Search Wildlife
- Drivers reminded to watch for deer during peak migration seasons, darker commuting months
- New to bird-watching? Attend 2 upcoming DWR events to learn tips and see birds during fall migrations
- DWR implementing mandatory testing for chronic wasting disease in Ogden hunting unit, proposing other updates
- Have a big game or swan hunting permit this fall? Don't forget to submit mandatory harvest report
- Visit upcoming exhibit at Hardware Wildlife Education Center to learn about turkeys in Utah
- What hunters should know about the 2025 pheasant and quail hunts
- DWR wildlife license plates raise over $1.9M for conservation efforts during last 5 years
- Apply for Utah's most prized hunting permits, starting Oct. 28
Birds
An avian oasis
The Great Salt Lake is recognized nationally and around the world for its extensive wetlands and tremendous, often unparalleled value to migratory birds.
The lake's unique physical features, including its immense size, dynamic water levels, diversity of aquatic environments, extensive wetlands and geographic position within avian migration corridors, create a mosaic of habitat types that are attractive to literally millions of migratory birds that use the lake extensively for breeding, staging and in some cases, a wintering destination.
Quick facts
Over 12 million birds, represented by 339 species, utilize the Great Salt Lake and its associated wetlands and uplands:
- As many as 5 million eared grebes, at times half to 90% of the North American population
- Up to 20,000 breeding American white pelicans on Gunnison Island
- Over 600,000 Wilson's phalaropes, the largest staging concentration in the world, representing over a third of the world population
- 21% of the continental population of snowy plovers
- Annual waterbird survey since 1997
Birds slideshow
Click or tap the image below to view a slideshow of birds from the Great Salt Lake.
