The Spring Migration

                        Lazuli Bunting, Passerina amoena

 With spring arriving here in Utah, you’ve probably already noticed the birds in your backyard starting to sound a little more enthusiastic. It’s nearly impossible to go outside during the day without hearing birdsongs. While some of these avian singers—like certain chickadees, finches, quail, and doves—are here year-round, others are here for the spring migration. From March to May many different kinds of birds return to or pass through Utah to breed.

 Exactly when a specific species comes to Utah depends on a variety of things, like availability of food, the length of the days, weather and climate, geography, and breed type. Some birds to keep an eye out for as they arrive in Utah in the spring are the Lazuli Bunting, Black-Headed Grosbeak, Turkey Vulture, Broad-Tailed Hummingbird, Black-Chinned Hummingbird, Cliff Swallow, Bullock's Oriole, Yellow-Headed Blackbird, Green-Tailed Towhee, Cinnamon Teal, American White Pelican, Osprey, Barn Swallow, Yellow Warber, and Western Tanager.

 Spring is a great time to bird watch, because not only is the weather warmer, but the birds are often easier to spot since many have bright breeding plumage in the spring. Their desire to find a mate often makes them easier to hear as well. However, please make sure that you don’t get too close to nests, as this can stress the birds.

Great Deals on Educational Programs

Great Basin Wildlife Rescue offers great, competitive rates on all of our education programs. We can customize the perfect program for your event. Great Basin can travel to local schools, home school groups, camps, churches, scouts, expos, fairs, art groups and many more. Our education programs are designed to encourage interest and concern for Utah’s unique native mammals and migratory birds of prey, and instill a greater understanding and appreciation of the world we share.

Live bird programs make learning a deeply personal experience and are the best way to provide an education about wildlife. Handouts and posters are provided for each group! Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We look forward to sharing the exciting world of the great outdoors and some of its incredible creatures.

Questions for Rose, our Northern Saw-Whet Owl

What do I do if I find a baby bird?

Often, when we find a baby bird outside of its nest, our first impulse is to want to rescue it. But actually, the bird might not need rescuing at all. As baby birds get older, they often leave the nest and live on the ground for a little while as they’re learning to fly. So if you spot a baby bird on the ground that has feathers and is hopping around and alert, the best thing to do is leave it alone and make sure your pets aren’t around to disturb it. Its parents are probably nearby and still feeding it. If it’s in a location where it’s likely to be injured—like in the street—you can move it to a safer location nearby.

If you find a hatchling (a baby bird too young to leave the nest—their eyes are often still closed and they have fluffy down instead of feathers), you should look to see if you can spot the nest it fell out of. If you can access the nest, pick the bird up and return it to the nest; or if you can’t reach the nest, you may put the baby bird in a small container lined with tissue and place it as close as possible to the original nest. Contrary to myth, most birds have a bad sense of smell, so handling a baby bird won’t cause the parents to reject it. After you’ve returned the baby to its nest, leave it alone for a few hours—the parents may take some time to return once a nest has been disturbed, but they usually do return eventually.

It’s not a good idea to try to take care of a baby bird yourself. Baby birds have very specific diets, require a lot of care, and can’t learn the survival skills they need from humans. In fact, it’s illegal in many places to rehabilitate birds without the proper license. As hard as it can be, it’s often best to leave the baby songbirds alone and let nature take its course—you might be surprised at how well baby birds survive without our help!

However, if you find an injured or orphaned baby bird of prey (owl, hawk, etc.), you can contact Great Basin Wildlife Rescue: 801-310-0186.

iGive

Do you shop online? Now you can support Great Basin Wildlife Rescue through your online purchases with no additional cost to you!

Through www.igive.com you have instant access to about 1,500 participating stores who will donate a portion of your purchase to Great Basin! It is easy and free to register. All you need to do is go to www.igive.com and follow the easy instructions. Once you register, you can choose Great Basin Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education as the charity you wish to benefit from your purchases. Each time you want to make an online purchase, you can logon to your favorite stores through igive.com or download the iGive application to your phone or other device. Remember, there are no additional fees or costs to you for using iGive, but Great Basin will receive a donation each time you shop!!

Amazon Smile

Do you shop on Amazon.com? Now you can support Great Basin Wildlife Rescue through your purchases on Amazon with no additional cost to you! When you shop at smile.amazon.com you’ll find the same prices with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price from your AmazonSmile eligible items to Great Basin! You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for Amazon Smile donation” on the product detail page.

You can use your regular Amazon account to make your purchases, no special account needed. Just simply go to smile.amazon.com from your web browser on your computer or mobile device. You will need to log in to your Amazon account. In the area where it says “Pick your own charitable organization,” type in Great Basin Wildlife Rescue and click the “search” button. Select Great Basin Wildlife Rescue as the charitable organization that you wish to receive the donated funds. Once these steps are completed, at the top of the page to the right of the AmazonSmile logo, you will see some thing that says “Supporting: Great Basin Wildlife Rescue and Education Center Inc.” Now you can go and make your normal Amazon purchases, knowing that your eligible items are benefiting Great Basin. You may even want to add a bookmark to AmazonSmile so that all of your future Amazon purchases can benefit Great Basin. Supporting Great Basin has never been so easy!