Fish Springs

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 F W 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 Sp S F W x u r r r r r x r a r a r u u x u a 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 x c c x u u r c u a r r c u u r a x c c x r c r u Gallinaceous Birds ___•Chukar ___•Ring-necked Pheasant u u c u c u u u r x x r x x c r a u u c a r c u u a r r x Loons ___ Pacific Loon ___ Common Loon ___ Yellow-billed Loon Grebes ___•Pied-billed Grebe ___ Horned Grebe ___ Eared Grebe ___• Western Grebe ___ Clark’s Grebe u r a r u a u a c c c a a c r c a r a u a c c u a a u u c u u c r a r a a c c a a c c u u x x x r a r c a r a a u c a a u c c x c Common Bird Name Sp S F W r Pelicans ___ American White Pelican c c u Cormorants ___ Double-crested Cormorant c c u c c u a c c u c c c u r u x a c a u a x u r a u r c r c a a u r 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 r r c u r r r u r u u r x c r r r x u r u u c u u r r u r u u x u c x r Falcons and Caracaras ___ American Kestrel ___ Merlin ___ Peregrine Falcon ___ Prairie Falcon r r u u u r u u r u u r r u Rails ___•Virginia Rail ___• Sora ___• American Coot c c a c c a c c a u u a r r r c u Common Bird Name Sp S F Cranes ___• Sandhill Crane u u u u r u x u r c u r Plovers ___ Black-bellied Plover ___ American Golden-Plover ___ Pacific Golden-Plover ___•Snowy Plover ___ Semipalmated Plover ___• Killdeer c u c r x x c u a Stilts and Avocets ___•Black-necked Stilt ___•American Avocet a a a a u c c r c c u r c c u c c u x c u x x r u r u r a r u r r x r x 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 c u u x x r c u c u x x c u x u r x c r a r r r c u u u x x x c u c u W c r x r u 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 u u a c x x r a u x r x u u a r u r c 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 r c u x u u a x x x r u a u u r x x u x r u x c x x x x r u u r x u u r x u x c Nightjars ___ Common Nighthawk ___ Common Poorwill u r c u Swifts ___ White-throated Swift r x r x u r x u r Hummingbirds ___•Black-chinned Hummingbird ___ Calliope Hummingbird ___• Broad-tailed Hummingbird ___ Rufous Hummingbird W u u x x r x r x u x u x Common Bird Name Sp S F W Kingfishers ___ Belted Kingfisher u c x u Woodpeckers ___ Lewis’ Woodpecker ___ Williamson’s Sapsucker ___ Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ___ Red-naped Sapsucker ___ Red-breasted Sapsucker ___ Downy Woodpecker ___ Hairy Woodpecker ___ Northern Flicker x r x r u r r x 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 r u u u u u u x x c x r x c r r u r r r r r r r r r r r r c x u x 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 u x a u u x x u u r r u c x u r u r x x x u x r x x x x c r r r x x r c x x c Common Bird Name Sp S F W Larks ___•Horned Lark a a a Swallows ___ Purple Martin ___ Tree Swallow ___ Violet-green Swallow ___• Northern Rough-winged Swallow ___ Bank Swallow ___ Cliff Swallow ___• Barn Swallow x c u u u u a Titmice and Chickadees ___ Mountain Chickadee ___ Juniper Titmouse c u r r r r 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 r x r r a x r x x x x r x r x c x c a c x x x r c x x a x x x u Kinglets ___ Golden-crowned Kinglet ___ Ruby-crowned Kinglet u Old World Warblers ___ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher r x x r u r x c x r u Thrushes ___ Western Bluebird ___ Mountain Bluebird ___ Townsend’s Solitaire ___ Swainson’s Thrush ___ Hermit Thrush ___• American Robin ___ Varied Thrush u r c r c x x x u Common Bird Name Sp S F W Mimic Thrushes ___ Gray Catbird ___•Northern Mockingbird ___•Sage Thrasher ___ Brown Thrasher r c u x u c r u c r r Starlings ___•European Starling c r c 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 x u x x a x x u r c x x x x r x x r u c c u x c u u r u x x c r x x r c r x u r u u x x u 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 r x u r c c c c r x a x u u x x r u u c c u u u u u r u x c x u u u c c r x a u x r r u x x a r c r x x c c x x W c x u c c x x u c x x r r x r r a a a a a a a a a c u u c c c x r c u c r c r c c x x u Common Bird Name Sp S F W x c x x r c x Finches ___ Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch ___ Cassin’s Finch ___• House Finch ___ Red Crossbill ___ Common Redpoll ___ Pine Siskin ___ Lesser Goldfinch ___ American Goldfinch ___ Evening Grosbeak u u c r r r u x u u u r x u r c x Old World Sparrows ___•House Sparrow u u u u u 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 u 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 a u c u u a a c c r a r u c 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