[Birdnet] Green Heron North of Willard Bay

[kristinpurdy at comcast.net]

Wasatch Audubon flushed a GREEN HERON near the ponds north of Willard Bay State Park in Box Elder County this morning. The bird was in the area of the ponds north of the park that I always call farm ponds; however, joke's on me because this morning I learned those are sewage treatment ponds. I guess the wind has always been blowing the right direction (away from me) when I've visited in the past. 

The heron was east of the dirt road that runs along the east side of the pond. The bird was using a portion of a flooded field just north of the pond. When it flushed, two people in separate cars independently called out Green Heron. Then we all boiled out of the vehicles and watched the bird fly across the dirt road behind the convoy, fly over the visible sewage pond and drop out of sight into the second pond (there are actually three there; only the one along the dirt road is visible).

The heron could be a juvenile; it had a distinct angular-looking crest. 

Also around the edges of that pond were nine juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons, a Spotted Sandpiper, Snowy Egrets, Double-crested Cormorants, Forster's Terns and a Belted Kingfisher. 

Another "good" species was COMMON TERN; we saw two mixed with Forster's Terns and a mess o'gulls resting at water's edge at the Pelican Beach Group Use area. 

The park seemed to be filled with Yellow-rumped Warblers. We also saw Wilson's, Orange-crowned, and a Nashville. There were a few Western Tanagers, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Virginia Rail in the channel north of the north dike, Great-tailed Grackles at the marina, a Western Wood-pewee and two, yes two, Barn Owls in separate areas of the park. One was along the nature trail between the Eagle Beach day use area and the nature trail parking lot; the other was near the pond in Willow Creek Campground. 

Those are the highlights, I guess; we saw other birds, but no others worth bragging about.

Willard Bay State Park is located off I-15 at exit 357. To reach the north sewage ponds, after you've turned west toward the park, turn north on a dirt road and follow it until you see the pond off to your right. Turn right again and you'll be on the road to the east of the pond.

Kris
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