eis eS WER CSN be ale hel LEN 19 
The day was sunny and hot, and became extremely muggy as after- 
noon approached. Since I was completely ignorant of the highway system 
north of Salt Lake City, it took me nearly two hours to reach Brigham 
City. The only noteworthy birds on this part of the journey were large 
flocks of ravens (undoubedly the Common Raven, although many White- 
necked Ravens were seen in southwestern Utah) coming from the Wasatch 
Range on the east side of the Bear River valley, in which the refuge is 
located, and moving out into the valley itself. I left Brigham City at about 
1145 hours, heading west. 
A dense haze hugged the horizon on all sides as the temperature 
soared. It must have reached 100° as I headed toward the distant Promon- 
tory Mountains enclosing the valley on the west. The vegetation became 
decidedly different from that of the lower Bear River valley (around Salt 
Lake City) which had been well cultivated and extremely lush. West of 
Brigham City not a plant stood above two feet high, as the alkali flats 
had never been cultivated and supported only sparse grasses and sage. 
The whole upper valley was extremely flat. 
The first bird I saw out of Brigham City was in a wet corner of a 
cattle pasture at the extreme edge of town, about 12 miles from the 
refuge headquarters. A large, dark purplish bird which flew with an 
extended neck and a rapid wingbeat turned out, to my extreme elation, 
to be a White-faced Ibis. A “bird to behold” to a Midwesterner! This bird 
is one of the commonest nesting species in the refuge (about 7500 nesting 
pairs each year, according to the refuge personnel), yet to me it seemed 
to an encouraging sign of things to come. 
A quarter of a mile from the pasture, after passing more ibises springing 
from the reeds, I crossed a bridge over one of the small tributaries which 
feed the Bear River. Thinking that there might be some shorebirds in the 
stream bed, I stopped the car and peered over the side of the bridge. 
If I had been surprised at the ibises, I was astounded at what I saw now. 
Avocets and Black-necked Stilts abounded in the nearly dry stream bed! 
These tirds, although common in the refuge, had just been so many 
“dreams’’ to me, back in Illinois. I stood fascinated by these birds, which 
ran stiff-legged over the wet sand and mud, and suddenly stopped and 
thrust their long bills into the stream bed in search of food. One of the 
Avocets was in full breeding plumage, with a beautiful orange neck. 
I suddenly decided I stayed long enough when a large earth-moving 
truck pulled behind my car on the bridge. To recount all of the birds seen 
and all of the stops made in the 12 miles from the bridge to the refuge 
headquarters would involve a dozen more pages. In all, it took me over 
two hours to reach the refuge headquarters from the bridge, and before I 
was inside the refuge proper, my bird list exceeded 30 species, of which 
nine were “lifers.’ Many of the birds were seen along the Bear River, 
which comes close to the road in spots. Those seen included Magpies, Ring- 
necked Pheasants, numerous Franklin’s Gulls; two Loggerhead Shrikes; 
a large, soaring Turkey Vulture; more avocets and stilts; Pied-billed Grebes; 
close to the refuge headquarters, Snowy Egrets; Black-crowned Night 
Herons; sandpipers; rails; a Short-eared Owl; and several Western Grebes. 
As I neared the refuge entrance, the flocks of ibises became larger and more 
frequent, passing to different parts of the refuge. Watery marshes began 
to cover the alkali flats. The day became hotter, as did the birdwatching. 
The refuge headquarters was reached at about 1400 hours. Time was 
now at a premium, since I was due back in Salt Lake City at 1800 hours. 
