[Birdtalk] Harris Sparrow still at Willard Bay Campground

[STEPHEN T CARLILE]

The Great Salt Lake Birders stopped at the Willard Bay Campground today on our way home from our Golden Spike and points north trip.  We met Tim Avery there who said he had found the White-throated Sparrow. (See Tim's pictures on his earlier Birdnet post).  We hunted for the White-throat, but did not find it.  However, we did see the juvenile Harris Sparrow in the brush on the paved trail, at the northwest end of the campground.   Because of the warm weather and all the snow being gone, our hoped for Longspurs and Snow Buntings around Howell were not to be found.  Only a few dozen Horned Larks were seen, and then in only groups of two to five.  With the snow gone the raptors seemed to have dispersed as well.  Six raptor species were seen, but their overall numbers were lower than expected.  We did see a total of 34 species for the trip (assuming my count is right), with the following highlights.

Golden Eagle (2) on the road to Golden Spike
Bald Eagle (10) various locations, 6 at Willard Bay
Prairie Falcon (1) on the road to Golden Spike
Rough-legged Hawk (4) on the road to Golden Spike
Northern Shrike (1) on the road to Golden Spike
Tundra Swan (200+) - fields north of Willard Bay
White-breasted Nuthatch - Willard Bay
Harris Sparrow - Willard Bay

Thanks,

Stephen

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