Category: Birds

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Bald Eagles

Bald Eagle Feeding
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Bryant Olsen

Juvenile Bald Eagle in Flight
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle
Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene

Flying Immature Bald Eagle

Copyright © 2011 Terry Greene, Photographer

When winter arrives in Utah, a number of our bird species hit the road – some flying thousands of miles to Mexico and Central America in search of a warm winter home.

But there is one notable bird that actually migrates to Utah in the winter – the bald eagle. In general, birds migrate because of seasonal food shortages. Think of the hummingbirds that rely on flower nectar and insects, which Utah cannot provide in winter, but which are abundant other times of the year. The same is true for bald eagles, whose main food source is fish. Winter comes on strong in Alaska and Canada, freezing lakes, ponds, and all but the strongest flowing rivers. So the birds travel to seek out the relatively mild winters found farther south.

One of the largest birds of prey you’ll see in our Utah skies, a mature bald eagle can have a wingspan of 6 to 8 feet and stand almost three feet tall. Only the golden eagle rivals it in size. Pairs are thought to mate for life, and they are also responsible for the largest nests of any bird in North America. One record-setting abode measured 9 feet wide, 20 feet deep, and weighed more than 2 tons.

And to think, we almost lost this incredible species. Since DDT and hunting heavily affected bald eagle numbers in the early half of the 20th century, the birds have made a truly remarkable comeback. From a low point around 4,000 individuals in the lower 48 states, they are now thought to number in the tens of thousands, and have been removed from the Threatened and Endangered Species lists.

Perhaps as their comeback continues, Utah will once again see these majestic animals make their massive nests here, fishing in our many rivers and lakes year round. For now, though, aside from a few rare exceptions, bald eagle enthusiasts will have to make the most of their short winter stay. To observe bald eagles, consider a visit to the Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. Every year, the Bay plays host to hundreds of eagles, from November to March, and while this milder-than-usual winter has brought in fewer numbers of eagles, you may still be able to catch a glimpse. They will likely be heading north later this month, however, so don’t delay. And be sure to keep your ears tuned into the bald eagle’s haunting song:

[Bald Eagle call from Songbirds of Yellowstone, Kevin Colver]

Thank you to the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting the research and development of this Wild About Utah topic. For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:

Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Bryant Olsen and
            Courtesy & Copyright Terry Greene
Text:    Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org

Additional Reading:

Parrish, J. and Walters, B., Editors. (2009) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Utah Division of Wildlife Resources: Wildlife Notebook Series No. 3. https://wildlife.utah.gov/publications/pdf/2010_bald_eagle.pdf

National Geographic Society (2012) Animals: Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
https://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/bald-eagle/

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Wilderness 16 Feb 2015

Wilderness. The word conjures up romantic images of wide open landscapes teeming with birds, beasts, and plants. I imagine places untouched by human influence – truly wild and free. Places that are exotic and far away.

High Unitas Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2009 Cordell Andersen, Photographer www.cordellmandersen.com
High Unitas Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2009 Cordell Andersen, Photographer

Red Butte Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2011 Paul Gooch, PhotographerRed Butte Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Paul Gooch, Photographer

Wellsville Mountain Wilderness, Utah, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright 2011, Dusty Vaughn, PhotographerWellsville Mountain Wilderness, Utah
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Dusty Vaughn, Photographer

Paria Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Courtesy Wilderness.net, Copyright © 2011 Mike Salamacha, Paria Ranger, BLM, PhotographerParia Canyon
Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Copyright © 2011 Mike Salamacha, Paria Ranger, BLM, Photographer

 

But wilderness exists much closer than you may think.

The United States Congress adopted the Wilderness Act with a nearly unanimous vote in 1964. Ours was the first country in the world to define and designate wilderness areas – lands valued enough to be set aside for the purpose of protection.

Currently, the Wilderness Act protects 757 individual wilderness areas across the United States – totaling more than 109 million acres. Thirty-three wilderness areas are found in Utah, and they protect a variety of unique landscapes from the red rock desert found in Red Butte Wilderness to the alpine forests of the High Uintas Wilderness. While the landscapes may look incredibly different from one wilderness area to the next, these lands share a number of qualities which can be described by adjectives such as peaceful, quiet, untouched, and pristine.

These areas protect some of the most unique and incredible landscapes that Utah has to offer, but that doesn’t mean they’re off limits. Our wilderness areas are just that – ours. They are public lands, accessible to anyone who wants to visit – so long as you tread lightly.

Areas that fall under its protection are described in the Wilderness Act as “lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition…” which “…shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreation, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation and historic use.” These amazing lands were set aside in 1964 with an eye to the future and because of it, should still be around for your grandchildren’s grandchildren to enjoy.

There is an ongoing effort to educate Americans about the immense value of preserving wilderness areas. For without education, they may one day be selfishly reclaimed and lost. One of these educational opportunities is coming to Logan on April 13th and 14th. The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center will be hosting a teacher training workshop in conjunction with the Stokes Nature Center and the Utah Society for Environmental Education. The workshop is aimed at teachers in grades 5-8, though anyone is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the Stokes Nature Center at www.logannature.org

Not a teacher? The best way to learn about wilderness areas is to go visit one! Information, and photos of Utah Wilderness Areas, can be found at www.wildaboututah.org

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy Wilderness.net, Steve Archibald, (Individual Copyrights noted)
Text:    Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org

Additional Reading:
The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center:
wilderness.net

Wilderness Investigations teacher training workshop:
logannature.org/wi_workshop

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Robins in Winter

American Robin
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Courtesy US FWS, images.fws.gov
Dr. Thomas G. Barnes, Photographer
 

Robin with Chicks in NestAmerican Robin
Turdus migratorius
Courtesy US FWS, images.fws.gov
Lee Karney, Photographer
 

Robin with Chicks in NestRobin with Chicks in Nest
Courtesy US FWS, images.fws.gov
James C. Leopold, Photographer

The American robin with its abundance, red breast, and loud song is one of the most recognizable backyard birds in North America. For many of us the robin – or Turdus migratorius – is also thought of as a herald of spring. So why is it that we still occasionally see them in our wintry Utah backyards?

Seasonal bird migration can be triggered by a number of things, but the two main drivers are food supply and nesting habitat. In spring and summer the birds move northward to take advantage of insect hatches, budding plants, and the plethora of nesting sites. Then, as food sources dwindle in fall, the birds move southward to areas where the necessary resources are still plentiful.

The distances birds migrate in order to access these resources can range widely. Therefore, birds are generally categorized as being short-, medium-, or long-distance migrants. Robins are considered short-distance migrants. While their range spans all of Canada and the United States extending down into Mexico, most robins do not travel far from their breeding grounds in winter and may not leave at all. Only the populations that breed and reside on the edges of this range will migrate seasonally.

The robin’s varied diet and behavioral adaptability are the primary reasons these short-migratory or non-migratory patterns are possible. Robins are preferably ground foragers, feasting on insects and earthworms in the spring and summer months. Yet, during the fall and winter, robins eat a fruit-based diet. They track this seasonal food source in flocks, abandoning their summer individualistic and territorial behavior. These flocks – or roosting aggregates – also help them survive the cold winter temperatures. As a result, robins are able to cope with the ground freezing, the disappearance of their preferred food source, and the harsh winter weather.

Returning to our original question: is the American robin truly a sign of spring here in Utah? Is it strange to see this bird in our backyards during the winter months? The simple answer is no. Robins can be found year round almost anywhere south of Canada. While they may migrate nomadically, staying or leaving areas as weather and snow cover affect their food supply, there could be some keeping us company in Utah all winter.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Anna Bengtson.

Credits:

Featured Music: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson as performed by Leaping Lulu
Image: Courtesy US FWS, Lee Karney, James C. Leopold, Photographers
Text & Voice: Anna Bengston
Additional Reading: Anna Bengston and Lyle Bingham

Sources & Additional Reading:

American Robin Profile, Utah Birds, Utah County Birders, http://utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdIndex.htm

American Robin, All About Birds, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin

American Robin, The Birds of the World Online https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/amerob/cur/introduction

The Basics of Bird Migration: How, Why, and Where, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, August 1, 2021, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/ [Updated January 31, 2026]

Where Have all the Robins Gone?, Migration, Cornell Lab of Ornithology https://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/faq/master_folder/migration/document_view

Snow Depth Survey, The Great Backyard Bird Count [Formerly at https://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/science-stories/past-stories/snow-depth-survey – A mention of the Snow Depth Survey is found in an article in The Lahontan News, National bird count starts today, February 15, 2002]

Winter Robins, The Great Backyard Bird Count [Formerly at https://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/science-stories/past-stories/is-that-winter-flock-of-robins-in-your-yard-unusual Updated January 31, 2026]

Kelly, Patrick, A Moral Dilemma, Wild About Utah, June 29, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/a-moral-dilemma/

Bengston, Anna, Robins in Winter, Wild About Utah, February 2, 2015, https://wildaboututah.org/robins-in-winter/

Bengston, Anna, American Robin, Wild About Utah, January 18, 2016, https://wildaboututah.org/american-robin-160118/

Bingham, Lyle, Richard Hurren(voice), The Occupants on Robin Street, Wild About Utah, July 8, 2008, https://wildaboututah.org/the-occupants-on-robin-street/

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Dark-eyed Juncos

Click for a larger view of a Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco Male, Junco hyemalis montanus, Courtesy and copyright 2008 Ryan P. O'Donnell
Dark-eyed Junco “Oregon” Male
Junco hyemalis montanus
Courtesy & © 2008 Ryan P. O’Donnell, Photographer 

Click for a larger view of a Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco Female, Junco hyemalis montanus, Courtesy and copyright 2011 Ryan P. O'DonnellDark-eyed Junco “Oregon” Female
Junco hyemalis montanus
Courtesy & © 2011 Ryan P. O’Donnell, Photographer 

Click for a larger view of a Dark-eyed 'Pink Sided' Junco, Junco hyemalis mearnsi, Courtesy and copyright 2011 Ryan P. O'DonnellDark-eyed Junco “Pink Sided”
Junco hyemalis mearnsi
Courtesy & © 2011 Ryan P. O’Donnell, Photographer 

Click for a larger view of a Dark-eyed 'Cassiar' Junco, Junco hyemalis cismontanus, Courtesy and copyright 2011 Ryan P. O'DonnellDark-eyed Junco “Cassiar”
Junco hyemalis cismontanus
Courtesy & © 2011 Ryan P. O’Donnell, Photographer 

Click for a larger view of a Dark-eyed 'Gray-headed' Junco, Junco hyemalis caniceps, Courtesy and copyright 2011 Ryan P. O'DonnellDark-eyed Junco “Gray-headed”
Junco hyemalis caniceps
Courtesy & © 2011 Ryan P. O’Donnell, Photographer 

My backyard bird feeders are a busy place this time of year. I enjoy keeping track of who visits – especially as a relative newcomer to the Utah bird scene. Last winter, however, I was baffled by the identity of what turned out to be a fairly ordinary bird.

Dark-eyed juncos are a common sight throughout the United States, but as it turns out, they exhibit an incredible geographic variation in plumage colors. There is a ‘slate-colored race’ which I was used to seeing in the Midwest – uniformly gray above with a white underbody. During Utah winters, the ‘Oregon race’ is common, with its black hood, brown back and peachy sides. Another ‘gray-headed race’ sports varying shades of gray with a distinct reddish brown patch on its back.

Depending on who you ask, there are up to fifteen different races, also called sub-species, of dark-eyed junco – all quite visually distinct, but all considered to be the same species. It wasn’t always this way, however. In the late 1950’s what we now call dark-eyed juncos were recognized as four different species, and in the 1890’s there were six.

These changes beg the question, at what point does speciation occur? And the answer lies in the ability of these birds to interbreed. One scientific definition of a species is those organisms or populations of organisms that are “potentially capable of interbreeding.”

Unique plumage patterns have evolved in a number of geographic locations across the junco’s range, however all of the dark-eyed junco variants could potentially interbreed if they happened to meet. Indeed in places where these geographic territories overlap inter-breeding does take place resulting in blends of the usually-distinct color patterns.

Juncos aren’t the only bird species with recognized color variants. Any raptor enthusiast will be familiar with variations in plumage colors that many birds of prey exhibit, such as merlins and red-tailed hawks. What makes dark-eyed juncos unique is that they are being studied as a possible case of speciation in progress. It turns out that there is more than just a difference in color among dark-eyed juncos. Some sub-species also exhibit variation in song patterns, social behavior, body size, and migration patterns, any of which may eventually cause these groups to stop interbreeding and allow a new species to emerge.

To see pictures of dark-eyed junco subspecies, visit our website at www.wildaboututah.org. Thank you to Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting the research and development of this Wild About Utah topic.

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:

Photos: Courtesy & © Ryan P. O’Donnell
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson as performed by Leaping Lulu https://wildaboututah.org/about-us/#trout-n-berry-days
Voice & Text:    Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center, logannature.org
This episode was first published January 12, 2012.

Additional Reading:

The following references were accurate as of the date of publication or most recent update.

Atwell, J.W., O’Neal, D.M, and Ketterson, E.D. (2011) Animal Migration as a Moving Target for Conservation: Intra-species Variation and Responses to Environmental Change, as Illustrated in a Sometimes Migratory Songbird. Environmental Law. Vol. 41:289 p. 289-319, formerly at: https://www.amazon.com/Animal-migration-moving-target-conservation/dp/B005C29H7I
PubMed Central, National Library of Medicine, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5637735/

Alderfer, Jonathan (editor) (2005) National Geographic Complete Book of Birds. National Geographic Press. Dark-eyed junco information available online at: https://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/dark-eyed-junco/

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds: Dark-eyed Junco. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/id/ac

History of Name Changes for Juncos. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. formerly at: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/News/junco_taxonomy.pdf
Updated by Cornell Lab of Ornithology to be at https://www.feederwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/junco_taxonomy.pdf