Usual Places
(for the usual suspects)

Certain birds may be seen regularly in the same places year after year.  Some of these places are NOT listed in the "Places to Bird" section of the web site and are locations that, in order to find very easily, require a good set of instructions.  Here is a list of some "Usual Places" listed by County:  

| Cahce County | Summit County | Utah County | Wasatch County | Weber County |

  
Cache County
  Gray Partridge, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Ruffed Grouse   ~ submitted by Craig Fosdick (November 2012)
Steel Canyon - From Valley View Hwy (Utah 30) in Cache County, the easiest way to get to Steel Canyon is to take Utah 23 north from Utah 30. Utah 23 will take you through Cache Jct., and all the way to Newton. When you get to Newton, Utah 23 turns EAST at a T-intersection. Take a LEFT here, and go west and northwest on Utah 142 to Clarkston.   eBird Data:  | Steel Canyon |

When you get to Clarkston, stay on Utah 142 until it turns right at the intersection with Center St. Here, go north (straight) on 200 E. This road will take you past the Clarkston Cemetery and into ag land. Stay on 200 E as it turns into Stink Creek Rd and Dirty Head Rd [Google Map] and head north [on Dirty Head Rd.].  Look for W 13200 N on your left, and take this road west. Don't turn off this road once you are on it - it will meander all the way to the bottom of Steel Canyon, where you will find corral and a cowguard. This is Steel Canyon - you can drive all the way to the top of the canyon and the UT-ID state line. You can drive it (carefully) with a passenger car; I prefer to take my truck when I drive it.

All of Steel Canyon except for perhaps the very top is private land. Stay on the road and respect the No Trespassing signs. Ruffed Grouse are perhaps best found in the upper reaches of the canyon, where the road is close to the deciduous forest and the creek. Sharp-tailed Grouse likely won't be found in Steel Canyon itself; they are present throughout the ag land that you drove through to get to Steel Canyon. All of the ag land also is private; the Gray Partridge hunting season is still in effect. Gray Partridge and Sharp-tailed grouse have been seen recently at a spring along Dirty Head Rd, about 0.85 mile south of the intersection with W 13200 N.

Other birds seen in the past few weeks [in November] in Steel Canyon include three real good birds for Cache Co. (Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, and Western Scrub-Jay) as well as Common Redpoll and Northern Goshawk.
  

Summit County

  Bobolink  (usually around June)
South Oakley ~ submitted by Nancy Matro (June 2013) - Bobolinks are in Oakley [sometime around June] on the east and west side of Millrace Rd., less than a city block north of the first house north of Rob Young Ln. [birds are at about 4500 North] There's a field on the west side of the road starting at the intersection with Rob Young Ln. The house is on the east side of Millrace Rd and there's a field just north of the house. I've seen bobolinks in both fields.
     (You can get to Millrace Road by going south on US 32 through the middle of Oakley and instead of following the highway as it bends left a couple of blocks south of center street (and the post office), go straight.  This is Millrace Road).

Henefer - In the spring Bobolinks sometimes show up in a particular field west of Henefer.  Take East Canyon Road (SR 65) from Main Street in the middle of town and go 0.2 miles to a parking lot just past an industrial building on the right side of the road.  Go to the northwest corner of the parking lot to look for Bobolinks which are usually on the fence posts.
  

Utah County

  Wood Duck 
West Provo - (About 2700 west and 220 North in Provo)  There is a short dead end road (2710 W.) that ends in a fence and gate.  This is a good place to look in the wooded ponds behind the houses.  If you go north from here on 220 North to where the road turns south, you can sometimes see the Wood Ducks in the yards of the houses in front of the ponds.  If you go around the corner (turn left twice) there is a spot where you can look into the ponds from the street
  
  Burrowing Owl (spring and summer)
North of Elberta - Go north on UT 68 from Elberta about a mile.  As you cross the railroad tracks and approach mile marker "1," look right (east) and check out the prairie dog mounds in the sage brush flat.  (Burrowing Owls have been spotted at different locations within a 12-mile stretch along this road).
   
  Lewis's Woodpecker (fall and winter)
East of Salem - From highway 198 going from Spanish Fork to Salem, pass the Hari Krishna temple on the right , turn left at the bottom of the hill (going east) on 8800 South (county road) which is also 1100 North (Salem street). Cross Woodland Hills Drive (there's a stop sign) and turn right at the first available road (there is no sign, but this should be 400 East as a county road, not to be confused with a street of the same name within the Salem City limits). If you continue south on this road for about a half mile you will come to a hill which is part of a ridge which has a lot of scrub oak on it (at the top of the ridge, 9650 South Street goes off to the left [east] along the ridge) . The Woodpeckers can often be seen on the telephone poles along the road near the hill and also in the scrub oak along the ridge as well as in the larger trees along the top of the ridge.
 
  American Three-toed Woodpecker (the road is closed in the winter)
Nebo Loop - From the main road to Payson Lakes (there's one road about 3/4 mile before this one), go up the Nebo Loop road about 11 miles (don't take the turnoff to Camp Koholowo / Santaquin Canyon which is about 4.6 miles from Payson Lakes).  Pull into the parking lot of the  "Monument Trailhead."  At the south end of the parking lot there are a bunch of dead or dying spruce trees that have been worked over by the Three-toed Woodpeckers -- there's a lot of bark chips at the base of the trees. If you don't find them here you  can try going a little ways down  the trail (to the west).
 
  Purple Martin  (the road is closed in the winter)
Nebo Loop - From the main road to Payson Lakes (there's one road about 3/4 mile before this one), go up the Nebo Loop road about 10 miles (don't take the turnoff to Camp Koholowo / Santaquin Canyon which is about 4.6 miles from Payson Lakes).  You can recognize the martin place because as you climb to a dynamic curve at the top of a hill, there's an open panoramic view and then some aspen trees on the left (east side) where there are some (martin) boxes that have been attached to the trees. (If you come to the "Monument Trailhead" you've gone about a mile too far).
  
 (Directions by Eric Huish):  From the Payson Canyon side: The martins nest on the Nebo Loop 5.4 miles past the Santaquin Canyon turn off. If coming up Santaquin Canyon turn right (south) when you hit the Nebo Loop Road and go 5.4 miles. If coming from Nephi the spot is 1 mile past the Monument Trailhead sign.
       If coming from the north the road will be curving to the right around a hill and there will be a vista on your left with a few dead aspen trees out in the open. There are some small spots where you can pull off the road but they are hard to see.
 
  Swainson's Thrush (spring and summer)
South Fork of Provo Canyon - From Vivian Park, about 5 miles up Provo Canyon, take the South Fork Road 1.1 miles to a white gate on the right.  There are signs that read "Provo City Watershed" and "no trespassing,"  You can usually hear the thrushes from the road.  Swainson's Thrushes can also be found at Vivian Park at the mouth of South Fork Canyon and at Big Spring Hollow about 3 1/2 miles up the canyon.
  Bobolink 
Fields north of Goshen - Go north on Center Street in Goshen (this becomes Goshen Bay Road). In about a mile the paved road (14000 South) goes off to the left. Continues on the dirt road .  The Bobolinks are usually seen from 1/2 mile down this road to near the end about 1 1/2 miles down the road.
  
Fields near Palmyra - From the southern-most Springville exit take State Road 77 going west.  Go to 2000 West and turn right (going north) and go about a quarter of a mile. The Bobolinks should be along this road. (Google drop pin)
  

Wasatch County

  Bobolink 
Fields north of Heber - Go north on Main St. in Heber to 1750 North (about 3/4 of a mile north of town by the Other End Bar and Grill). Turn left on the dirt road just south of the "Other End" and go west about 1 1/2 blocks. The Bobolinks are usually on the north side of the road in this area. (If you don't see them here, check around the whole area).
  

Weber County

  Lewis's Woodpecker  (spring and winter)  ~ submitted by Kris Purdy
Northwest Ogden Valley (in the area of the North Fork) - To reach this area, take I-15 to exit 344 (12th Street and SR-39), turn east and drive through Ogden Canyon. At the head of the canyon, turn left (north) onto SR-158 and drive across Pineview Dam. Drive north on SR-158 just over 4 miles to the stop sign in Eden. Turn left (west) and drive 3 miles to the stop sign in Liberty. Turn left (west) on 4100N. and drive .3 miles. Turn right (north) at 3300E. and drive 1.3 miles or so (The road will become 3100E as you proceed north). Bear left onto North Fork Road. Drive 1.1 miles and turn left (west) onto 5950N. where you’ll see a sign for Ben Lomond Trailhead and North Fork Park. Drive .4 miles and turn left (west) at a squirrely street sign that says 5850N. TO 2250E. Drive .1 miles and park near the 90° turn. Scan the field to the south (left) for the woodpeckers in the dead tops of the cottonwoods.
 
  Bobolink  (spring -- mid May)  ~ submitted by Kris Purdy
Ogden Valley - Bobolinks have arrived in Ogden Valley northeast of Huntsville in Weber County, and can be observed from one of the usual places, Middlefork Lane. To get there, travel east on SR-39 from I-15 exit 344, 12th Street. Pass through Ogden Canyon, along the south shore of Pineview Reservoir, and east of Huntsville. When SR-39 takes a 90-degree east turn toward Monte Cristo, pass that by and continue north for .2-.3 miles. DON’T bear west toward Eden and Liberty on SR-166; continue north on 7800E. for about ¾ mile and turn east on Middlefork Lane. Drive to the end of the cul-de-sac and park. Listen for the Bobolink’s distinct song; scan fence lines and irrigation equipment for perched birds.
 
  Rosy-Finches  (winter)  ~ submitted by Kris Purdy
Powder Ridge Village - Gray-crowned and Black Rosy-finches have been coming regularly to the feeder at Powder Ridge Village in the winter time.  (direction)

    

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