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Wildlife of Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Utah. Published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Fish Springs
National Wildlife
Refuge
Wildlife List
A Wildlife Oasis
This blue goose,
designed by J.N.
“Ding” Darling,
is the symbol
of the National
Wildlife Refuge
System.
since 1960, and includes 12 species
of reptiles, 2 amphibians, 4 fish,
44 species of mammals (at least
24 of these breed on the Refuge),
and 298 species of birds (at least
70 of these breed on the Refuge).
Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) was established in 1959 under
the authority of the Migratory Bird
Conservation Act as a refuge and
breeding ground for migratory birds.
This Refuge is one of over 550 refuges
in the National Wildlife Refuge
System – a network of public lands
set aside specifically for wildlife.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
manages these lands to conserve
wildlife and their habitats for people
today and for generations to come.
The Refuge provides nearly 18,000
acres of uniquely varied habitats
that support a diversity of wildlife
in an otherwise arid landscape.
A 10,000-acre portion of the Refuge
consisting of wet meadow and marsh
habitats is fed by natural artesian
spring flow. This area is managed by
Refuge staff using an impoundment
system. Other Refuge habitats
include 6,000 acres of mud and alkali
flat, and 2,000 acres of semi-desert
uplands. Since the Refuge is the only
significant wetland within a radius
of 50 miles, it serves as a vital
stopping point for migrating birds
and is well known among birders as
a location of unusual bird sightings.
The checklist will be changed as
Refuge staff observe and report
new sightings. The status of the listed
species, particularly many of the bird
species listed as rare or accidental,
will be verified or revised with
increasing observations.
Species abundance varies annually,
sometimes tremendously, due to
changes in wetland water levels,
fluctuations in available food, and
natural cycles. Many of the less
common migrant songbird species
actually may be present only for
a period of a week or so during
the migration.
Seasons of
Occurrence
Sp
S
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Seasonal
Abundance
The letters below designate species
abundance on the Refuge. In the bird
section of the wildlife list, abundance
is listed according to season.
Refuge management focuses
on supporting migratory birds.
Historically, migratory bird
management concentrated on
waterfowl, shorebirds, and water
birds. Today, Refuge staff also
manage habitat to benefit species
of special management concern, such
as the snowy plover, the long-billed
curlew, and the least chub, which are
subjects of larger scale regional plans.
This management action supports
biological diversity within and beyond
the Refuge boundary.
About this
Checklist
This checklist is a comprehensive list
of Fish Springs NWR wildlife species.
The checklist contains all wildlife
species documented on the Refuge
a
c
u
o
r
x
Other Codes
•
Spring (March – May)
Summer (June – August)
Fall (September – November)
Winter (December – February)
abundant – occurring in large
numbers
common – certain to be seen
in suitable habitat
uncommon – present, but not
certain to be seen
occasional – seen only a few times
during the season
rare – seen at intervals of 2 to
5 years
accidental – seen less than every
5 years
denotes a breeding species
Acknowledgements C. Neuman was responsible for
the initial compilation of this list.
E. Sorenson, T. Sadler, J. Skalicky
and J. Engler contributed many
observations and suggestions in
editing the list. C. Pritchett and
J. Sikes contributed mammal and
reptile observations and list editing,
respectively. J. Banta, past Refuge
Manager, initiated the development
of this brochure and was a strong
supporter of birds and birding at
this Refuge.
Note
Visitors are encouraged to report
any new or unusual wildlife sightings
by contacting the Refuge staff
during office hours or by writing
a letter to the Refuge Manager.
Please follow all Refuge regulations,
and keep out of unauthorized areas.
Please contact the Refuge staff
regarding questions on regulations.
Accessibility
Equal opportunity to participate
in and benefit from programs and
activities of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is available to all
individuals regardless of physical
or mental ability. Dial 711 for a
connection to the State relay service
for TTY and voice calls to and from
the speech and hearing impaired.
For more information or to address
accessibility needs, please contact
the Refuge staff at 435 / 831 5353, or
the U.S. Department of the Interior,
Office of Equal Opportunity, 1849 C
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240
Common Bird Name
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Swans, Geese, and Ducks
___ Greater White-fronted Goose
___ Snow Goose
___ Ross’s Goose
___ Brant
___ Cackling Goose
___• Canada Goose
___ Trumpeter Swan
___ Tundra Swan
___ Wood Duck
___• Gadwall
___ Eurasian Wigeon
___ American Wigeon
___• Mallard
___• Blue-winged Teal
___• Cinnamon Teal
___• Northern Shoveler
___• Northern Pintail
___• Green-winged Teal
___• Canvasback
___• Redhead
___ Ring-necked Duck
___ Greater Scaup
___ Lesser Scaup
___ Surf Scoter
___ White-winged Scoter
___ Black Scoter
___ Long-tailed Duck
___ Bufflehead
___ Common Goldeneye
___ Barrow’s Goldeneye
___ Hooded Merganser
___• Common Merganser
___ Red-breasted Merganser
___• Ruddy Duck
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Gallinaceous Birds
___•Chukar
___•Ring-necked Pheasant
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Loons
___ Pacific Loon
___ Common Loon
___ Yellow-billed Loon
Grebes
___•Pied-billed Grebe
___ Horned Grebe
___ Eared Grebe
___• Western Grebe
___ Clark’s Grebe
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Common Bird Name
Sp S
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r
Pelicans
___ American White Pelican
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Cormorants
___ Double-crested Cormorant
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Bitterns, Herons, and Egrets
___•American Bittern
___• Great Blue Heron
___• Great Egret
___• Snowy Egret
___ Reddish Egret
___• Cattle Egret
___ Green Heron
___• Black-crowned Night-Heron
Ibises and Spoonbills
___•White-faced Ibis
Storks
___ Wood Stork
x
New World Vultures
___ Turkey Vulture
x
x
x
Osprey, Kites, Hawks, and Eagles
___ Osprey
___ Bald Eagle
___• Northern Harrier
___ Sharp-shinned Hawk
___ Cooper’s Hawk
___ Red-shouldered Hawk
___ Swainson’s Hawk
___ Red-tailed Hawk
___ Ferruginous Hawk
___ Rough-legged Hawk
___• Golden Eagle
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Falcons and Caracaras
___ American Kestrel
___ Merlin
___ Peregrine Falcon
___ Prairie Falcon
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Rails
___•Virginia Rail
___• Sora
___• American Coot
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Common Bird Name
Sp S
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Cranes
___• Sandhill Crane
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Plovers
___ Black-bellied Plover
___ American Golden-Plover
___ Pacific Golden-Plover
___•Snowy Plover
___ Semipalmated Plover
___• Killdeer
c
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r
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a
Stilts and Avocets
___•Black-necked Stilt
___•American Avocet
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Sandpipers and Phalaropes
___ Spotted Sandpiper
___ Solitary Sandpiper
___ Greater Yellowlegs
___• Willet
___ Lesser Yellowlegs
___ Whimbrel
___• Long-billed Curlew
___ Hudsonian Godwit
___ Marbled Godwit
___ Ruddy Turnstone
___ Red Knot
___ Sanderling
___ Semipalmated Sandpiper
___ Western Sandpiper
___ Least Sandpiper
___ White-rumped Sandpiper
___ Baird’s Sandpiper
___ Pectoral Sandpiper
___ Dunlin
___ Stilt Sandpiper
___ Short-billed Dowitcher
___ Long-billed Dowitcher
___ Wilson’s Snipe
___• Wilson’s Phalarope
___ Red-necked Phalarope
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Common Bird Name
Skuas, Jaegers, Gulls, and Terns
___ Franklin’s Gull
___ Bonaparte’s Gull
___ Ring-billed Gull
___ California Gull
___ Herring Gull
___ Sabine’s Gull
___ Black-legged Kittiwake
___ Least Tern
___• Caspian Tern
___• Black Tern
___ Common Tern
___• Forster’s Tern
___ Pomarine Jaeger
___ Parasitic Jaeger
___ Long-tailed Jaeger
Pigeons and Doves
___ Rock Pigeon
___ Eurasian Collared-Dove
___ White-winged Dove
___• Mourning Dove
Sp S
F
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r
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Cuckoos and Anis
___ Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owls
___ Barn Owl
Typical Owls
___ Western Screech-Owl
___• Great Horned Owl
___ Burrowing Owl
___ Long-eared Owl
___• Short-eared Owl
___ Northern Saw-whet Owl
r
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Nightjars
___ Common Nighthawk
___ Common Poorwill
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Swifts
___ White-throated Swift
r
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r
Hummingbirds
___•Black-chinned Hummingbird
___ Calliope Hummingbird
___• Broad-tailed Hummingbird
___ Rufous Hummingbird
W
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r
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Common Bird Name
Sp S
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Kingfishers
___ Belted Kingfisher
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u
Woodpeckers
___ Lewis’ Woodpecker
___ Williamson’s Sapsucker
___ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
___ Red-naped Sapsucker
___ Red-breasted Sapsucker
___ Downy Woodpecker
___ Hairy Woodpecker
___ Northern Flicker
x
r
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c
Tyrant Flycatchers
___ Olive-sided Flycatcher
___ Western Wood-Pewee
___ Willow Flycatcher
___ Hammond’s Flycatcher
___ Gray Flycatcher
___ Dusky Flycatcher
___ Cordilleran Flycatcher
___ Black Phoebe
___ Eastern Phoebe
___• Say’s Phoebe
___ Vermilion Flycatcher
___ Ash-throated Flycatcher
___ Cassin’s Kingbird
___• Western Kingbird
___• Eastern Kingbird
___ Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
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Shrikes
___•Loggerhead Shrike
___ Northern Shrike
Vireos
___ Plumbeous Vireo
___ Cassin’s Vireo
___ Warbling Vireo
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
___ Steller’s Jay
___ Western Scrub-Jay
___ Pinyon Jay
___ Clark’s Nutcracker
___ Black-billed Magpie
___ American Crow
___• Common Raven
r
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Common Bird Name
Sp S
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Larks
___•Horned Lark
a
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a
Swallows
___ Purple Martin
___ Tree Swallow
___ Violet-green Swallow
___• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
___ Bank Swallow
___ Cliff Swallow
___• Barn Swallow
x
c
u
u
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u
a
Titmice and Chickadees
___ Mountain Chickadee
___ Juniper Titmouse
c
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r
r
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a
x
Bushtits
___ Bushtit
Nuthatches
___ Red-breasted Nuthatch
___ White-breasted Nuthatch
r
x
Creepers
___ Brown Creeper
Wrens
___•Rock Wren
___ Canyon Wren
___ Bewick’s Wren
___ House Wren
___ Winter Wren
___• Marsh Wren
r
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Kinglets
___ Golden-crowned Kinglet
___ Ruby-crowned Kinglet
u
Old World Warblers
___ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
r
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r
x
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x
r
u
Thrushes
___ Western Bluebird
___ Mountain Bluebird
___ Townsend’s Solitaire
___ Swainson’s Thrush
___ Hermit Thrush
___• American Robin
___ Varied Thrush
u
r
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x
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Common Bird Name
Sp S
F
W
Mimic Thrushes
___ Gray Catbird
___•Northern Mockingbird
___•Sage Thrasher
___ Brown Thrasher
r
c
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x
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r
Starlings
___•European Starling
c
r
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u
Wagtails and Pipits
___ American (Water) Pipit
u
x
c
c
Waxwings
___ Bohemian Waxwing
___ Cedar Waxwing
x
u
x
x
u
x
Silky-flycatchers
___ Phainopepla
x
Wood Warblers
___ Orange-crowned Warbler
___ Nashville Warbler
___ Virginia’s Warbler
___ Lucy’s Warbler
___ Northern Parula
___•Yellow Warbler
___ Chestnut-sided Warbler
___ Magnolia Warbler
___ Black-throated Blue Warbler
___ Yellow-rumped Warbler
___ Black-throated Gray Warbler
___ Townsend’s Warbler
___ Palm Warbler
___ Blackpoll Warbler
___ Black-and-white Warbler
___ American Redstart
___ Ovenbird
___ Northern Waterthrush
___ MacGillivray’s Warbler
___• Common Yellowthroat
___ Wilson’s Warbler
___ Yellow-breasted Chat
Tanagers
___ Summer Tanager
___ Scarlet Tanager
___• Western Tanager
u
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Common Bird Name
Sparrows and Towhees
___ Green-tailed Towhee
___ Spotted Towhee
___ American Tree Sparrow
___ Chipping Sparrow
___ Brewer’s Sparrow
___• Vesper Sparrow
___• Lark Sparrow
___• Black-throated Sparrow
___ Sage Sparrow
___ Lark Bunting
___• Savannah Sparrow
___ Fox Sparrow
___ Song Sparrow
___ Lincoln’s Sparrow
___ White-throated Sparrow
___ Harris’s Sparrow
___ White-crowned Sparrow
___ Dark-eyed Junco
___ McCown’s Longspur
___ Lapland Longspur
___ Chestnut-collared Longspur
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies
___ Rose-breasted Grosbeak
___ Black-headed Grosbeak
___ Blue Grosbeak
___ Lazuli Bunting
___ Indigo Bunting
___ Painted Bunting
Blackbirds and Orioles
___ Bobolink
___• Red-winged Blackbird
___• Western Meadowlark
___• Yellow-headed Blackbird
___ Rusty Blackbird
___• Brewer’s Blackbird
___ Common Grackle
___ Great-tailed Grackle
___ Brown-headed Cowbird
___• Bullock’s Oriole
Sp S
F
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x
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c
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a
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a
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a
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c
c
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x
W
c
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c
c
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r
r
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a
a
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Common Bird Name
Sp
S
F
W
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Finches
___ Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
___ Cassin’s Finch
___• House Finch
___ Red Crossbill
___ Common Redpoll
___ Pine Siskin
___ Lesser Goldfinch
___ American Goldfinch
___ Evening Grosbeak
u
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x
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x
Old World Sparrows
___•House Sparrow
u
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c
Reference: Seventh American Ornithologist’s Union,
1998. Checklist of North American Birds. 7th ed.,
(AOU 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009) supplements. Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington
D.C.
Notes
u
Common Mammal Name
Abundance
Insectivores
___•Vagrant Shrew
c
Vesper Bats
___ California Myotis
___ Western Small-footed Myotis
___ Long-eared Myotis
___ Fringed Myotis
___ Long-legged Myotis
___ Yuma Myotis
___ Silver-haired Bat
___ Western Pipistrelle
___ Townsend’s Big-eared Bat
___ Pallid Bat
___ Brazillian Free-tailed Bat
u
c
c
c
c
u
u
c
u
r
r
Pikas, Hares, and Rabbits
___ Pygmy Rabbit
___•Desert Cottontail
___•Black-tailed Jackrabbit
r
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c
Rodents
___•Least Chipmunk
___•White-tailed Antelope Squirrel
___•Townsend’s Ground Squirrel
___•Botta’s Pocket Gopher
___•Little Pocket Mouse
___•Great Basin Pocket Mouse
___•Long-tailed Pocket Mouse
___•Chisel-toothed Kangaroo Rat
___•Ord’s Kangaroo Rat
___•Western Harvest Mouse
___ Canyon Mouse
___•Deer Mouse
___ Pinyon Mouse
___•Northern Grasshopper Mouse
___•Desert Woodrat
___•House Mouse
___•Montane Vole
___•Common Muskrat
u
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u
c
u
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a
a
c
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a
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a
a
a
Carnivores
___•Coyote
___ Kit Fox
___ Red Fox
___ Ringtail
___•Long-tailed Weasel
___•American Badger
___ Western Spotted Skunk
___•Striped Skunk
___ Bobcat
c
c
r
r
u
u
r
u
u
Common Mammal Name
Abundance
Even-toed Ungulates
___•Mule Deer
___ Pronghorn
u
u
Reference: Revised Checklist of North American
Mammals North of Mexico, 2003.
Common Amphibian Name
Frogs
___•American Bullfrog
___•Northern Leopard Frog
Abundance
a
c
Reference: U.S. Geological Survey’s Checklist
of Amphibian Species and Identification Guide,
<http:www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/herps/amphibid/
index.htm>
Common Reptile Name
Abundance
Lizards
___ Collared Lizard
___ Leopard Lizard
___ Desert Horned Lizard
___ Great Basin Sagebrush Lizard
___ Western Fence Lizard
___ Desert Side-blotched Lizard
___ Great Basin Whiptail Lizard
u
u
u
c
c
c
c
Snakes
___ Striped Whipsnake
___ Wandering Garter Snake
___ Great Basin Rattlesnake
___ Great Basin Gopher Snake
___ Long-nosed Snake
u
c
u
a
x
Reference: The Center for North American Herpetology,
http://www.cnah.org/index.asp
Common Fish Name
Abundance
Fishes
___•Utah Chub
___•Least Chub
___•Speckled Dace
___•Mosquitofish
c
u
u
a
Reference: Common and Scientific Names of Fishes
from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 6th ed.
American Fisheries Society, 2004.
Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge
PO Box 568
Dugway, UT 84022
435 / 831 5353
435 / 831 5354 fax
fishsprings@fws.gov
http://www.fws.gov/fishsprings
For State relay service
TTY / Voice: 711
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov
For Refuge Information
1 800 / 344 WILD
March 2011