Quick Schedule
Registration

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AGENDA

Wednesday, August 16

Pre-symposium field trip to the Uinta Mountains

Thursday, August 17

Field Trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Registration begins at 12:00pm at the Wildlife Education Center

Social at 5:30pm - Pete Dunne on “The Art of Pishing” at 6:30pm - Book-signing to follow

Friday, August 18

Morning - field trips to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge; Salt Creek WMA/ Promontory/Golden Spike; Logan Canyon/Tony Grove; Willard Bay State Park/Antelope Island State Park

Afternoon – presentations and papers by Utah birders, biologists & researchers

“Utah Geology & Unique Bird Life,” by Don Paul

“Bear River Shorebird Abundance & Phenology,” by Bridget Olson

“Field Sketching Birds for Documentation,” with Dave Prevedel

Evening – 5:30pm - Dutch oven dinner/banquet at the Brigham City Community Center – with speaker

 Pete Dunne on “Twenty Things That Changed Birding” at 7:00pm

Saturday, August 19

Morning – Salt Creek WMA/ Promontory/Golden Spike; Logan Canyon/Tony Grove; Willard Bay State Park/Antelope Island State Park; Shorebird I.D. Workshop/trip at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

Afternoon – presentations and papers by Utah birders, biologists & researchers (more will be added)

“Owls in the West” with Emphasis on Utah, by Merrill Webb

“Hope is the Thing With Feathers,” by Chris Cokinos – book signing following

“Funding Wildlife in the New Millennium,” by Bill Fenimore - followed by a panel discussion

“Do Birders Pay Their Way?” -  “How Can We Better Fund Nongame Wildlife Programs in Utah?”

UOS Membership business meeting – 4:00pm

 (Activities for non-birding spouses & children at Bear River Bird Refuge both Friday & Saturday)

Thursday, August 17

The Art of Pishing – Why drive and walk in search of birds when you can get them to come to you?  Pete Dunne, author of the newly released Art of Pishing will show you how to wheeze, shush, stutter and whistle your way to inner peace, spiritual enlightenment, and a few good birds.  Wear clothing you don’t mind getting wet.  Those easily embarrassed need not attend.

Friday, August 18

Twenty Things that Changed Birding – Birding, that quaint, closet avocation once enjoyed by wispy haired academic types, the stereotypic little-ol’-lady-in-tennis-sneakers has morphed into the second largest and fastest-growing outdoor activity.  But why?  How?  What are the catalytic social changes, political decisions, products, ideas, publications, and people that shifted the avocational axis of birding?  Pete Dunne peered deep into the suds lying atop a cold mug and has come up with twenty answers.  Some will make you nod.  Some will make you pause.  All will help you better understand the hobby that serves as your addiction.

JOIN US!  Celebrate completion of the new Wildlife Education Center at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge!  The Refuge, along with Brigham City, Utah State University, the Utah Ornithological Society, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and others, are hosting this symposium.

Shorebird migration in northern Utah will be at its peak!  There’s no better place to learn and practice identification skills than habitats around the Great Salt Lake.  Morning field trips will take you to some of northern Utah’s most scenic and unique bird habitats – at all elevations.  Afternoon presentations will be held at the Wildlife Education Center at Bear River Refuge.  Learn all about birds and birding in Utah from some of the state’s most experienced birders and researchers.  Enjoy a traditional Utah “Dutch Oven Dinner” and let Pete Dunne educate and entertain you!

Some bird species we’ll look for include:  Cinnamon Teal, Chukar, Gray Partridge, Western and Clark’s Grebes, Swainson’s and Ferruginous Hawks, Peregrine and Prairie Falcons, Snowy Plover, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Western, Least and Baird’s Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, Burrowing and Short-eared Owls, White-throated Swift, Black-chinned, Calliope, Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbirds, Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, American three-toed Woodpecker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond’s, Gray, Dusky, Ash-throated and Cordilleran Flycatchers, Western and Eastern Kingbirds, Loggerhead Shrike, Plumbeous and Warbling Vireos, Gray, Steller’s, Western Scrub and Pinion Jays, Clark’s Nutcracker, Violet-green Swallow, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Rock and Canyon Wrens, American Dipper, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Sage Thrasher, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped and MacGillivray’s Warblers, Western Tanager, Green-tailed and Spotted Towhees, Chipping, Brewer’s and Fox Sparrows, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock’s Oriole, Black Rosy-Finch, Pine Grosbeak, and Cassin’s Finch.

Details on where to find more complete event information and registration forms will be forth-coming!  To get on a mailing list for the event flyer, call Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge at:  (435) 723-5887 or send an email to:  bearriver@fws.gov and provide your mailing address.

Questions can be directed to:  Betsy Beneke, Outdoor Recreation Planner, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, 2155 West Forest Street, Brigham City, Utah, 84302;  (435) 734-6436  or  Betsy_Beneke@fws.gov.