As far as bird watching on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge goes, I can only say it has been a pretty slow and somewhat disappointing year for the most part.
But with that said, I will also say despite the dry conditions on the refuge this year, it has had its surprising moments as well.
This past weekend was certainly one of those times.
Saturday, I took another drive around the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route, and even though I saw very few birds overall, I did end up seeing one sight I had not seen before on the refuge.
A large congregation of ruddy ducks was sitting out on the open water on the southeast portion of the auto loop.
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I have seen ruddy ducks on the refuge before but never in such a large group like this.
Usually, it has been only a couple of birds or so at a time in past experiences.
Hundreds upon hundreds of ruddy ducks were gathered together far out on the open water on unit 2, sadly too far away for any close-up images to be taken of these unique birds.
It was literally the only ducks I saw the entire drive around the refuge, but it being duck hunting season that isn’t uncommon if truth be told.
During duck hunting season many of the ducks will sit on the closed areas of the refuge, far out of sight for birders and hunters alike.
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Ruddy ducks are common in Utah and on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, but never before have I seen so many together at once.
Mixed in the large flocks of ruddy ducks were also a good number of Clark’s and western grebes that are still raising their young.
Throw in a couple of great blue herons, a solitary eared grebe, and that was all the birds I saw on Saturday.
Definitely one of the slowest bird-watching trips I have ever had on the Bear River Bird Refuge but it was still a good trip with all of the ruddy ducks on display.
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