CEDAR CITY — The season of migratory birds is upon us, and whether you are an avid birder or are just looking for something fun to do on the weekends, you can be a part of the spring migration at two events coming up in May.
The “Global Big Day,” in which participants track how many birds they see in a day, will take place Saturday, and “World Migratory Bird Day,” featuring a variety of activities for all ages, is on May 11. Both are international events but are being organized locally by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Partners in Flight, Bureau of Land Management, Dixie National Forest and Southern Utah University.
According to a press release from Rachel Bolus, an assistant professor of biology and ecology at Southern Utah University, local birders have reported seeing 291 species of birds in Iron County, including many types of waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls, raptors, woodpeckers, songbirds and hummingbirds. Some of these can be seen here year-round, but most of them are migratory.
“Many of our summer residents spend their winters in warmer climes,” Bolus said in the press release, “and some of the birds that spend their winters here are heading back to their boreal and tundra breeding grounds.”
Bolus added that there are also some species only seen in Iron County during their migration, as they travel between their winter and summer grounds.
“For example, a least sandpiper might spend its winter in the tropics of South America before traveling the thousands of miles to the northern part of Canada, stopping along the way in Quichapa Lake to eat and rest.”
The first opportunity to take part in a group effort to see some of these feathered friends will be the Global Big Day, taking place from 6 am to dusk. While this is an international event, the local rules of the Global Big Day are based on the competitive event in which a team of birders will try to see as many bird species as possible in a 24-hour period.
Interested participants should meet at the Main Street Park pavilion at 6 a.m., at which time the group will head up Cedar Mountain to start an itinerary of favorite Iron County birding locations, including Cedar Mountain, Cedar Breaks, lower Cedar Canyon, Quichapa Lake, Newcastle Reservoir and Parowan Gap.
Bolus said the groups will also be participating in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Global Big Day on ebird.org. In this more collaborative version of a Big Day, birders across the world are trying to log in as many bird species as possible during the 24-hour period by submitting checklists to ebird.org. Last year, approximately 30,000 people participated in the Global Big Day, seeing around 7,000 of the world’s roughly 10,000 bird species in one day.
There is no RSVP required for Saturday’s event; just show up at the park with your binoculars and transportation. Participants should also bring their own food, water and layers of clothing for traveling in different elevations and habitats.
For more information about the Big Day, email Sam Wells at [email protected].
The World Migratory Bird Day will be on the following Saturday, May 11, from 7 a.m. to noon in West Canyon Park. World Migratory Bird Day is also a global event, and the Cedar City celebration will feature many activities and games for all ages, including bird walks, lawn games, an arts and crafts table, a photo booth, rubber duck races down the creek, owl pellet dissections and a live demonstration of the techniques used to capture and study migratory birds.
“En route, migrants do amazing things,” Bolus said. “A bird can find its way back to its same nesting location even though it takes different migratory routes every year by using a variety of cues, including the sun, the stars, polarized light, geomagnetic cues, and landmarks. They have to solve many problems, including avoiding running into buildings and power lines, evading predators, and finding habitat for eating and resting in unfamiliar places.”
For more information about the World Migratory Bird Day events in Cedar City, email Keith Day at [email protected].
Event details
- What: “Global Big Day” and “World Migratory Bird Day” events in Cedar City.
- When:
- Global Big Day – Saturday, May 4, 6 a.m. to dusk.
- World Migratory Bird Day – Saturday, May 11, 7 a.m. to noon.
- Where:
- Global Big Day – meet at Main Street Park pavilion, 200 N. Main St., Cedar City.
- World Migratory Bird Day – West Canyon Park, 500 E. Center St., Cedar City.
- Both events are free and open to the public. For more information on Global Big Day, email Sam Wells at [email protected]. For more information on World Migratory Bird Day events, email Keith Day at [email protected].
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