[TopOfUtah] Cache Valley tour-March 14th

[Craig Fosdick]

Today I birded Cache Valley looking for spring migrants.  Some good birds
were around today, but nothing great.  No Tree Swallows or anything like
that....this is, after all, Cache Valley, where winter ends sometime around
June 1. Highlights were SANDHILL CRANES, a SLATE-COLORED JUNCO, a dark morph
HARLAN'S RED-TAILED HAWK, CINNAMON TEAL, and three AMERICAN WHITE
PELICANS.  Lowlights were plenty of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.

SANDHILL CRANES, as many observers both in the Cache Valley and along the
Wasatch Front have noted, seemed to be everywhere (which was fine with me).
My count of 94 cranes is very conservative.  Major concentrations were at
the Bear River Oxbow, just east of Benson Marina on 4000 N, and on 2600 N,
just west of 3200 W. At least two cranes were dancing....very cool!

A few lingering birds from winter...a single AMERICAN TREE SPARROW at
Richmond WMA along Utah Hwy 142, along with nine flyover TUNDRA SWANS.  I
could not relocate Ryan O' Donnell's Harris Sparrow from a January trip we
made to that location.

A SLATE-COLORED JUNCO and a PINK-SIDED JUNCO added some spice to a flock of
40 OREGON JUNCOS in Clarkston.  Also in Clarkston was a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
which made a half-hearted attempt at a song. Finally, in case anyone needed
reminding, EURASIAN-COLLARED DOVES are here to stay.  I counted a total of
20 today at Trenton Cemetery, in Trenton, and in Clarkston.  Many had staked
out telephone poles and were singing. Maybe they make good raptor food?

A dark morph HARLAN'S RED-TAILED HAWK was along Utah Hwy 30 just west of
Logan, next to the landfill.

Three AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS and a CINNAMON TEAL were at Benson
Marina.  Both are the first I've seen this year, though I seem to recall
that they have previously been reported in Cache Valley this year?

Good birding, Craig

Craig Fosdick
Logan, Utah
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