Woodside from Google Street View

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Description:
Woodside is a ghost town located on the west bank of the shallow Price River in the nearly uninhabited eastern part of Emery County. Its fenced-in filling station is one of the only signs of human activity along the lonely stretch of U.S. Route 6/191 between Wellington and Green River.  At one point in the early 1900's the town had a population of over 300 and actually was a thriving small community.  Today the property is private and surrounded by fence.   The Price River sits to the south lined with cottonwood trees, while sparse desert is found on all sides.  Greasewood dominated the landscape, while some shrubsteppe habitat is also present. A cold-water geyser is on the property but is rarely seen from the road anymore. Along the river these is some marsh and wetland habitat as well.  Given the remote location in the desert the trees do act as a migrant trap.

Birding:
This location hasn't received a lot of coverage--most birders passing do just that--and pass without stopping to see what might be around.  The trees can be hard to access, but can be birded form the road--albeit dangerously.  A small road wraps around the north side of the ghost town through the desert and greasewood.  BREWER'S SPARROWS can be found here in the summer months, while WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS fill in during the winter.  SAY'S PHOEBE can be found in the area, and WESTERN KINGBIRD are present in the summer months.  RED-TAILED HAWK are often seen perching in the trees along the river.  Since there aren't a ton of checklists and visits the actual species list is probably much higher and numerous migrant species can probably be found here in May and September.  Given how isolated the are is the potential for a mega find here is very high.

Directions:
From the on ramp at Exit 243 on US-191/6 in Price head south on US-191 for 35.4 miles till you reach Woodside on your right.

Beryl from Google Street View

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Description:
Beryl is an unincorporated community in Iron County that was originally established as a Union Pacific Railroad siding.  Now it is more of a ghost town.  If you look on Google Maps, it looks like a city was laid out here, with perfectly rectangle blocks for streets--but there is nothing there--just sagebrush, rabbit brush, and greasewood surrounded by desert. The 1 mile by 1 mile grid does have a few birding features, like a small patch of trees in the northeast corner around some old shacks--this is where the water tower is located, and where the road crosses the tracks going north and then west. In the northeast corner of the quadrant is a small compound where someone lives, and there are about 6 or 7 small deciduous trees here as well.  If you were to go north on 800 West you would eventually reach a large farm, with a huge field on the west side of the road, several small fields on the east side of the road, and a ton of trees.  The drive is lined with them for about a 1/4 miles, and the housing area is also surrounded.  This looks like some of the best migrant trap birding i Beryl, but I am not sure who owns it, or how welcome they would be to birders, so tread lightly if you choose to go here.  In general shrubsteppe is the habitat throughout the area aside form the 3 spots mentioned above.  There are other scattered farms for miles in every direction as well.

Birding:
There aren't a lot of reasons to go to Beryl--its dusty, dry and in the middle of nowhere.  There is potentially some migrant trap possibilities here but it would be a long way out here, if there were no migrants.  Some of the breeders here are good local birds though.  SAGEBRUSH SPARROW is notably common at this locations, while BLACK-THROATED, LARK, and BREWER'S SPARROW are also found. SAGE THRASHER, WESTERN KINGBIRD, SAY'S PHOEBE, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK are also expected.  COMMON POORWILL and BURROWING OWL have been reported, while the most abundant species present is HORNED LARK.  Judging the checklists that have been submitted I am guessing that lists have been submitted from nearby juniper habitat, far from Beryl, as some of the species are directly associated with that habitat, and not the habitat found in Beryl.

Directions:
From I-15 Exit 59 in Cedar City head west on SR-56 for 35.3 miles to Beryl Junction. Turn right and go north 11.9 miles on the Beryl Highway.  At this point you are in the southeast corner of a 1 mile by 1 mile set of streets for what was Beryl.  There is nothing there currently. If you continue a mile north you will hit a crossroad.  Here if you turn left then immediately right over the tracks you will end up on 10400 north and can drive about a mile west to take a right on 800 west and head north to a farm along a tree lined drive.  Otherwise, where every you drive in the area, it is all considered Beryl.