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<\/p>\nA\u00a0highly unusual\u00a0winter bird and a new incarnation of a long-lost landmark\u00a0made yesterday\u00a0a good day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.<\/p>\n
The secretive nature and generally inaccessible habitats of the American Bittern\u00a0make it a difficult quarry for the bird photographer or birder any time of year but seeing one in northern Utah in mid-winter is quite uncommon and yesterday morning\u00a0I saw two of them within\u00a0just a few minutes. They should be on their winter range by now so I suspect climate\u00a0change may have played a role since our winter so far has been unusually warm.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The first bittern I saw flew off before I could get my lens on it but this one was more cooperative. At first I was a little disappointed because my view of\u00a0the bird was partially blocked\u00a0behind the horizontal reed at left but eventually it moved to my right and around\u00a0the reed\u00a0which\u00a0gave me a clear look. The setting isn’t pretty and the bittern wasn’t particularly close but a mid-January sighting of this species made my day. I have to wonder how many other bitterns may be hanging around during this scary-warm winter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And the refuge had yet another pleasant surprise in store for me yesterday morning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Very recent visitors may have noticed a new construction project east of the maintenance building near the beginning of the auto-loop tour. I had my suspicions about what it might be but to confirm them I made a few phone calls to refuge personnel after I got home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It will be a new observation tower designed to give visitors an overall view of some of the refuge, its diverse habitats and its birds. Following are some tidbits I found out about the tower:<\/p>\n Local old-timers may remember the\u00a0vintage 100′ tall viewing tower at the refuge that was destroyed by the terribly destructive floods of 1983. I climbed that rickety old tower (built in the early 1930’s) many dozens of times with students from the Utah Museum of Natural History’s Junior Science Academy and believe me when I say I’ll never forget those ascents. Combine my moderate acrophobia with a rickety and swaying vertical tower and scores of young\u00a0(3rd-8th grade) students who insisted on climbing the tower and then couldn’t resist trying to make it\u00a0sway as much as possible as we approached the top and you have a combination that\u00a0definitely got my attention. I remember weak knees, trying not to let the kids see me holding on tight and absolute relief when it was all over for the day.<\/p>\n But dang, what a view from the top!<\/p>\n I look forward to the new tower for a variety of reasons but especially\u00a0because I won’t be responsible for 36 rambunctious\u00a0kids tagging along behind me!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/brmbr-observation-tower-under-construction-1401-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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