Category: Birds

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A Washington County Big Day

Roadrunner in a Tree, Courtesy Pixabay, Mike-RJA1988 Contributor
Roadrunner in a Tree
Courtesy Pixabay, Mike-RJA1988 Contributor
As dawn breaks, I find myself with a fellow birder at Lytle Ranch on the Beaver Dam slope, elevation approximately 2000 feet. With the binoculars and cell phones, birding apps in hand, we begin our search. By nightfall, we will be at Kolob Reservoir elevation, a bit over 8000 feet.

Lytle Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer
Lytle Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Courtesy & Hell-Hole Canyon in the Rain Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Courtesy & Hell-Hole Canyon in the Rain
Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Birding Students from UTU Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Birding Students from UTU
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

My Family Birding Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer My Family Birding
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Fishhook Cactus Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Fishhook Cactus
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Ephemeral Pool Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Ephemeral Pool
Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Marshall Birding Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer Marshall Birding
Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer

Our list of birds observed for the day will exceed 100 different species. This day, we will have passed through numerous life zones, beginning in the Sonoran life zone of the Mojave Desert and ending up in the alpine forests of the Canadian life zone.

In birder’s language, we call this a big day.

There are 924 bird species known to be in the United States. The average county in Utah has approximately 295 species, but Washington County, Utah, boasts 400 species.

The incredible diversity of bird life is due to several factors. Probably the most important is the convergence of three different geophysical features. The Great Basin Desert invades Washington County from the north, the Mojave Desert from the south, and the Colorado Plateau comes in from the east. Each different geophysical feature brings with it its own distinct complement of plants and animals, and therefore birds. In addition to the merging of geophysical features, Washington County is incredibly diverse topography. The elevation changes from 2000 feet to over 10,000 feet at the top of Pine Mountain, which locals refer to as Pine Valley Mountain.

The numerous different life zones provide opportunity to observe many different species of birds. Erosion has also played a part in the diversity of life here. What was once the bottom of washes that filled with magma from ancient volcanoes are now the tops of ridges capped with basalt or lava. This inverse topography is not common elsewhere in a state, and it provides unique microhabitats, such as north-south slopes, which retain different amounts of moisture due to their orientation to the winter sun. The difference in soil moisture content produces different plants and attracts different birds.

There is also the fact that we are near the convergence of two different migration flight ways, the Pacific Flyway on the west and the central flyway to the east. Birds from both these flyways can find their way into the county.

Soil types should also be included in the list, from basalt to sandstone and limestone, and various different soils found in the area contribute to the diversity of plant life, and therefore bird life, as well. Sandstone is known to create both ephemeral pools after rainstorms on the surface and absorb water like a sponge, which slowly leaks out at the base, creating life-sustaining water seeps.

Surprisingly, Utah ranks only 45th out of 50 states in the United States with regard to the number of people who consider themselves birders. The national average is 24% but in Utah, only 11% think that they would qualify. This is a bit unfortunate, because research has shown birding to have tremendous advantages for human physical and cognitive health. Committed bird watchers have detectable brain differences that suggest bird watching reshapes the brain in much the same way as learning a language or a musical instrument does. Three combined studies in the UK have shown bird watching to be a remedy for stress, anxiety, and depression. Becoming a birder physically reshapes your brain. Considerable research shows that learning and practicing bird identification increases the structural density and complexity in brain regions tied to physical processing, attention, and working memory. These changes help build a cognitive buffer that protects against age-related memory decline.

Perhaps Terry Tempest Williams put it best: “Birds are wherever we are. They are our companions. Birds are mediators between heaven and earth.”

This is Professor Marshall Topham from Utah Tech University. I’m wild about Utah.

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Marshall Topham, Photographer
Also included photos Courtesy US BLM: https://www.flickr.com/photos/blmutah/32152508267/in/album-72157667920964286/
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Bob Holmes, Composer, Hugh Jones, Producer, Rubber Rodeo-Before I Go Away, 1984, https://www.discogs.com/release/9698183-Rubber-Rodeo-Scenic-Views
Text: Marshall Topham, https://ees.utahtech.edu/faculty-staff/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah pieces by Marshall Topham https://wildaboututah.org/author/marshall-topham/

417 Species in Washington County, Utah United States, eBird Printable Checklist, eBird.org [visited June 22, 2026] https://ebird.org/printableList?regionCode=US-UT-053

Birding in Washington County, UtahBirds.org, http://utahbirds.org/counties/washington/index.html Note, this is not a TSL-protected connection: http not https.

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Participate in the Junior Duck Stamp Program

Two Mallards Flying from Forest Street, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Courtesy US FWS, Sheryl Ritter, Photographer
Two Mallards Flying from Forest Street
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Courtesy US FWS,
Sheryl Ritter, Photographer
Dr. Joseph Kozlowski
Last month, I ran a segment on how students engaging in nature-related art helps them develop appreciation and awareness for the natural world around them. Today, I am joined by Gabby Johnson, who works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, who is here to share her experience leading the Utah Junior Duck Stamp Contest, which encourages just that kind of nature and art appreciation.

So thank you, Gabby, for being here with us. Do you mind jumping right into a little bit of the history of this program?

Gabby Johnson
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

The Junior Duck Stamp Program is part of the Federal Duck Stamp Program, which started in 1934 when Congress passed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act. Every waterfowl hunter 16 and older is required to purchase a federal duck stamp each year they hunt. Since 1934, sales from federal duck stamps have helped conserve more than six million acres of wildlife habitat. Ninety-eight cents of every duck stamp dollar goes to purchasing or leasing wetlands and wildlife habitat, and the art featured on the duck stamp is chosen every year in the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest.

In 1989, the Junior Duck Stamp Program started. This program gives students the opportunity to learn about conservation and submit a waterfowl painting or drawing into the Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. After the state-level competitions, the art is judged at the national level, and the winning art is made into the Junior Duck Stamp, which sells for $5 to support conservation education.

Dr Joseph Kozlowski
Six million acres, that’s incredible. It makes me think of that saying I’ve heard, hunting is conservation, and it’s neat to see those two communities work together to support wildlife in this sense in wetlands.

So what about a basic overview of how people might be able to participate in this program?

Gabby Johnson
Yeah. All students from kindergarten through 12th grade, whether in a public, private, charter, or homeschool are welcome to participate in the Junior Duck Stamp Program. Each state holds their own Junior Duck Stamp Contest. In Utah, the deadline to submit art each year is March 1st.

Students participating in the program learn about North American waterfowl, including ducks, geese, and swans, and the importance of wetland habitat to these animals. Students share what they’ve learned during classroom discussions, research, and planning through both the artwork and a written conservation message. There are some contest rules to keep in mind, like specific paper size, and ensuring there’s no writing on the front of the artwork. For educators interested in getting involved, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has a variety of materials to support you. Educators can reach out about in-class programming, field trips at the refuge, or rentable art supplies and curriculum guides.

Dr Joseph Kozlowski
And I know personally as a educator who has done this program with my students, you’ve been incredibly helpful to staff at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in supporting me in getting the resources and submitting artwork in the correct way, so thank you.

What about the impact you’ve seen from participation in this program?

Gabby Johnson
Yeah, one of my favorite parts of working on this program has been getting to read the student conservation messages. Through learning about waterfowl and wetlands, creating their artwork, and taking time to write about conservation, students recognize the important role wetlands play in our environment and the ways they can have a role in conservation, and that’s clear through their conservation messages.

This year, our conservation message winner was Jason Deacon. He’s 11 years old, and his message was, for future inspiration, utilize smart conservation.

Dr Joseph Kozlowski
I think it’s so important definitely here in Utah where we face these real water questions and water conservation issues to get kids thinking at a young age how they can be aware and thoughtful of some of those practices and ideas.

Well, finally, Gabby, what excites you personally about this program?

Gabby Johnson
I think the lasting impact this program can have on students is the most exciting part of the program to me. When there’s a positive experience associated with learning about waterfowl, wetlands, and the local environment as a student, the hope is that the value for these resources for students increases, and they make decisions in the future that reflect that care and value.
Dr Joseph Kozlowski
Well, personally, I’m awfully grateful for this program. My students have been doing this for a couple years now, and as our implementation of this program gets better and better each year, I can see that lasting impact in their knowledge and their understanding of conservation and wetlands, so I thank you, Gabby, for being here, and to all you educators and families out there, I encourage you, get your kids involved, encourage them to try to participate in this Junior Duck Stamp Contest, and I think you’ll see a lot of benefits in their learning and appreciation for the world around us.
Dr Joseph Kozlowski & Gabby Johnson
So I’m Dr. Joseph Kozlowski.
I’m Gabby Johnson.

And we’re wild about outdoor education in Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver
Text:     Audio converted to text using Otter.ai, Speakers: Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/ Gabby Johnson, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, US Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bear-river-migratory-bird
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski & Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah:

Edith Bowen Lab School, Utah State University, https://edithbowen.usu.edu/

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bear-river-migratory-bird
https://www.facebook.com/BearRiverMBR/

Junior Duck Stamp, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/program/junior-duck-stamp/junior-duck-stamp-contest-information

Junior Duck Stamp Gallery, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/junior-duck-stamp-gallery

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Birds calling in the night

Birds calling in the night: Yellow-breasted Chat, (Icteria virens), South Fork, Ogden River, Weber County, Utah, 12 May 2013, Courtesy & Copyright Paul Higgins, Photographer
Yellow-breasted Chat, (Icteria virens)
South Fork, Ogden River, Weber County, Utah, May 12, 2013
Courtesy & Copyright Paul Higgins, Photographer
I have the distinct privilege of working part-time at the Canyonlands Research Center, operated by The Nature Conservancy in Utah’s southeast corner. I live in northern Utah, so when I’m down there in the warmer months, I usually camp alongside some cottonwood trees that line the stream course of Indian Creek. The trees and shrubs create a green oasis amidst the surrounding desert of Bears Ears National Monument. Birds love it there, and I love to watch and listen to them.

This time of year, sunrise brings a raucous symphony of sound as a couple dozen species of birds raise their respective voices to attract mates and stake out territories. Nights are much quieter, of course, as most songbirds doze off in the darkness, conserving energy and avoiding nocturnal predators like snakes and raccoons. But in May, the midnight stillness on Indian Creek is broken by the loud calls of a unique songbird, the yellow-breasted chat.

Yellow-breasted Chat, (Icteria virens), Courtesy US FWS
Yellow-breasted Chat,
(Icteria virens)
Courtesy US FWS

Black-crowned Night Heron, Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, Photographer Black-crowned Night Heron
(Nycticorax nycticorax)
Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, Photographer

Great Horned Owl and Chick Courtesy US FWS George Gentry, Photographer Great Horned Owl and Chick
(Bubo virginianus)
Courtesy US FWS
George Gentry, Photographer

Western Screech Owl Courtesy & Copyright Lu Giddings Western Screech Owl
(Megascops kennicottii)
Courtesy & Copyright Lu Giddings

Now, it’s not unheard of for birds to be active in the nighttime. But most nocturnal birds are not songbirds. The best-known, of course, are the owls. We have at least 12 species of owl in Utah, selecting different habitats from deserts to mountains to valleys and even towns. In the winter months, when I walk the streets of my small town before dawn, I occasionally hear great horned owls calling to each other. And a couple of summers ago, a pair of Western screech-owls raised two youngsters in the backyard.

Other Utah birds that are active at night include the aptly named black-crowned night heron. It may be seen in marshy areas at dawn or dusk, waiting by water’s edge to ambush prey animals such as fish, frogs, worms, mice and snakes. They can sometimes be seen during daylight hours – for example, at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge – but they tend to spend their days resting in dense bushes or trees.

Another nocturnal bird is the common poorwill, which breeds on dry, rocky slopes. You may never see one, as they blend in well with the ground they nest on, but you might hear the distinctive “poor-willip” call of the males, especially on a warm night at moonrise.

One songbird that sometimes sings at night is the Northern Mockingbird, famous for its mimicry and variety of songs. These striking gray birds are more common in southern Utah, but they’ve been found on Antelope Island, and my wife and I have seen a pair of mockingbirds at the very tip of Promontory Point, near where the railroad causeway heads west across the Great Salt Lake.

Then there’s the yellow-breasted chat. As the name suggests, chats boast a conspicuous deep-yellow breast, along with a long tail, and a greenish head with white spectacles, eyebrows and mustache. For many years, the chat was thought to be the largest warbler in North America – weighing twice as much as other common Utah warblers like the yellow warbler or the yellow-rumped warbler. But recent genetic analysis suggests that this species is actually quite unique – in fact, the only member of its own family.

Chats can be hard to see, as they tend to skulk in dense foliage. But they definitely can be heard. Their wide vocal repertoire includes whistling and cackling, meowing and cawing, chuckling and rattling, squawking, gurgling, and popping. Like the mockingbird, some chats may even mimic other songbirds.

So why sing at night? The advantage is that there’s less noise competition. Night-calling males in search of a mate can cut through the auditory chaos of springtime, with songs that carry far from their perch and increase the chance that they’ll be heard by a male-seeking female. The disadvantage, of course, is that predators can hear them, too.

It’s a tradeoff that the chat has evolved to make, and one that has enriched my nights, camping under the cottonwoods.

I’m Mark Brunson, and I’m wild about Utah both day and night.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy US FWS, https://www.fws.gov/media/yellow-breasted-chat-felsenthal-nwr
Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, Photographer, https://www.fws.gov/media/black-crowned-night-heron-13
Great Horned Owl and Chick, (Bubo virginianus), Courtesy US FWS, George Gentry, Photographer
Western Screech Owl, (Megascops kennicottii), Courtesy & Copyright Lu Giddings
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/, J. Chase and K.W. Baldwin as well as Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text: Mark Brunson, https://www.usu.edu/experts/profile/mark-brunson/
Additional Reading: Mark Brunson, https://www.usu.edu/experts/profile/mark-brunson/ & Lyle Bingham, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading

Mark Brunson’s archive: https://wildaboututah.org/?s=brunson

Cook, Horace P. 1935. The song of the yellow-breasted chat. Wilson Bulletin 47(4):21. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4191&context=wilson_bulletin

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Yellow-breasted chat. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-breasted_Chat/overview

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2011. Birding by Night. All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/birding-by-night/

National Audubon Society. Black-crowned night heron. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-crowned-night-heron

Utah Birds. Northern Mockingbird. http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesL-R/NorthernMockingbird.htm

Ward, M. P., Alessi, M., Benson, T. J., & Chiavacci, S. J. (2014). The active nightlife of diurnal birds: extraterritorial forays and nocturnal activity patterns. Animal Behaviour, 88: 175-184.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213005320?via%3Dihub

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Cache Valley Sugar Beets and German POWs

Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory, Weston near Franklin, ID Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory, Weston near Franklin, ID
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
When I started teaching at Preston High School, one of the first books my English class read was The Diary of Anne Frank. I remember asking the class if they had any family stories of their own to share about those war years. A young woman raised her hand and said her grandparents had a painting on their wall that had been given to them by a German Prisoner of War. This POW had worked on their Cache Valley sugar beet farm in 1945. He’d signed the painting, and had written a few words of thanks on the back for the kind treatment he had received

I was astounded. German POW’s in Cache Valley? This led me to ask more questions.

I found out in 1945 there were close to 400 German POWs living in tents in a work camp at the Cache Valley Fairgrounds. Local farmers contracted with the US Government to hire the POWs to work in the fields for 80 cents a day.

Each morning the prisoners would get loaded into trucks and driven to a sugar beet field. The work day didn’t end until 8 pm when the prisoners returned to the Fairgrounds, damp and chilled, from the ride in the open bed trucks.

Sugar Beet Knives Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Sugar Beet Knives
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
In 1945, sugar beets were a profitable crop, but labor intensive. In the Spring, the beets needed to be thinned and weeded. This work was done by a short handled hoe. In the Fall, the beets needed to be pulled out of the ground. This was done by a special beet knife with a big fish hook on the end. Once pulled out of the ground, the top leaves were sliced off and the beets tossed into a pile bound for the sugar factory.

At the peak of sugar beet farming in and around Cache Valley, there were 5 sugar factories operating. But by 1945 the factories were down to two – one located in Lewiston, and the other in Whitney, near Preston.

Native Americans came from Arizona to work the beets and set up their colorful teepees in downtown Lewiston. High school students were let out of school for 2-3 weeks in the Fall to work during what were called “Harvest Vacations.”

A friend of mine in Preston told me about a young man who went off the college in the Fall of 1945, but came home after a week. His father handed him a sugar beet knife and told him if he wasn’t going to go to college, he was going to work in the fields.

Everyone I met who once worked in the sugar beet fields told me all the work of thinning and harvesting needed to be done while bent over, and the resulting back pain was terrible.

Of all the stories I heard, my favorite was one of a Logan beet farmer who took his 3-year-old daughter with him to check on the work being done by the POWs he had hired. One day, he looked up and saw one of the German POWs holding his little girl in his arms. The farmer took his little girl by the hand, but the POW didn’t let go. A guard came running over. But both men stopped when they saw the tears running down the POW’s face. Somewhere, many miles away, they realized this German POW had a little girl of his own that he may or may not ever see again.

Today, all the POWs have long gone, as well as the local sugar beet farms. But if you drive north on Highway 89, just before you get to Preston, you can see the remains of the Whitney sugar beet factory. These huge crumbling buildings stand as a reminder that sugar beets were once king in Cache Valley.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio:
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Mary Heers & Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings

Powell, Allan Kent, Splinters of a Nation: German Prisoners of War in Utah (UTAH CENTENNIAL SERIES), University of Utah Press, January 1, 1990, https://www.amazon.com/Splinters-Nation-German-Prisoners-CENTENNIAL/dp/0874803306/ref=sr_1_1

Radford, Alexandria, The Old Sugar Beet Factory, Medium, Oct 7, 2021, https://medium.com/mind-talk/the-old-sugar-beet-factory-2e4b26f906d6

Arrington, Leonard J, Beet Sugar in the West A History of the Utah Idaho Sugar Company 1891-1966 University of Washington, 1966, https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Leonard-J-Arrington/dp/029574037X

Arrington, Leonard J, The Sugar Industry in Utah, Utah History Encyclopedia-website, Utah Education Network – UEN, https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/SUGAR_INDUSTRY.shtml