The Binocular Site
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah
Here in northern Utah, the Bear River stretches to the northeast arm of Great Salt Lake. Lush marshes are surrounded by desert, making a veritable oasis for waterfowl. Shorebirds migrate from April through May, and over 60 species of birds remain at Bear River to breed and raise young over the summer.
American avocets, black-necked stilts, ducklings, and other young shorebirds are seen in the summer months. 30000 tundra swans begin arriving in October and stay through December, and up to a half million ducks and geese are found here as well.
Colonies of white-faced ibis number up to 18000 birds in a group here. Raptors frequent the area to hunt throughout the winter, including bald eagles, prairie falcons, rough-legged hawks, and northern harriers. Teals, gadwalls, ducks, grebes, wigeons, stilts, and avocets, are also abundant in Bear River.
Fishing is a popular activity here, although it is restricted to specific areas and only when done using foot accesses. Educational field trips are often offered for children and adults to discuss ecology, the importance of wetlands, and wildlife diversity.
When field trips are unavailable, printed materials are still available for anyone at the refuge office and by request. See the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge website for more information.
The state bird of Utah is the California Gull and you can find a birding checklist for Utah here.
Photo credit to Fool-On-The-Hill, used with permission under the creative commons license.
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