow was in
Millard Co. on the South side of the Black Rock-Garrison Road 4 miles East of
Crystal Peak. I first heard the bird giving a 3 or 4 single-note raspy buzz
song similar to a Brewer's Sparrow but much shorter. I then saw the sparrow
with its' strongly contrasting head markings and pale lores. Unfortunately my
camera is in the shop being repaired.
May 2005
Lu Giddings (20 May 2005) - On Friday 5/20 at about 7 p.m. Larry Tripp
spotted a Least Tern about 1.5 miles southwest of Salt Marsh Lake, on
the road to Foote Reservoir. We spent about 15 minutes watching it hover and
hunt in a tiny stream that wound its way along the south side of the road.
May 2004
Larry Tripp (31 May 2004) - I got back late last night from birding the west
desert area of Utah from Beaver Co. to Juab Co. There were several good birds
out there which Dana already reported the birds that were seen on Saturday. The
best bird was the male Black-throated Blue Warbler that I saw on Sat.
afternoon in a dense thicket of Russian Olive trees with a spring fed pond and a
small steam running through them. I'm not sure what the area is called but it is
about 30 miles S. of Callao,7 miles E. of Gandy. We tried to relocate it Sat.
night and I tried again on Sunday but couldn't find it.
Dana Green (30 May 2004) - Larry Tripp and I birded Millard County migrant
traps yesterday from dawn to dark. The vagrants are out there. We found four. I
saw Red-Eyed Vireo, and Northern Waterthrush. Larry saw a male
Black Throated Blue Warbler and we both saw a young male Rose Breasted
Grosbeak. We, of course, tried to relocate the ones we missed, but could
not. The vagrants are out there, but as usual in spring they are not staying
around.
Larry Tripp (22 May 2004) - Today I was at Kaufman Ranch and a lot of birds
were there. I didn't arrive until 10:00 and the wind really started to blow by
about 12:30. The best birds were a Northern Parula, 1 or 2 Black and
White Warblers ( all singing males) and a Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
There was also a lot of western migrants I just wish the wind wouldn't have
started blowing so hard before I could bird the whole area.
Sep 2003
Pomera Fronce (14 Sept 2003) - Dana, Julie and I birded Kaufman Ranch today
with the prize bird being a Northern Parula. Other birds of interest were
a Short-eared Owl, Ring-necked Duck, Yellow-breasted Chat, MacGillivray's
Warblers, lots of beautifully colored Nashville Warblers, Wilson's Warblers and
one Townsend's Warbler. We saw roughly 35 species on the ranch during our three
hours of birding.
May 2003
David Allan - Eurasian Collared-Doves
have found their way to Delta (Millard Co.), Utah. I serendipitously
stumbled onto what appeared to my unaided eyes to be two of them Tuesday
(5/27) evening after making a wrong turn. I returned to the area Wednesday
(5/28) evening with binoculars, relocated the two doves, and confirmed by
sight and song that they are indeed Eurasian Collared-Doves.
The doves were observed both days perched on utility wires and poles along
100 West, between 100 North and 300 North, in Delta. The time of
observation was between 6:45 pm and 7:05 pm.
Mar 2003
David Allan -(Gunnison Bend Reservoir, near Delta, Millard Co., Sunday, 3/9)
It was a beautiful day for birding, or just being out of doors, after being
stuck in the office for seven loonnngggg days straight...
The highlight of my day was a Gray Catbird. It was feeding on Russian Olives in
the same area that the Black Phoebe has been reported. I was watching the Phoebe
when I noticed the Catbird. This was the first Catbird I have observed in
Millard Co...
David Allan - (Fri, 28 Feb 2003)
I watched a pair (male & female) of Hooded Merganser from 4:30 p.m. until
after 5:00 today (2/28) at Gunnison Bend Reservoir (site of the Snow Goose
Festival currently underway) near Delta, Utah...
Feb 2003
David Allan - (Fri, 28 Feb 2003) I watched a pair (male & female) of
Hooded Mergansers from 4:30 p.m. until after 5:00 today (2/28) at Gunnison
Bend Reservoir (site of the Snow Goose Festival currently underway) near Delta,
Utah. They were observed on open water from near the west end of the earthen dam
located southwest of the Sherwood Shores area and Goose Festival site...
KC Childs - (~ 17 Feb) ... Eric started doing an imataion Pygmy Owl call to see if we could see any Chickadees. No success. then we started to follow some fresh Turkey tracks. That is when we heard the Pygmy Owl start to call back. We then started walking up the canyon trying to find it. We ran upon Creepers and Ruby Crowned Kinglets, but could only hear the Pygmy Owl. After over an hour of looking we couldn't find it. As we started walking towards the car a
Pygmy Owl flew out of a Juniper Tree right in front of me. It landed in a big Cottonwood along the creek. It stayed there and allowed us some amazing views...We then headed home and saw one of the best looking
Ferruginous Hawks in the Leamington area...
David Allan - (14 Feb 2003) I observed a Black Phoebe at
Gunnison Bend Reservoir near Delta, Millard County, late Friday (2/14)
afternoon. It was hanging out in the marshy area just south of Sherwood Shores.
Feb 2002
David Allan - (Sun, 24 Feb 2002) I saw 6 Tundra Swans this afternoon toward the north end of Fool Creek Sinks Reservoir (Millard Co). That's a new one for my 'Sinks' and Millard County lists. Lots of other migrating waterfowl, a couple of
Bald Eagles, and several Double Crested Cormorants were present.
David Allan - (Sat, 16 Feb 2002) Spring must be on the way, Snow Geese are beinging to arrive at Gunnison Bend Reservoir in Millard County near Delta for their annual refueling stop as they head for the arctic. I saw 400 - 500 today.
March 2001
Kevin Wheeler - Thursday, 14 March, I saw several Bohemian
Waxwings with a flock of Cedar Waxwings at Foote Reservoir east of
Gandy, Millard County. There were perhaps 50 waxwings; of those maybe
10-15 were bohemians. There was also a Great-horned Owl that had a lot of
white in it. If you go out to look for them, take lots of warm clothes, it
was snowing!
On Saturday, 03/24, a flock of about 1000 geese at Gunnison
Bend Reservoir was estimated to be about 30-45% ROSS'S GEESE, with the
balance being SNOW GEESE. A single "Blue" Goose was also
present in the flock (P&SS).
November 2000
A VARIED THRUSH was seen in the trees by the
administration building at the Intermountain Power Project, north of Delta, on
Tuesday, 11/07 (DA). There is no public access to this area.
September 2000
An AMERICAN REDSTART was seen at the Kaufman Ranch
near Black Rock on Friday, 09/22 (DG,JVM).
A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was reported seen on the
mudflats at Pruess Lake on Sunday, 09/03 (fide CT). Pruess Lake is located
near the Nevada border about 3 miles south of Garrison, UT. To get there,
either take SR 21 west from Milford, or take US 6 west from Delta to SR 159
and turn south. This is the fourth report of Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Utah.
July 2000
A male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was seen visiting a feeder in Oak City on
Saturday, 07/02 (DA).
April 2000
At Fool Creek Reservoir, a GREAT EGRET was seen on
Sunday, 04/23 (DA).
At Fool's Creek Reservoir, on April Fool's Day, Saturday, 04/01, a breeding
plumaged HORNED GREBE was seen (DA,DS,others).
March 2000
At Gunnison Bend Reservoir west of Delta, many SNOW GEESE, including
a few "Blue Geese," were seen, along with a number of ROSS'S
GEESE on Friday and Saturday, 03/03 and 03/04. A group of COMMON
GRACKLES was also seen near the reservoir (JR,BW).
February 2000
At least two ROSS' GEESE were seen along with several hundred SNOW
GEESE at Gunnison Bend Reservoir, west of Delta, on Monday, 2/21
(J&KB).
September 1999
At Kaufman Ranch, a NORTHERN GOSHAWK, a CASSIN'S VIREO, and a NASHVILLE
WARBLER were seen on Saturday, 09/04 (MS,DW). Kaufman Ranch is located at Black Rock,
about 21 miles north of Milford on SR 257. Be sure stop at the house to request permission
to bird the property.
A GREAT EGRET was seen at Clear Lake WMA on Sunday, 09/12 (JK,LWi).
August 1999
BENDIRE'S THRASHERS continue to be seen along the Sinks Road between Lynndyl and
SR 125. On Thursday, 08/05, one was seen about 1 mile south of Lynndyl, near the Sevier
River crossing, and another was seen about 1 mile further south (DA). On Saturday, 08/07,
one was seen again near the Sevier River crossing (J&KB).
A COMMON LOON was seen on Fool Creek Reservoir, about 5 miles southeast of
Lyndyl, on Monday, 08/23 (DA).
A NASHVILLE WARBLER was seen at Kaufman Ranch on Saturday, 08/28 (DW). Kaufman
Ranch is located at Black Rock, about 21 miles north of Milford on SR 257. Be sure stop at
the house to request permission to bird the property.
July 1999
Two male RUFOUS HUMINGBIRDS have been visiting a feeder in Oak City, as reported
on Friday, 07/16 (DA).
A BENDIRE'S THRASHER was seen about 2 miles south of Lynndyl on the
"sinks" road, on Sunday, 07/18 (DA). The "sinks" road is a gravel road
between US 6 and SR 125 about 2 miles north of Oak City.
June 1999
A CASSIN'S SPARROW was seen during a Breeding Bird Survey in the Wah Wah Valley on
Wednesday, 06/09. The bird was a male, and was observed performing its flight display and
song, which suggests that it may be establishing a territory at that location (SH). To get
there, take State Highway 21 west from Milford about 25 miles to the Wah Wah Ranch, which
is about 1/2 mile north of the highway, and the only spot of green in the valley. Take the
county road north through the ranch for 12.5 miles. The bird was 100 feet west of the road
at this point. This is the first documented record of Cassin's Sparrow in Utah.
At Kaufman Ranch, near Black Rock, two male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, a NORTHERN
WATERTHRUSH, and a COMMON GRACKLE were seen on Saturday, 06/05 (P&SS).
The CASSIN'S SPARROW, which was seen in the Wah Wah Valley on Wednesday, 06/09, has
been seen again. It was observed performing its flight display and song on Monday, 06/14
(LW). To get there, take State Highway 21 west from Milford about 25 miles to the Wah Wah
Ranch, which is about 1/2 mile north of the highway, and the only spot of green in the
valley. Take the county road north through the ranch for about 12.5 miles. On Monday, the
bird was between 12.3 and 12.4 miles from the highway. This is the first documented record
of Cassin's Sparrow in Utah.
The CASSIN'S SPARROW continues to be seen in the Wah Wah Valley. It was seen on Friday,
06/18 (R&TS) and on Sunday, 06/20 (JC,B&MS,LW). To get there, take State Highway
21 west from Milford about 25 miles to the Wah Wah Ranch, which is about 1/2 mile north of
the highway, and the only spot of green in the valley. Take the county road north through
the ranch for about 12.5 miles to the cairn on west side of the road. On Friday, the bird
was just east of the cairn, and on Sunday it was east of the road about 150 yards north of
the cairn. This is the first documented record of Cassin's Sparrow in Utah.
The CASSIN'S SPARROW continues to be seen in the Wah Wah Valley. It was seen on
Saturday, 06/26 (NA,DW). To get there, take State Highway 21 west from Milford about 25
miles to the Wah Wah Ranch, which is about 1/2 mile north of the highway, and the only
spot of green in the valley. Take the county road north through the ranch for about 12.5
miles to the cairn on west side of the road. On Saturday, the bird was singin frequently
all around the area of the cairn. This is the first documented record of
Cassin's Sparrow in Utah.
May 1999
A male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was seen in a yard in Oak City, all day on Saturday,
05/22 (DA).
A TENNESSEE WARBLER was seen in the trees at the entrance to the Kaufman Ranch, north
of Milford, on Wednesday, 05/26 (TS).
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