Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

On our way to Walla Walla we stopped at Brigham City, Utah which is just north of Salt Lake City. Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, a 74,000 acre refuge, is there and we wanted to take a look. The large, appearing to be new, visitor and education center is visible from Interstate 15. The auto tour loop is located about 12 miles to the west of the visitor center; it is about 12 miles around the loop out through a large wetland area. There are no trees just flooded wetland areas. The gravel surface tour loop road was in decent condition, most of it was very smooth but short sections were rather bumpy.

In early April when we visited, the spring migration was just getting underway. Many bird species were arriving and the numbers of others already there were increasing. The large flocks of Trumpeter Swans had already departed, heading north, though we did see a few in various locations.

On the paved road before you get to the tour loop we spotted this Long-billed Curlew. The Curlew was by itself just resting in an open field.

We got to the tour loop, slowed down to look for birds and the dominant bird of the refuge came flocking in, the mosquito. We will apologize in advance for the quality of many of the following images. We decided not to roll the windows down to take pictures, we only had 5 cans of mosquito repellent with us and we were afraid we might run out. When the gentle wind was blowing the mosquitoes moved to the downwind side of the truck and congregated there by the hundreds. Hence the windows stayed up.

We were fascinated by the numbers of Cinnamon Teal. The largest numbers of water fowl that we saw were the Cinnamon Teal and the Northern Shoveler. There were many of both these species and when we were there the biologist’s count displayed in the visitor center confirmed this fact.

We saw lots of small flocks of Yellow-headed Blackbirds as we drove around. No huge congregations as we had seen in Arizona but 15-26 here and 11-19 there. There were many small flocks in multiple locations.

Here we are trying to provide a feel for the refuge habitat. It is flat open marshland. We are looking to the North West and flooded area continues on and on. 74,000 acres is a lot of land.

In one of the water channels we found this Red-breasted Merganser. The Merganser was by itself and not interested in posing for pictures.

Here we have an American Avocet. There were many of them in the shallow flooded area. Apparently the Avocets nest here. We also saw Black-necked Stilts but they were a bit far away for a decent image.

There were many gulls in the area. Here is a Franklin’s Gull noted by the distinct black head. There were also Ring-billed and California Gulls though not huge concentrations that we could see. Just a few here and a few there scattered about.

Probably the most common non-mosquito bird was the American Coot. They were everywhere in large numbers. To control their population I have long thought that McDonalds should serve Coot McNuggets. But nether that neither idea nor the taste has caught on as of yet.

Here is just another look around the refuge. We are looking towards the east. The mountains rising in the distance are directly behind Brigham City and provide a nice visual back drop. They are called the Wellsville Mountains, they are 14 miles long and 5 miles wide, and considered one of the steepest small mountain ranges in the Rocky Mountains.

This bird surprised us. We thought the water might not be deep or productive enough to support American White Pelicans but we did see several on the tour around the refuge. No large numbers but still surprising. We also saw several Canvasback Ducks which are normally associated with deeper water but maybe they were just passing through on their way north.

Here is a Western Grebe. They are here in bright breeding plumage. Note how the black cap on the head extends below the eye. At Bill Williams NWR in Arizona you can see a lot of grebes, both Western and Clark’s. In the winter the black cap line is not as clearly defined and when counting Grebes there they often just merge the two together as the distinction between the species become more difficult due to a lack of plumage variations.

Here is a Clark’s Grebe. Note the bright yellow bill and the distinct line above the eye separating the black on the head from the white on the face.

Here are two Clark’s Grebes. We had seen them, just prior to taking this image, do their courtship dance, where they stand up and run across the water side by side. Unfortunately we could not get that activity in a photograph. They just won’t listen to our “Dance Commands”.

This is the gravel tour road. It is not very wide and only one way. There does not seem to be much traffic so passing people or being passed was not an issue. There are various pullouts where you can park and watch the wetlands and waterfowl. There is also a viewing tower at the start of the tour loop that gives you a panoramic view of the area and allows the mosquitos to chew on you at will.

On the way back to the visitor center we noticed this interesting pair. There is fencing visible in the foreground and we decided just to leave it in the image rather than climb over or under the fence to get a clearer picture. The large fellow might not have a pleasant disposition and we did not know if the dog would bite. There was no “Beware of Dog” sign but then looking at the dogs' associate, the dog was probably the least of our worries. It is best to just stay away.

We saw many more bird species than the few we pictured here. We just wanted to give you a little glimpse around Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It is a fascinating place, lots of birds, and a wonderful tour loop. It will be fascinating to see it at a later time of year. Be sure and stop by there when in the area.

There is a lot of information out there about Bear River, just search on the Internet for a vast number of images and copious amounts of information
As always let us know if you have any questions or any comments. All the best – George & Deanna