Bird Pix

Bear River is about the most abundant place we've ever birded--birds were everywhere. There were visible clouds of insects, so swarms of swallows as well. And the canals and ponds had waterbirds galore. Best sightings: western and Clark's grebes, short-eared owl, marsh wren, and 100's of white-facedibis.

From the NWR website:
The Refuge and other wetlands associated with the Great Salt Lake provide critical habitat for migrating birds from both the Pacific and Central Flyway of North America. This area contains abundant food for birds. Birds come to the Refuge by the millions to eat and rest during migration.
As part of Great Salt Lake, the Refuge is designated as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site. The millions of feathered visitors that congregate at the refuge during migration will ultimately spread out over the hemisphere. Recoveries of birds banded at Bear River Refuge have shown that while many remain in the United States, Canada and Mexico, some may fly as far as Russia, Central America, or islands in the Pacific Ocean.

And this site has some great info and photos: http://donb.photo.net/bear_river/index.html



Western grebe


White-faced ibis


Yellow-headed blackbird (we saw dozens)

White pelicans--ditto