[Birdtalk] Salt Lake and Davis County Migrants

[Tim Avery]

This morning (08/20), I took Jim Utter and his wife whose name I believe was Jan? birding around the south end of the Great Salt Lake.  We started at the ponds at the west end of Glover Lane where there wasn't much going on.  A lone RUDDY DUCK was floating around, and a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD flew by.

At Farmington Bay WMA the pond at the first major bend to the west was all but dried up and covered with shorebirds.  Highlights included SOLITARY SANDPIPER, several Spotted Sandpiper, numerous Killdeer, several Stilts and Avocets, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalarope and 2 foraging VIRGINIA RAIL.  On the main resting pond there was a single COMMON TERN, as well as a lone Forster's Tern, around 14 BLACK TERN, and several Clark's and several hundred Western Grebe.

In Salt Lake we birded along the Lee's Creek area where there were still 5 SNOWY PLOVER hanging out as well as 2 CASPIAN TERN, a SAGE THRASHER, and a PEREGRINE FALCON among other things.

We ended in Parley's Gulch picking up Lazuli Bunting, California Quail, Lesser Goldfinch, Western Scrub-Jay, Spotted Towhee and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  Migrants included a beautiful female MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, and a SWAINSON'S THRUSH harassing a robin.  A YELLOW WARBLER was giving a really shallow song, that seemed choppy.  The bird was very pale and had blurry streaks.  I wondered if it may have been a first fall male trying out his lungs.  Several RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD as well as Black-chinned and Broad-tailed were also present.

Tallied 79 species, as well as a Pronghorn along the south shore.

Good Birding

Tim
Salt Lake City, Utah
tanager at timaverybirding.com
http://www.timaverybirding.com
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