Birds
American avocet
An upturned bill, blue-gray legs and a sweeping feeding motion make this wetland shorebird especially distinctive.
Utah wildlife and plants
The animals and plants of Utah's mountain forests, red-rock desert, sagebrush valleys and Great Salt Lake wetlands.
Get to know Utah through the animals and plants that live here. Browse the 63 profiles by habitat or region, compare a species' seasonal habits, and follow the linked agency and university sources when you want to learn more. Start with the landscape you expect to visit, then narrow the list to wildlife or plants.
This is an introduction, not a complete inventory or a field-identification key. A region label describes the range or location a profile's sources support; it does not promise a sighting. Seasonal notes describe general patterns, and we don't publish exact sites for nests, roosts, colonies or rare plants. Check the land manager's current access information separately before a trip.
Choose a way in
- I saw something and want to learn about it.Search a common or scientific name below. If you don't know the name, start with a broad group and habitat, then compare the profile's details rather than relying on color alone.
- I'm planning a nature walk.Choose a region and habitat, and read a few profiles before you leave. Keep expectations flexible: a quiet walk is still a chance to notice plants, tracks and the way habitats connect.
- I'm looking for wildflowers.Start with the wildflower planning guide, then use the plant profiles. Flowering windows are broad patterns, not a bloom forecast.
- I'm visiting with children or a new observer.Pick one plant and one animal to learn about. Make the goal careful observation, not finding every species on a checklist.
Learn the landscape
A seasonal comparison makes a familiar landscape easier to read. At Arches, rainfall strongly shapes the wildflower display; at Cedar Breaks, high meadows bloom through a short summer. Those are local examples of why one statewide "best week" would mislead. Try the mountain and desert habitats, then the spring and summer pages.
Each profile answers three separate questions: what the organism is, what habitat or range its sources support, and what a visitor can responsibly observe. Conservation labels are shown with their category, scope and date, because a federal listing, a state priority list and a native-or-introduced label answer different questions.
New: guides to 7 habitats, four seasons and watching well, with the profiles that belong together.
Wildlife
Birds
Tundra swan
A large white migrant whose family groups link Utah's wetlands with Arctic nesting country.
File photo: American avocets with raised wings at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Birds
Bear River refuge birds
Read the refuge as a changing set of habitats, from shallow feeding flats to marsh cover and deeper water.
Species reference photograph: Artemia franciscana brine shrimp. The source does not specify where the specimen was collected; this is not a documented Great Salt Lake sighting. Photo: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Invertebrates
Brine shrimp and brine flies
Tiny crustaceans and insects carry energy from Great Salt Lake's microscopic producers to its birds.
Black-necked stilt at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah (June 15, 2021). Photo: Sandra Uecker / USFWS Mountain Prairie · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Birds
Black-necked stilt
Pink legs and a straight, needlelike bill distinguish this black-and-white wader from its avocet neighbors.
Birds
Eared grebe
A small diving bird whose long autumn stopovers reveal the importance of Great Salt Lake's invertebrate food supply.