A Winter Bittern And A New Observation Tower At Bear River MBR

A highly unusual winter bird and a new incarnation of a long-lost landmark made yesterday a good day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

The secretive nature and generally inaccessible habitats of the American Bittern make 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 I saw two of them within just a few minutes. They should be on their winter range by now so I suspect climate change may have played a role since our winter so far has been unusually warm.

 

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

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 the bird was partially blocked behind the horizontal reed at left but eventually it moved to my right and around the reed which gave 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.

 

And the refuge had yet another pleasant surprise in store for me yesterday morning.

 

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.

 

 

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:

  • it’s height will be midway between a tower and an observation deck (although the person I talked to referred to it as a tower). It will be as tall as current USFWS regulations allow for safety reasons but it will be tall enough to easily see over the vegetation and give viewers a good look at the grand scheme of things at the refuge (especially unit 1)
  • there will be a viewing scope installed at the top of the tower
  • the facility will be fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant
  • the tower is expected to be completed in about one month. The Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 (Swan Day)

Local old-timers may remember the vintage 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 (3rd-8th grade) students who insisted on climbing the tower and then couldn’t resist trying to make it sway as much as possible as we approached the top and you have a combination that definitely 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.

But dang, what a view from the top!

I look forward to the new tower for a variety of reasons but especially because I won’t be responsible for 36 rambunctious kids tagging along behind me!

Ron

 

Notes:

  • If you’re a Facebook user you can see a photo of the old tower we used to climb here
  • Some years after the floods Terry Tempest Williams accompanied us on several trips to the refuge. At the time she was curator of education (later naturalist in residence) at the museum. Soon she wrote what I consider one of her finest works, “Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place” where she used the 1983 floods and the resulting dwindling populations of birds on the refuge to illustrate the importance of nature preservation, acceptance of change and the impacts of humans on the natural world. Those trips are wonderful memories for me. The refuge is a refuge for more than just birds…
  • In the first photo of the tower under construction you can see several horizontal “bathtub rings” on the mountains in the background. Those benches were gouged out of our mountains by wave action from prehistoric Lake Bonneville. The lake filled much of the Great Basin from 32,000 years ago until about 14,500 years ago.
  • Both species of swans, Tundra and Trumpeter, are present on the refuge right now. Yesterday they were far away but they were there.

 

 

 

22 Comments

  1. OK, I’m late again, but I have a good excuse! The whole IMAP connection thing froze the entire computer and wouldn’t let go! I finally had to resort to calling a tech. It’s now back to merely annoying instead of completely dysfunctional.
    There are no nits to be picked about that lovely bittern! NONE! That bird is EXACTLY where I’d expect to find a shy bird who doesn’t wish to be seen. And that, my dear Ron, is THAT! 😉
    I’ve never been afraid of heights until recently. Now, if I fall, I break, so it’s best for me to stick around softer places. That said, my new house has no carpeting, just tile and whatever this other stuff is. It’s wise that if I fall, I fall out in the field where it’s softer…but NOT into the cactus! I almost did that today chasing Jack. The little stinker made me walk all the way back to the Jeep to get the telemetry receiver today, and after 15 minutes of looking for him with that, he just showed up looking for a free meal! He’s NEVER done that before. Methinks he was chasing a quail down into a rat hole and wouldn’t give up on it. DARGH!

  2. Great shot and exciting news of things to come.

    Charlotte

  3. What a neat shot of the bittern — great pose and catchlight.

    As far as the tower goes, I’m with you. I don’t do tall, wooden, and rickety unless it’s a roller coaster. 😉 Can I get in line after Dick?

    • Sure, form a line!

      I won’t do roller coasters either. Never liked them…

      • “I won’t do roller coasters either. Never liked them…”

        I love ’em! My dad and I used to have an annual game of chicken at Knott’s. We’d go on all the “vomit rides” and whoever turned greener lost. We were an odd pair — I guess that’s why I followed him into science teaching. 😛

  4. The bittern’s camoflague is exceptional.
    It isn’t heights which bother me but small enclosed spaces. I would be up that tower in a heart beat, and love that it is being built to disability friendly standards. Amd am hoping for photos of that incredible view from you too.

  5. Ron,

    It is after 11 AM when I got your post not the usual “O-dark thirty.” What the heck? Are you OK?

    Stephen

    • That’s strange, Stephen. I got mine within a couple of minutes after I posted and I’m pretty sure others did too because I saw my stats jump immediately after I posted. Can’t explain it…

  6. This post ALMOST makes me want to come out and climb the new tower in March! I’m envious, and will be more so in March. Just looking at the background to the construction is beautiful.
    As a teacher for 36 years I understand throughly!
    Were on are way up the curve again from -10 to the 40’s for the next couple of days. However, as long as I have the clothes for it like cold rather than hot, though I prefer somewhere in between.

  7. “Terry Tempest Williams”—what a great name. If I’d been with you on one of those old tower trips, I might have been tempted to toss a few of those kids off to see if they’d bounce(for strictly scientific reasons, of course)…but then, you’d have to let go…Great shot of Bittern…amazing that you guys spotted it at all.

    • Thank you, Patty. Terry’s family name was Tempest and then she married Brooke Williams. Both are good friends of mine and individually and collectively they’ve had a huge positive impact on the environmental movement. They’ve risked a lot for “the cause” and I consider them heroes.

  8. I’m wondering, this being a new structure, does it take long for the wildlife to accept it?

    • I doubt it, Steven. There are already several buildings in that area and the main parking lot is there so birds are already used to the hubbub of people and vehicles in that area. I suspect the construction is more disruptive than the tower will be.

  9. and here in the Ozarks we are freezing. Here at the house it is a balmy 22 but other readings are in the single digits and teens. Some parts of the state had several inches of snow and we had sleet and a dusting. Go figure. I guess it has something to do with altitude and the slope of the land. Love the bittern such a thrill to find one. I remember seeing the least bitterns on the Texas coast and how excited I would be.

    • It’s been a crazy-warm winter around here, Jo. Seeing folks in shorts, short sleeves and sandals in mid-January is something I’m definitely not used to!

  10. Interesting! I’d have been one of those obnoxious kids – we were known as a bunch of “monkey’s” growing up….. 😉 The Bittern certainly blends in with it’s surroundings……. The view from the old tower would have been spectacular – sounds like this one will be good also. On the mend from the norovirus – NEVER want to do that again!

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