[Birdtalk] Bear Lake National Bird Refuge

[Steve Coleman]

Hi All

I spent a wonderful day at Bear Lake Bird Refuge on Saturday and saw
some great and some odd birds. First and most exciting was a pair of
Trumpeter Swans one of them had a green neck band #5E3, I also saw 2
Tundra Swans. Two odd looking ducks one looked like a Wigeon-Mallard
hybrid the closest thing in the field guide is a Falcated Duck but I
couldn't find this duck on either the Utah or Idaho Bird Lists, it had
the green mask and head markings of a Wigeon (except the yellow
forehead) a distinct yellow line under the green marking and the back
looked just like a mallard. Any ideas? The other odd duck was an Albino
Green Winged Teal, he had all the markings of a Green Wing but the
colors were white and light gray he had a bright orange bill. He was
seen with a large group of Green wings.

Other birds seen
Golden Eagle
Bald Eagle 1 mature and one juvenile watched the mature eagle take a
coot off he water to the top of a power pole and start plucking it,
watched the juvenile take a fish out of one of the ponds.
Brewer's Black-birds
Red Tailed Hawk
Pintail
Ruddy Duck
Cinnamon Teal
RW Black-bird
YH Black-bird
Coots
Marsh Wrens very active
Franklins Gulls
Rough Winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Snowy Egret
Meadowlark
A Pelican
PB Grebe 
W Grebe
WF Ibis
Willet
N Harrier
Redhead
Scaup
N Shovelers
Blue-wing Teal about 50 birds, the most I have ever seen in one place
Green-wing Teal
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Greater  Yellowlegs
Wilson's Phalarope
1 Red-necked Phalarope
Long-billed Dowitcher
Song Sparrow
A Avocet
Cal Gull
Raven
Long-billed Curlew
Mallard
A Kestrel
Swainson's Hawk
Turkey Vulture

Happy Birding 
Steve