[Birdtalk] Utah Lake SP

[Colby Neuman]

Hi all,

Tim Avery and I went down to Utah Lake State Park (Utah County) this
afternoon.  We scanned the open water at the mouth of the Provo River in
Utah Lake.  Here we saw 100+ American Coots, Mallards, a lone male Ruddy
Duck and the previously reported Snow Goose.  The bird appeared to have a
more rounded head than the average Snow Goose (although the photo doesn't
seem to demonstrate it as well).  When the Snow Goose was swimming with
nearby Mallards, it gave the impression that it was very similar in size.
However, out of the water the bird did indeed appear bigger.  Anyway, we
were wondering if it could be a hybrid Snow X Ross' Goose?  It's not
something I've noticed before, but do Snow Geese typically show the dark
flecking on the head that appears on this bird?  Here's a shot that Tim
took...

<http://timaverybirding.com/photos/febr07/cacg_02.jpg>http://timaverybirding.com/photos/febr07/goose_01.jpg

We then walked the path that follows the shoreline to the north of Utah Lake
SP.  We did find at least two Cackling Geese that were mixed in with a large
flock of Canada Geese in the fields to east of the pathway.  Pics of the two
birds can be found at the following links...

http://timaverybirding.com/photos/febr07/cacg_01.jpg
http://timaverybirding.com/photos/febr07/cacg_03.jpg
http://timaverybirding.com/photos/febr07/cacg_02.jpg

Unfortunately we were not able to locate the Swamp Sparrow that was found on
the CBC along the pathway.

Colby
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