After many years of wanting to visit this place, I finally made it out to the Bear River Bird Refuge near Brigham City, Utah. The refuge is located in the northern regions of the Great Slat Lake. Unfortunately, the bird migration that normally fills the skies in March occurred a couple of weeks early this year so I had to settle for the holdouts. Ten thousand swans were down to three. There were still a number of White pelicans, avocets, and various waterfowl still there, however.
Another factor in the lower number of birds is the extremely low water levels in the Great Salt Lake. It has lost about 70% of its volume due to the drought hitting the western United States. You could see where water had been in previous years and all that was left was a dry field.
The refuge itself features a scenic drive that you have to use to see most of the birds. The drive starts about 12 miles from the town of Brigham City, Utah. There are canals that line the road on either side. There are some birds in the canals but many more are in the marsh and the lake behind the canals. Inevitably, just when I found a large collection of birds, they would be in a portion of the refuge that would be behind a road closed sign. The refuge road gets you rather limited access to most of the birds here. I still saw a number of birds closeup, however.
Even if there aren’t a lot of birds to see, the refuge is quite pretty. It is ringed by the Wasatch Front mountain range so the backdrop at either sunset or sunrise is pretty spectacular. So if you’re ever in the area, check out the refuge in early spring.
Cinnamon teal, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Goldeneye, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Black-necked stilt, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Black-necked stilt, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Greater Scaup, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Greater scaup, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Black-necked grebe, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
White pelicans, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
White Pelican, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
White Pelicans, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Western Grebe, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Yellow-headed blackbird, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Tundra Swan, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Tundra swan, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Red-winged blackbirds, Bear River Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
sunset, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
sunset, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, UT
Mormon Temple, Ogden , UT
