As the year 2013 began I tried to exercise some restraint in my birding radius. It is possible to spend a lot of travel time and gas money running all over the place looking for birds.  There are also work responsibilities that should not be procrastinated forever in the name of a bird that is far away, or will take to much time to track down.  I live in Sandy and I told myself I would try and just chase the county birds. I failed in that goal a few times. A good birds like a Snowy Owl can show up in Ogden and I can't help but to twitch my way up there to see it.

So as the year progressed I slowly developed the goal to do a County big year. It was a small goal compared to those who do big years for the state and see 300+ birds for the year, but it was a goal I thought was doable.  I never could have done it without the many very talented birders out there who were willing to post there good sighting in ebird  or on the google group Ubird.  A lot of the hard to find rare birds I chased down by following your leads, so thank you to everyone out there who likes to share. My number this year was not possible without the communal nature of Ubird and ebird so I can't express enough my appreciation to everyone out there, thank you for all your help.

In addition to the specific rarities I chased ebird indirectly gave me a lot of good birds. I had a list of hard to find birds for the county and I looked up the historical data on ebird. In this way I learn where to go for what birds and what the chances were of seeing these species. To say that I love ebird is an understatement. I spent years birding here and there with no connection to the other birders out there, so when I found Ubird and ebird it was a huge game changer for me, so forgive me for continually plugging them both. I have in turn tried to give back by posting sighting I think are of value on Ubird and also quickly posting my ebird checklists so others may benefit as I have.

It was difficult to decide which birds to include here as rare birds for the county. Many are obvious but some birds that some might not consider to be rare were hard for me to find and I may have only seen them once or twice, so a number of those I have included.

Here is a google map with the sightings, descriptions, and location of my rare Salt Lake County birds this year. There is also a link, in every bird mentioned, to the photographs and checklists of each species.  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLxdN-B6-fSA.k61JejvaHVbE

Thanks to an ebird report by Rachel LeBlanc I was able to chase this bird down the next day. The bird stuck around for a couple of weeks after it was first spotted.

Ross's Goose

I focused heavily this year on the gulls. Between Lee Kay ponds, Lake Park, and Saltair, a lot of rare gulls can show up in the county and I wanted to get as many of them on my year list as possible.

Rare gulls this year were:

1. Heerman's Gull
2. Mew Gull
3. Western Gull
4. Iceland Gull
5. Glaucous-winged Gull
6. Glaucous Gull

A beautiful adult Mew Gull was spotted by Stephanie Greenwood. I went looking the next day and it was enjoyed by many over a few days. This was the second of two Mew Gulls I saw this year in the county but this was the best look I have ever had of one.

Mew Gull



One of two I saw this year.



Glaucous-winged Gull



This Dunlin was found mixed in with some Dowitchers on a spring bird festival field trip. A group of 20+ were the only people that I know of to see this bird in the county this year.  This spot is closed to the public the other 364 days of the year so it was a good opportunity to bird a great area that you just can not get into.

Dunlin



One of the best places to bird in the county is in Farmington Bay. The Salt Lake County side is south west of the four way stop and accessible on foot part of the year. It is open for the hunters but is closed the rest of the time. I had some rare ones after a few long walk both in the early spring and fall including:

1. Semipalmated Sandpiper
2. Black Tern
3. Common Tern
4. Trumpeter Swan
5. Eurasian Wigeon

Lee Kay ponds is a great place to bird and where I picked up a huge portion of my county birds.

1. Long-tailed Duck
2. Red-throated Loon
3. White-throated Sparrow
4. Common Tern
5. Semipalmated Plover
6. Ash-throated Flycatcher
7. Harris's Sparrow
8. Lapland Longspur
9. Some of the Gulls previously mentioned

First reported and found by Bryant Olsen. Very rare bird. I saw it the next day and many times after that since it stuck around for a very long time. A lot of birders got to enjoy this bird.

Red-throated Loon

First of two I saw in the county this year. The second one I saw was seen three days later at the Salt Lake International center. This bird is not that rare in the state but it seems to be quite rare in the county.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

 Found by Rachel Leblanc, I ran out to see this bird the day it was found. I also went back the next morning to enjoy it some more. It stuck around for a week. This bird is usually only found briefly during fall migration up on some of the big reservoirs with Common Loons. We usually have one or two reported in the state annually so getting this bird at this spot and in the county was a major bonus.

Pacific Loon

Saltair can be hit or miss but if your timing is right you can get some rare birds out there. From the Marina to Lee Creek a bit further East I had a good handful of rare birds including:

1. Iceland Gull
2. Western Gull
3. American-Golden Plover
4. Sanderling (rare in Salt Lake)
5. Black Tern
6. Northern Mockingbird

Millcreek canyon lent a few rare birds last winter. Rare birds were:

1. Pacific Wren
2. Varied Thrush
3. Northern Pygmy-Owl

After an ebird report my son and I went after this bird the next day. After a really long walk in the biter cold we got great satisfying views of this bird ready to start lunch with a recently caught mouse in its talons.

Northern Pygmy Owl

This was a good year to find redpolls and there were consistent sightings further north but sightings in the county were sporadic. I gave this bird more effort than any other this year.  I chased every SLC sighting of a common redpoll but they seemed to be at a feeder with a flock of goldfinches one minute and then gone the next. I searched feeders and potential area high and low. One of my spots was near a feeder only about 50 yards within the county line and it was there that I finally found one, and on my birthday! Great birthday bird!

I chased a pair of these woodpeckers after the Obrien's found and reported them. I spent a lot of time this year looking for these guys in there habitat. I thought I would go the year without seeing them despite my best efforts. I was happy when they were found and the best part is they hung out in this area (Tanner Park) through the end of the year.

Lewis's Woodpecker

Southern side of the valley:

 Pulling into my driveway on a crazy stormy spring day I happened upon a male and female Common Grackel in my driveway. What a shocker yard bird! I thought I was lucky with the weather blowing them in until later on June 23rd I saw a female flying out of my backyard. After that I tracked them and there nest down a few blocks from my house in a neighbors backyard. I invited anyone who was interested to come and see them. They remained in the area and reared there young until the middle of July when they left the area. I really hope they continue to nest hear year after year. These were the only Common Grackles seen in the county this year.

  Common Grackle



Little Cottonwood Canyon Black Swifts- Only spot in the county one can find this species. The best way to find them is at dusk as they fly into there waterfall homes high up in the cliffs. This is the most fascinating bird I have ever heard of and it is very difficult to see. Studying about this bird is fascinating and I highly recommend it.

On the Jordan River across from the ebay building is the best place in the county to find the beautiful and rare Blue Grosbeak. That being said I had no luck until the 8th time I went there looking. They nest somewhere in the area. After finally seeing them I saw them again in the same spot two weeks later and then again surprisingly further south at Jordan Narrows. Then late summer I had another sighting on the ISSR property. Even though I got lucky with a bunch of sightings this is still a rare county bird. I also had my only American Bittern of the year in the Marsh here.

Blue Grosbeak

There had been a few reports of Northern Waterthrushes throughout the state and I knew they were moving through the area. I spent sometime thinking of where in the county I could find the best habitat to look. Draper Wetland Park, to me, seemed the most likely location to start and I was not disappointed. There were a few other ebird reports of this species, one of which was at the Salt Lake International Center in the fall, but this was the only one I saw this year.

I first spotted a Grasshopper Sparrow in the dry grass hills south of Herriman in spring with my son. I went back a few days later and walked through more of there habitat over a couple of miles and I was able to count 7 singing and establishing territories throughout this area. They seem fairly common in this grass fields of the area but none were reported anywhere else in the county on ebird.

Grasshopper Sparrow

I missed a few birds this year but the big miss that, despite my best efforts, I never could find was a Barn Owl. I didn't think it would be a hard one to get and that might have been part of the reason I missed it. I spent a lot of time looking for it as the year was coming to an end with no luck. That will just have to be the one that got away.

There were other birds that may be considered rare that I have left off but narrowing this list down was difficult and if I did it again I might leave some birds off the list and others I might add. For this reason I think an entire list of all the birds I saw in the county this year in the order I saw them would be fun.

2013 Salt Lake County total: 256

1	Sharp-shinned Hawk	64	Belted Kingfisher	127	Sandhill Crane	190	Yellow Warbler
2	Mourning Dove	65	Peregrine Falcon	128	Western Grebe	191	Black-headed Grosbeak
3	Northern Flicker	66	Marsh Wren	129	Bushtit	192	Ruffed Grouse
4	American Kestrel	67	Evening Grosbeak	130	Burrowing Owl	193	Virginia's Warbler
5	Western Scrub-Jay	68	Clark's Nutcracker	131	Tree Swallow	194	Bullock's Oriole
6	Black-capped Chickadee	69	Mountain Chickadee	132	Lincoln's Sparrow	195	Spotted Sandpiper
7	European Starling	70	Red-breasted Nuthatch	133	Greater Yellowlegs	196	Common Tern
8	Cedar Waxwing	71	Long-eared Owl	134	Great-tailed Grackle	197	Black-throated Gray Warbler
9	Dark-eyed Junco	72	Eared Grebe	135	Caspian Tern	198	Brewer's Sparrow
10	House Finch	73	Downy Woodpecker	136	Red-breasted Merganser	199	House Wren
11	Lesser Goldfinch	74	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	137	Savannah Sparrow	200	Flammulated Owl
12	House Sparrow	75	Red-naped Sapsucker	138	Chukar	201	Black-chinned Hummingbird
13	Canada Goose	76	American Crow	139	Canyon Wren	202	Gray Flycatcher
14	Eurasian Collared-Dove	77	California Quail	140	Band-tailed Pigeon	203	Cordilleran Flycatcher
15	American Robin	78	Ring-necked Pheasant	141	Say's Phoebe	204	Plumbeous Vireo
16	American Goldfinch	79	Golden Eagle	142	Turkey Vulture	205	Swainson's Thrush
17	Rock Pigeon	80	American Avocet	143	Black-necked Stilt	206	Green-tailed Towhee
18	Black-billed Magpie	81	Northern Pygmy-Owl	144	Long-billed Dowitcher	207	Dusky Grouse
19	Spotted Towhee	82	Brown Creeper	145	Bonaparte's Gull	208	Willow Flycatcher
20	Song Sparrow	83	Bohemian Waxwing	146	Fox Sparrow	209	Warbling Vireo
21	Merlin	84	American Dipper	147	Cassin's Finch	210	Sage Thrasher
22	Steller's Jay	85	Varied Thrush	148	Franklin's Gull	211	Pinyon Jay
23	Townsend's Solitaire	86	Virginia Rail	149	Great Egret	212	Rock Wren
24	Gadwall	87	White-throated Sparrow	150	Long-tailed Duck	213	Black-bellied Plover
25	Mallard	88	Western Screech-Owl	151	Cliff Swallow	214	Dunlin
26	Northern Shoveler	89	Pine Siskin	152	Common Loon	215	Northern Mockingbird
27	Green-winged Teal	90	White-breasted Nuthatch	153	Osprey	216	Common Yellowthroat
28	Ring-necked Duck	91	Juniper Titmouse	154	Willet	217	Yellow-breasted Chat
29	Greater Scaup	92	Wilson's Phalarope	155	Long-billed Curlew	218	Common Poorwill
30	Lesser Scaup	93	Short-eared Owl	156	Snowy Egret	219	Common Grackle
31	Bufflehead	94	Prairie Falcon	157	Barn Swallow	220	Northern Waterthrush
32	Common Goldeneye	95	Loggerhead Shrike	158	Lesser Yellowlegs	221	MacGillivray's Warbler
33	Barrow's Goldeneye	96	American Tree Sparrow	159	Marbled Godwit	222	Western Wood-Pewee
34	Pied-billed Grebe	97	Western Gull	160	Swainson's Hawk	223	Wilson's Warbler
35	Bald Eagle	98	Pacific Wren	161	Red-necked Phalarope	224	Gray Catbird
36	American Coot	99	Tundra Swan	162	Northern Rough-winged Sw	225	Sora
37	Killdeer	100	Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch	163	White-faced Ibis	226	American Bittern
38	Ring-billed Gull	101	Northern Goshawk	164	Blue-winged Teal	227	Olive-sided Flycatcher
39	White-crowned Sparrow	102	Hairy Woodpecker	165	Vesper Sparrow	228	Hammond's Flycatcher
40	Northern Pintail	103	Ferruginous Hawk	166	Clark's Grebe	229	Eastern Kingbird
41	California Gull	104	Golden-crowned Kinglet	167	Forster's Tern	230	Grasshopper Sparrow
42	Herring Gull	105	Wild Turkey	168	Violet-green Swallow	231	Williamson's Sapsucker
43	Thayer's Gull	106	Mountain Bluebird	169	Snowy Plover	232	Common Nighthawk
44	American Wigeon	107	Yellow-headed Blackbird	170	Solitary Sandpiper	233	White-throated Swift
45	Canvasback	108	Mew Gull	171	Least Sandpiper	234	Black Swift
46	Redhead	109	Lesser Black-backed Gull	172	Western Sandpiper	235	Blue Grosbeak
47	Hooded Merganser	110	Black Rosy-Finch	173	Short-billed Dowitcher	236	Rufous Hummingbird
48	Great Blue Heron	111	Cinnamon Teal	174	Bank Swallow	237	Red Crossbill
49	Northern Shrike	112	Western Meadowlark	175	Red-throated Loon	238	Calliope Hummingbird
50	Common Raven	113	Great Horned Owl	176	Wilson's Snipe	239	Nashville Warbler
51	Horned Lark	114	Glaucous Gull	177	Lark Sparrow	240	Ash-throated Flycatcher
52	Red-winged Blackbird	115	Wood Duck	178	Western Tanager	241	Townsend's Warbler
53	Brewer's Blackbird	116	Hermit Thrush	179	Brown-headed Cowbird	242	Cassin's Vireo
54	Northern Harrier	117	Common Redpoll	180	Broad-tailed Hummingbird	243	Sanderling
55	Red-tailed Hawk	118	Ross's Goose	181	Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	244	Pectoral Sandpiper
56	Rough-legged Hawk	119	Northern Saw-whet Owl	182	Western Kingbird	245	Black Tern
57	American Pipit	120	American Three-toed W-pkr	183	Lazuli Bunting	246	Semipalmated Sandpiper
58	Ruddy Duck	121	Neotropic Cormorant	184	Chipping Sparrow	247	Clay-colored Sparrow
59	Horned Grebe	122	Double-crested Cormorant	185	Orange-crowned Warbler	248	American Golden-Plover
60	Yellow-rumped Warbler	123	Eurasian Wigeon	186	Pine Grosbeak	249	Lewis's Woodpecker
61	Cackling Goose	124	American White Pelican	187	Dusky Flycatcher	250	Snow Goose
62	Common Merganser	125	Black-crowned Night-Heron	188	Semipalmated Plover	251	Pacific Loon
63	Cooper's Hawk	126	Trumpeter Swan	189	Baird's Sandpiper	252	Heermann's Gull
						253	Glaucous-winged Gull
						254	Iceland Gull
						255	Lapland Longspur
						256	Harris's Sparrow

Here is a google map with the sightings, descriptions, and location of my rare Salt Lake County birds this year. There is also a link, in every bird mentioned, to the photographs and checklists of each species. https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zLxdN-B6-fSA.k61JejvaHVbE