[Birdtalk] Willard West

[Kristin Purdy]

Steve Sommerfeld has been dropping hints that I needed to get myself west of 
Willard Bay in Box Elder County to bird because of the high numbers of birds 
out there on the spur. So I did.

I birded west of Willard Bay today from Harold Crane WMA to approximately 
4.5 miles north and then northeast as the road turned. I saw four Snowy 
Plovers in the narrow playa strip between the road and Harold Crane; they 
were adjacent to the big bump in the road on the west side where somebody 
tried to burn a bed spring and further north to where the tree trunk rests 
in the road. An amusing sighting on the road was three Long-billed Curlews 
walking around one of the deep water-filled ruts created from an 
overabundance of testosterone paired with a Ford 350 diesel pickup.

There's just a little water beginning at about the curve in the dike 
adjacent to the beacon, but few birds. Ultimately, I had to drive about two 
more miles to see birds. The most abundant species out there was the Marbled 
Godwit, likely hundreds or more than a thousand in a broad buffy brown band 
of birds. I also saw the first Bonaparte's Gull of the year along with the 
regular Ring-billed, California, and Franklin's. The only tern species was 
the Caspian and I saw three.

The godwits were too far away for a satisfying study experience. A few gray 
dowitchers were sprinkled in their midst and I also saw avocets, stilts and 
killdeer. A couple small shorebird flocks coursed over the masses, but they 
were too far. I can't remember seeing any other shorebird species.

I pushed a bunch of Yellow-rumped Warblers ahead of me in the tamarisk edge 
on the west side of the road; Rock Wrens cavorted in the rocks at the base 
of the dam; two Loggerhead Shrikes, Vesper Sparrows and one Savannah perched 
on the fence.

I don't think it's worth the trip. The water situation is better than my 
last trip, but we still need more to bring the birds in closer to the road.

There ya go, Steve. I hope you're happy.

I also birded Box Elder Campground in Mantua this morning; it was dead. 
Except for one Gray Catbird and a couple Western Tanagers, all the birds I 
saw or heard (and they were few) were year-round regulars.

Kris