[Birdtalk] Utah county birds

[L. D. Giddings]

Despite this morning's weather there were birds to be seen. I first
stopped at River Lane but had little luck looking and listening for
warblers. A peregrine falcon flew over the buffalo herd pasture just as
I started down the dirt portion of the road. The rain was generally
falling too hard to get out and pish, but things seemed pretty quiet
anyway. There were American coots and Clark's grebes swimming just at
the end of the road as a Caspian tern patrolled overhead. There was a
flock of about 100 swallows prowling the fields just before the road
becomes dirt. Most were barn swallows but there were also a few cliff
and tree swallows, a single bank swallow, and a lone violet-green
swallow in the group. There were also 15 Eurasian collared doves perched
on the ramshackle barn.

The Benjamin area was also pretty bird-bare. The white-faced ibis seem
finally to have gone. A belted kingfisher was spotted perched on a
powerline overlooking a small ditch and a flooded field. There were also
a red-tailed hawk and American kestrel or two in the area.

Lincoln Beach was empty of humans but had a fair variety of species. I
did not see snowy plovers; this is the first time I have missed them at
Lincoln Beach this year since early April. The best birds seen were a
semipalmated plover and a common tern. There is still a flock of about
30 Caspian terns frequenting the area south of the boat ramp, along with
Forster's terns and ring-billed gulls.

Lu Giddings

Mallard
Teal spp.
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Black-billed Magpie
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark