Register Now For Great Salt Lake Bird Festival

The marshes around the Great Salt Lake are important habitat for birds and other wildlife and provide are prime areas for bird watching and wildlife photography. The annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival provides a great opportunity to participate in those activities.

The festival will be held May 15-19, 2014. Registration is now open for classes, field trips and other activities associated with the festival. See the festival website for details.

Here are tidbits of info from the festival:

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival is excited to announce the 2014 Keynote Speaker for May 17, 2014 will be The Nature Conservancy’s Conservation Geographer and expert birder Tim Boucher.

In addition to giving the Keynote address, Tim will also guide fieldtrips to Antelope Island and Farmington Bay and offer a workshop on Learning Bird Calls.

Many festival events take place around Farmington Bay, in Davis County just north of Salt Lake City, but field trips extend into many areas. Sometimes, field trips provide access into prime spots not generally open to the public.

See hundreds of tundra swans

On March 15, the Division of Wildlife Resources will host Utah's annual Tundra Swan Day. Admission is free. The event will be held at the Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area west of Corinne.

Phil Douglass, regional conservation outreach manager with the DWR, says viewing will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Spotting scopes will be available, so you can get a close look at the swans," Douglass says. "If you have your own binoculars or a spotting scope, though, please bring it."

In addition to enjoying the spring weather, you'll enjoy a thrilling viewing experience. "Just seeing and hearing these birds is worth the trip," he says, "but knowledgeable and friendly people from the DWR and Wasatch Audubon will also be available to answer any questions you have. And, if you have a Scout group that needs to talk to a conservation officer, this is the perfect place to do it."

If you have questions about Tundra Swan Day, call the DWR's Northern Region office at 801-476-2740. You can also download a free fact sheet about tundra swans.

To reach the Salt Creek WMA, exit Interstate 15 at Exit 365, and travel west on state Route 83 through Corinne. Stay on Route 83 until you get to 6800 West (Iowa String). Travel north on 6800 W. to 6800 N. Travel west on 6800 N. until you reach the Salt Creek WMA/Compton's Knoll Watchable Wildlife site.