Curlews and Ibis
A hot August day on the Great Salt Lake had the Long-billed Curlews and White-faced Ibis cooling in the shallows, gorging on insects and I'm not quite sure what that Ibis is doing in the last shot, but I love the colors.
I Can Haz BlogThe places I go and things I seeFiled under: great salt lakeCurlews and IbisA hot August day on the Great Salt Lake had the Long-billed Curlews and White-faced Ibis cooling in the shallows, gorging on insects and I'm not quite sure what that Ibis is doing in the last shot, but I love the colors.
Dramatic Winter Day on the Great Salt LakeYou never know what will show up on Antelope Island in January. A dramatic day of sun and snow brought Bald Eagles and Coyotes on the iced over bay. Our big surprise was a Greater White-fronted Goose - a bird not very common to the island and a new life-bird for us. This one is a juvenile which made distinguishing it from a domestic goose a bit tough, but you can tell by the crisp markings and the lean look that it is a wild bird. Domestic geese have much more bulk. We also stopped by the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area where a couple of American Kestrels posed beautifully and we got our second life-bird of the day, a Rough-legged Hawk (and a shutter-hog Canada Goose). Winter is so much more bearable with wildlife and wild places to visit.The Pics I Missed Posting in 2010I was looking back over my photos from 2010 and realized I never posted some of my favorites from this year's adventures. 1) Great Salt Lake Mirror Calm2) Long-Billed Curlew - Antelope Island 3) Bison and Antelope - White Rock Bay, Antelope Island 4 & 5) Coyote in the Grass - Antelope Island 6) Rock Wren Singing - Visitor's Center, Antelope Island 7) White Crowned Sparrow - Visitor's Center, Antelope Island 8) Cordilleran Flycatcher - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 9) Western Tanager - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 10) Hermit Thrush - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 11) Black and White Warbler (rare visitor) - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 12) Northern Saw-Whet Owl (with prey) - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 13) Cassin's Finch - South Willow Canyon, Tooele Valley 14) Westen Wood Pewee - South Willow Canyon, Tooele Valley 15) Chipmunk - Big Four Ice Caves, Washington 16) Pacific Wren - Big Four Ice Caves Washington 17) Barn Swallow Chicks and Mother - Garr Ranch, Antelope Island 18) Mountain Bluebird, Strawberry Reservoir, Utah 19) Cooper's Hawk Chicks - University of Utah campus 20) Fall Colors in Silver Fork Canyon, Utah 21) Looking Toward Wasatch Mountain State Park from the Johnson Mill Pond, Midway, Utah 22) Johnson Mill - Midway, Utah 23) Pied Billed Grebe Chick - Johnson Mill Pond, Midway, Utah 24) Red Tailed Hawk - Heber Valley, Utah 25) Fall Colors, East Canyon, Utah
Fall begins with aspens, owls and a rare gullThis weekend we went to Brighton to see the aspens just turning golden Utah's mountains. The Pica community was active with huge food piles drying for winter and at least 5 of the little critters running around. The high country is just reaching peak colors.
Out on Antelope Island we went looking for owls. Both Great Horned at Garr Ranch perched for us. Nature photographer Paul Higgens pointed out a tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl holding prey and staring at us (new life bird). Amazingly, we also found a Burrowing Owl standing in the open. I was not expecting 3 owl species in one day. We also watched 4 Sabine's gulls - a very rare visitor and probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this bird.
Persistence and a little luck yield new birdsWhat was supposed to be a warm 70 degree day at Antelope Island turned out to be grey and overcast with big wind gusts. I was skeptical that we would see anything other than gulls. The owls at Garr ranch were out and actually took flight for us to see. As we headed for the parking lot, We spotted a pair of Say's Pheobes by the barn (see photo of bird on metal roof)- NEW BIRD! However, my favorite bird of the day was a little rock wren singing his heart of in blasting wind - so he gets the first 3 pics of this post. The visitor center also yielded some great shots of a white crowned sparrow. Down the road we use an iPhone to call a horned lark closer (and possibly made him very pissed off at the large Subaru horned lark in his territory. I think he looks like he's going to lose it in his pic. western meadowlark at Whiterock Bay gave me the poster shot (we must have seen at least 100 WMLs). The award for persistence and luck goes to Jessica for suggesting that we return to the island after lunch and try to find a reported sage thrasher by the visitor center. We climbed over rocks and scanned sagebrush. By now the wind had died and a peaceful afternoon was settling in. It was great to just sit back and listen to the meadowlark calls all around... and a call that didn't quite sound like a meadowlark. Scanning the ground way out, Jessica lucked into spotting a running bird. I spotted it too - then another. Behold - two sage thrashers running over the rocks - imposible to get a photo. A jack rabbit ventured into the area and I decided to get a picture. Aiming through the tiny view finder I THOUGHT I was shooting a rabbits ears sticking above a rock - when I checked the photo, no rabbit, but there WAS a safe thrasher. It's not a great shot and we were quite far away, but there it is - the luck bird of the day. Leaving the island I spotted my first avocet of the year - a sure sign that the great flocks will be coming in over the next few days. Spring migration is here!Meadowlarks , Chukars and Shrikes
A warm Spring day brought out the Western Meadowlarks on Antelope Island. We also saw a few Chukars and Loggerhead Shrikes. The cool moment for today happened at Whiterock Bay when I was taking a shot of two bison when suddenly and antelope jumped from the brush right into the frame. Other birds sighted included:
Northern Harrier Great Blue Heron Eared Grebe Great Horned Owls at Garr Ranch - Great Salt Lake
A fine faux spring day at Garr Ranch on Antelope Island (Great Salt Lake) had two great horned owls taking in the sun. I love the photo with the American Goldfinch hanging out with the owl (there were about 300 goldfinches around). It was nice to get out of the city and reconnect to nature for a few hours.
Fall is beautiful at Antelope Island State ParkWe spent Saturday afternoon at White Rock Bay on Antelope Island State Park. The Great Salt Lake was mirror still and the bay was covered with thousands of Eared Grebes. We saw hundreds of American Avocets sweeping for food in the shallows along the causeway (pictured). A few European Starlings were hanging out with (on) the island Bison. Two new birds for us: the Orange Crowned Warbler and the Savannah Sparrow (pictured). As we hiked we spotted a Loggerhead Shrike (pictured on the rocks). We also used our Nikon scope to watch a very entertaining Rock Wren. Other birds seen: Western Meadowlark Red-wing Blackbird Chipping Sparrow Song sparrow White-crowned Sparrow American Pelican Northern Harrier Canada Goose Killdear Willet Raven Good day for Owls
It turned out to be a great day for seeing owls on Antelope Island. We saw our first burrowing owls. They are so small! You'd think they were rocks until you catch them moving. We saw a family of 3 and another just siiting on top of a rock. The great horned owl was out at Garr Ranch as well.
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