- Utah boasts diverse bird habitats including saline conditions, freshwater wetlands, sagebrush areas and montane habitats.
- Bird-watching is an accessible hobby which can be done almost anywhere, even backyards.
- There are a number of bird-watching groups around the state that hold regular bird walks.
On a recent Sunday morning, a group of 10 bird-watchers leisurely made their way up Yellow Fork Canyon near Herriman in southwest Salt Lake County as they looked and listened for different birds in the area.
The bird walk started in the trailhead’s parking lot, and as the group made a loop around the lot they spotted multiple birds including a pair of mountain bluebirds, a raven and a chat.
Members of the group then slowly made their way up the trail, regularly stopping when someone heard or spotted a bird along the route. In unison, the group would raise their binoculars to their eyes as the person who first spotted the bird instructed them where to look.
On this day, the birders were shocked when they spotted a nighthawk, which typically is not spotted in the morning.
The bird walk was led by Charles Hurd through the Great Salt Lake Audubon chapter. Hurd leads bird walks for the chapter once a month and also volunteers for Salt Lake City’s Tracy Aviary.
Hurd, throughout the bird walk, would share with the group details about the different birds, explaining which plants they like, what sounds they make and other facts about them and their habitat.
How a love of birding can start
The birders in the group were as diverse as the feathered stars they were looking for, participating in the hobby for different amounts of time and becoming involved in different ways.
Alysia Watanabe first became interested in birding around five years ago after a trip to Costa Rica.
“The guide was very familiar with birds, and they have some pretty spectacular ones there. So I started to realize, oh, I should learn some birds in Utah,” she explained.
Watanabe said as she learns more about birds she starts to notice them around her more.
“It’s like a whole different world that was there all along, and you’re discovering it,” she said. “They are just so intricate, too, it’s very complex.”
Around six years ago, Susan Weisenberg was at a Home Depot when she spotted two pelicans. The surprise at seeing that type of bird in Utah got her hooked on birding.
She said that she enjoys birding because of “how endlessly weird and amazing” birds can be. She described one type of bird as being “muppet-like.”
Weisenberg said her favorite bird is anything that isn’t a starling or a pigeon.
Utah provides a wide variety of habitats for birds
Max Malmquist, with the National Audubon Society Saline Lakes program, shared that Utah has a wide variety of bird habitats and many of these habitats are close to the state’s cities and communities.
“There’s the Great Salt Lake that has some very unique birds that utilize the kind of saline habitat and the food resources — brine flies and brine shrimp — that occur at Great Salt Lake,” Malmquist said.
He added that there’s also freshwater wetlands, juniper and pinyon pine habitats, sagebrush habitat and mountain habitats along the Wasatch Front.
“So you can see an incredibly diverse or number of species of birds without traveling too far from the Wasatch Front,” he said.
Away from the Wasatch Front, Malmquist said that there are also unique desert habitats in the southwestern part of the state.
“There’s some additional birds down there that you cannot see anywhere else in Utah, which is pretty cool,” Malmquist said.
One of the birders on the walk, Neldon Kunz has seen a wide variety of birds across the state’s many habitats. He recently finished a major birding goal of seeing 100 birds in all 29 Utah counties.
Kunz shared that before getting into bird-watching he used to be a big hunter.
“And birding is kind of like that, in that I go out looking for specific birds a lot of times,” Kunz said.
“A couple of days ago they (fellow birders) were reporting an indigo bunting, which is real pretty bird, but it’s somewhat rare. So I went out to where they had been seeing it, and it was just like hunting it down. I found it and took pictures of it.”
There have been 472 species of birds recorded in Utah, Malmquist said. He also explained that some of these species are residents to the state and are here year-round while others migrate to Utah to nest and breed.
“The other interesting thing about birds is they have wings, and they often get lost,” Malmquist said. That’s why there are a number of species recorded in the state “that should not be in Utah, that end up in Utah. And I think that’s what attracts a lot of people (to bird watching). ... They kind of get into birds, and then you have these rare birds that show up.”
Why birding is one of the most popular hobbies in the country
Paul Bernard picked up birding shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I used to be a fisherman, and I got tired of getting up early and gathering all that gear to fish, so I picked up birding right before the pandemic,” Bernard said.
“During the pandemic, it was nice to get out — and I’m still getting up early.”
Hurd said that there is a variety of reasons as to why birding is such a popular hobby, including being outside in nature, getting exercise and socializing with other bird-watchers.
“Birders are a fun lot,” Hurd said.
Malmquist also shared the reason he loves birding.
“Just relaxing and getting out in nature and listening to bird songs. That’s something that I really enjoy,” Malmquist said.
Malmquist said birding is one of the most popular hobbies in the country. In 2022, a study showed one-third of Americans older than 16 have participated in some type of birdwatching.
“One of the things that I love about birding or bird-watching is that it is super accessible. You can basically do it anywhere,” said Malmquist.
Hurd compared gathering new birds while birding to catching Pokemon. He added that the quest for new birds is part of what makes birding so enjoyable.
“So it’s cool to see the same birds you always see, but then there’s the Pokemon draw as well — the quest of finding new birds,” Hurd said.
Hurd also shared that along with the camaraderie between birders there can also be a bit of competition as well.
Just being in nature is another interesting thing about birding, say enthusiasts.
“When you’re out looking for birds, you see all sorts of other fun things too. You know, other wildlife and flowers and trees and everything else,” Malmquist said.
How to get started
“There’s not a lot of hobbies where you don’t have to buy a ton of gear and travel a long distance to do that kind of thing,” Malmquist said. ”I always tell people, you know, if you are interested in getting into bird-watching, check out your local parks. Any kind of open green space that has trees and water is a great place to start."
Both Hurd and Malmquist said that binoculars are an important piece of gear for those starting out.
Another piece of advice that Hurd gave is that those starting out should go birding by themselves so they learn the basics and then they can go out with groups.
There are multiple groups across the state that hold free bird walks that anyone can join.
Each year, Utah’s Tracy Aviary holds a six-month-long Birds of Utah class, that teaches participants about different bird species present in Utah.
Watanabe said she has taken the Birds of Utah class four times now because “it’s so much information. (It’s) sort of overwhelming, but yeah, you never stop learning.”
Hurd also suggested that as people start to bird they should learn about the habitats that certain birds like.
“If you want to get certain birds, you have to go where they eat, where they live. So whatever bird interests you need to go to where you’re going to likely find it,” he said.
Birding resources
Bird identification guides:
- “The Sibley Field Guide to Birds”
- “Birds of Utah – Field Guide"
- “Kaufman Field Guide to the Birds of North America”
- “Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of North America”
- “The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America”
- “National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America”
Helpful apps:
- Merlin ID
- Audubon Bird Guide
- iBird Pro Guide to Birds
- Sibley Birds 2nd Edition
Online resources
- Utah Birds
- All About Birds
- Audubon’s Guide to North American Birds
- Utah Birders
- eBird
- Tracy Aviary
- Ogden Nature Center
Local Audubon chapters
- Salt Lake City Area: Great Salt Lake Audubon
- Ogden Area: Wasatch Audubon Society
- Logan Area: Bridgerland Audubon Society
- St. George Area: Red Cliffs Audubon
- Utah County Area: Utah County Birders