18-26 Oct 2007
Quail Creek State Park
Washington County, Utah

E-mail from Rick Fridell  (18 Oct 2007):

Hello everyone,

... I noticed a juvenile jaeger flying around Quail Creek State Park (Washington Co.) this morning (10/18) on my way up to a meeting in Cedar City. I managed to make it back this afternoon, this time with optics, and soon noticed the jaeger was a juvenile light-phase Long-tailed Jaeger. It managed to stay mostly along the opposite shoreline (of course), flying along the cliffs, and occasionally fluttering down to the water surface. It would occasionally rest on the water for short periods. I think I managed to get some blurry, but identifiable, photos. It was surprisingly difficult to track while flying, and I would often lose it for a while against the cliffs on the east side of Quail Creek reservoir. The pale head and strongly barred undertail coverts were quite obvious when it is perched on the water, and the pale belly, chest, and white underwing barring were apparent in flight.

I last observed the jaeger this afternoon about 6:10 with Josh Kreitzer and family...

Regards,

Rick Fridell
Hurricane, UT

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Rick took the pictures below on 26 Oct 2007.

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Here are some other pictures in the "Photo Gallery"  taken by Tim Avery on 19 Oct 2007:    Flying (5 photos), Action (2 photos)

Photos by Rick Fridell