Saturday, May 15th
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#13 7:00am – 9:00am 
| Antelope Island: Causeway Mike Hearell & Taylor Abbott
We will spend the morning looking along the causeway at all the shorebird species that pass through the Great Salt Lake area on their way to their nesting grounds. If you have a scope please bring it, as many of the birds are off the causeway. Possible species: Black-Bellied Plovers, Snowy Plovers, Willet, Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Hawks, waterfowl, Grebes, Gulls and many more. Also, there is always a chance of rare species this time of year!
*Ticket includes park entry
Limit 12. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#14 7:00am – 12:00pm
| Birding by Ear Bryant Olsen, Merrill Webb, & Max Malmquist
Every bird species has its own unique song. Imagine being able to identify birds that you cannot see in the canopy and dense scrub by their vocalizations. Spend the morning developing your listening skills. Likely species include a variety of warblers, vireos, chickadees and orioles including: Yellow, MacGillivray’s Orange-crowned Warblers, Warbling Vireo, Bullock’s Oriole, and Black capped Chickadee.
Meet at the Wildlife Education Center: 1157 S. Waterfowl Way, (1100 W. Glovers Lane) Farmington, UT 84025.
Limit 10. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $25 |
#15 7:00am – 1:00pm
Canyon Start
Water Start
Valley Start
| Cache Valley Hotspots Adam Brewerton, Mike Taylor, & Jim Parrish
Cache Valley offers beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and quiet solitude off the busy I-15 corridor birding scene. Three small groups will join three local guides to travel through three habitat types - the local mountain canyons, the area’s water and wetlands, and the valley’s grasslands and riparian pathways. The potential walking conditions range from a paved, flat sidewalk to an uphill dirt canyon trail, potentially for up to a mile at each location. Attendees can always go at their own pace or ability if the group speed or conditions are not amenable. Past year species: 3 species of hummingbirds, Wood Duck, Chukar, Gray Partridge, Northern Pygmy- and Short-eared owls, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes, Green-tailed Towhee, Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, and migrating waterfowl, shorebirds, flycatchers, vireos, and warblers. Each group of 10 people will start at a different area and rotate between ALL areas throughout the morning. At registration please choose Canyon, Water or Valley as your starting point. Closer to the event you will be emailed from the guides with the meeting location for your starting spot. Limit 15 per starting location. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#16 7:00 am – 8:30 am
9:00 am – 10:30 am
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
| Learning to Look: Wetlands Richard Crossley, Holly Merker, & Billy Fenimore
Enjoy an intimate setting connecting with nature, our Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Areawetlandfeathered friends, and authors Richard Crossley and Holly Merker in the wetlands that surround the Great Salt Lake habitat of Northern Utah.Understanding is the key to learning. As you shift your focus to look at birds longer, closer, and from a broader perspective than is typical, anew world of discovery opens up. This program is for those who want to learn helpful hints on how to identify birds, observe interesting behaviors, and discover identification tricks of the birding trade with Richard and Holly. Come experience bird watching as an open door into the natural world, and connect with nature for your overall well-being. The class will remain in one viewing location for the duration and is perfect for birders of all levels. Meet at the Wildlife Education Center 1157 S. Waterfowl Way (1100 W. Glovers Lane) Farmington, UT 84025.
Five trip opportunities are available. Please select your start time of 7am, 9am, 11am, 2pm, or 4pm during registration.
Limit 12 per start time. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#17 7:30am – 10:00am
| Bountiful Pond Ian Batterman
Located on the outskirts of Farmington Bay WMA, Bountiful Pond is a lovely oasis for all kinds of birds. This trip involves walking around the pond. The large pond provides a stopover area for many gulls and waterfowl, and the surrounding trees and fields hide many songbirds, owls, and other birds with close viewing opportunities. During migration, Bountiful Pond can often house rare vagrants like Eastern Wood Warblers.
Species to see: Wood Duck, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Red-breasted Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Virginia Rail, American Coot, Wilson’s Snipe, California Gull, Caspian Tern, Forster’s Tern, Barn Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Western Wood-pewee, Dusky Flycatcher, Black-billed Magpie, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Marsh Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Western Tanager, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Great-tailed Grackle.
Meet at the Bountiful Pond parking lot. 1275 W 1600 N, Woods Cross, UT 84087.
Limit 20. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $15 |
#18 8:00am – 12:00pm
| Photography at Farmington Bay Tom Mathewson
This is a guided “drive-your-own-car” tour of specific spots at Farmington Bay, with an emphasis on serious bird photography. We’ll have hands-on sessions at each stop for photographing birds with a tripod as well as hand-held shooting and shooting from a car. We will cover equipment tips, camera settings and shooting techniques for getting the best pictures possible in nearly any conditions. Bring your camera, lens, tripod etc.
Meet at the Wildlife Education Center 1157 S. Waterfowl Way (1100 W. Glovers Lane) Farmington, UT 84025.
Limit 15. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $25 |
#19 9:00am – 12:00pm
1:00pm – 4:00pm
| Burrowing Owl Jessica Taylor & Trish Ackley
Think you know everything about owls? Well not these little hoots. Come see the underground-dwelling, awake in the day, sentinels of the grasslands – burrowing owls. This is a field trip to Antelope Island State Park to look for Burrowing Owl sites.
Meet outside the Antelope Island Entry Gates. 4528 W 1700 S, Syracuse, UT 84075. Continue to drive West on W 1700 S to large parking lot on South side of street to meet field trip leaders. *Ticket includes park entry
Two trip opportunities are available. Please select your start time of 9:00 am or 1:00 pm during registration.
Limit 15 per start time. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $35 |
#20 10:00am – 12:00pm
| Antelope Island: Garr Ranch Mike Hearell & Taylor Abbott
Bird a popular migrant stopover at Fielding Garr Ranch on Antelope Island. Birds crossing the west desert drop into the Ranch’s grove of giant cottonwood trees as the first green spot they see. The area offers several springs and trees with plenty of insects. Possible species: migrating warblers, vireos, flycatchers; also owls, falcons, hawks, woodpeckers, and Virginia Rail.
Meet at Fielding Garr Ranch by way of 4528 W 1700 S, Syracuse, UT 84075. Enter Antelope Island State Park and continue on to Fielding Garr Ranch per park signage, which is approximately 30 minutes from Park entry gate. *Ticket includes park entry
Limit 15. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#21 2:00pm – 5:00pm
| Beginning Birding: Farmington Birding Hotspot Dallin Henderson & Max Malmquist
We will walk to explore the area and wetlands around the Wildlife Education Center and practice new birding skills.
Meet at the Wildlife Education Center: 1157 S. Waterfowl Way (1100 W. Glovers Lane) Farmington, UT 84025.
Limit 20. Adults $10. Children Free. |
#22 5:00pm – 10:00pm
| Utah County Evening Hotspots Joseph Andreasen & Danielle Finlayson
This trip will start during the day in the valley near Utah Lake and finish high in the mountains of American Fork Canyon in the evening. Be prepared for waterfowl and warblers in the day and poor wills and owls at night.
Probable Birds: Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay, Steller’s Jay, Yellow Warbler, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, Caspian Tern, Forster’s Tern, Northern Harrier, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Western Kingbird, Eastern Kingbird, Mountain Chickadee, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Chipping Sparrow, Brewer’s Sparrow, Bullock’s Oriole, Western Tanager, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Common Poorwill, and many others.
Meeting location: The Skipper Bay Trail begins just north of Utah Lake State Park at 40.23929,-111.73418.
To reach the trailhead from I-15, take exit 265 for Provo Center Street and continue west on Center Street towards Utah Lake State Park. After approximately 2.5 miles you will reach the Utah Lake State Park entrance. Do not enter the park; turn right onto North Boat Harbor Drive. Continue to a “T” in the road and turn left onto 4200 West. There is no formal parking lot, but you may park alongside the dead-end road. The trail begins on the north side at the end of the road.
Limit 15. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#29 7:00am – 2:00pm
| Utah County Daytime Hotspots Suzi Holt & Utah County Birders
Visit Rocky Mountain scrub oak and pinyon-juniper habitats. This has been a highly productive trip with a variety of species including Blue and Black-headed Grosbeaks, Common Grackle, Lazuli Bunting, Virginia’s Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Common Bushtit, Juniper Titmouse, Pinyon Jay, and Bullock’s Oriole. Approximately 90 species have been seen on this trip.
Meet in Payson, Utah at the Wal-Mart: 1052 Turf Farm Road. Southbound I-15 take the 2nd Payson exit.
Limit 15. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#32 7:00am - 2:00pm
| Morgan County: Backyard Birding in Two Habitats Weston Smith
Some of the best birding in Morgan County is found in the backyards of the houses in the quaint small towns of Morgan and Croydon in Weber Canyon. Cavity-nesting Tree Swallows, House Wrens, and American Kestrel will be target birds. Bird feeders will be attracting Black-headed Grosbeaks, Bullock's Orioles, Cassin's Finches, Lazuli Buntings, and hummingbirds. This trip has averaged approximately 65 species per year and surprises are always possible. We will also bird along the Weber River in Henefer looking for large nesting birds such as raptors and herons.
Meet along Front Street near the railroad tracks by the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Morgan. 215 Commercial St, Morgan, UT 84050. Take I-84 east to exit 103.
Limit 15. Drive Own Vehicle. Cost $30 |
#33 7:00am - 8:30am
8:30am - 10:00am
| Bird Banding/Mist-Netting at Farmington Creek Billy Fenimore & Russ Lawrence
Join Billy Fenimore Director of the Eccles Wildlife Education Center/Wild about Birds Nature Center and Russ Lawrence the Natural Resource Manager for Hill Air Force Base and support team for a live bird banding/mist–netting demonstration. A fascination and appreciation for birds can be fostered during a mist-netting demonstration. The live bird in the hand is the hook to draw in people and develop an interest in our feathered friends. This is a great opportunity to learn about banding birds from local experts. Also, a great way for beginners to learn about birds is to see them up close, first, before being able to identify them in the field. Depending on how many birds we capture, participants may be able to hold a bird after the banding to release it!
Meet at the Wildlife Education Center 1157 S. Waterfowl Way (1100 W. Glovers Lane) Farmington, UT 84025.Limit 8. Drive Your Own Vehicle. Cost $25 |