FeatherQuest Utah Edition

Small, bold, and endlessly expressive, chickadees and titmice reward patience and attention. Learn how to notice them more deeply in Utah.

Harriers and accipiters hunt Utah’s winter landscapes in different ways—one floats low over fields, the other strikes through trees. Where to find them.

Corvids—jays, magpies, crows, ravens, and nutcrackers—are some of Utah’s smartest birds. Learn where to find them and how to tell a raven from a crow.

Sea ducks bring bold patterns, deep dives, and quiet winter moments. Slow down, watch longer, and notice how these birds move across cold water.

Falcons are fast birds of prey built for speed. Learn how to spot kestrels, merlins, peregrines, and prairie falcons—and how they differ from hawks.

Diving ducks feed underwater and pop back up moments later. Learn to notice their shape, behavior, and the clues that help separate similar species.

Bald and Golden Eagles rule Utah’s skies year-round. Winter is one of the best times to observe their scale, flight mechanics, and unmistakable presence.

Utah’s geese and swans dominate open water and winter skies. Learn how to separate look-alikes, notice behavior, and experience their presence more deeply.

Quail bring motion and personality to Utah’s fields and deserts. From backyard coveys to southern scrub, these birds reward slow watching and listening.

Shrikes, waxwings, and Phainopepla share a bold masked look but live very different lives—fruit flocks, open-country hunters, and one desert wildcard.

Finches bring color, song, and incredible adaptations to Utah birding—from backyard feeders to alpine peaks.

Woodpeckers bring sound, motion, and structure to Utah birding. Learn how to spot their unique flight, climbing behavior, and drumming patterns.

Forest and bush sparrows reward close attention. Learn how to notice their songs, face patterns, and tiny field marks in Utah.

Dabbling ducks bring color and constant motion to Utah’s wetlands. Watch for quick feeding behavior, subtle differences, and flashes of unexpected detail.

Identify Sage Thrashers, Mockingbirds, and Catbirds across the western U.S. with field marks, songs, habitats, and behavior tips.

Open country sparrows trade cover for visibility. Learn how to find them, hear them, and notice their behavior across Utah’s fields and sagebrush.

Kingbirds and phoebes bring motion and attitude to Utah birding. Watch their perch-hunting pattern, listen for sharp calls, and notice their bold behavior.

Towhees are large North American sparrows that scratch through leaf litter and bring bold personality to Utah backyards, foothills, and desert scrub.

Lazuli Buntings bring bold color to Utah each spring. Learn where to find them, spot females, and watch for rare Indigo surprises.

Orioles and tanagers bring brilliant color to Utah each summer. Learn where to find them, what they eat, how they sound, and how to notice them.

Thrushes include robins, bluebirds, solitaires, and haunting forest singers. Learn how to find and notice them across Utah.

Warblers are tiny, colorful songbirds that fill Utah’s trees and thickets each spring with movement, song, and migration energy.

Some of Utah's most challenging birds to identify, Empidonax flycatchers and pewees teach birders to rely on behavior, habitat, and especially sound.

Utah’s herons, egrets, ibises, and bitterns bring size, patience, and drama to wetlands, riverbanks, marshes, and agricultural fields.

From bugling Sandhill Cranes to secretive rails and overlooked American Coots, this family showcases some of Utah's most fascinating wetland birds.

Discover Utah’s wrens through habitat, behavior, and unforgettable songs. Learn where to find each species and identify them by ear.

Discover Utah's American Dippers and gnatcatchers, two specialized birds known for walking underwater, squeaky calls, and unforgettable behavior.

Meet Utah’s blackbirds and allies, from red-winged marsh singers and R2-D2 meadowlarks to parking-lot grackles and controversial cowbirds.

Meet Utah’s graceful Forster’s Terns and massive Caspian Terns while learning why these agile aerial hunters are so often mistaken for gulls.

Learn Utah's swallows and swifts by flight shape, nesting habits, and the field marks that matter most.

Meet Utah’s Turkey Vultures and Ospreys while exploring the extraordinary recovery of the critically endangered California Condor.

Meet Utah’s hummingbirds during peak migration and learn their sounds, field marks, feeder habits, and incredible high-energy lives.

Meet Utah's nightjars—camouflaged insect hunters with giant mouths, strange calls, booming dives, and a brief late-summer migration window.