Antelope Island

Bison at Antelope Island State Park

We wandered further North into the state of Utah searching for the Chukar. This bird originally hails from Pakistan but was introduced into the US as a game bird.  The bird prefers rocky and arid landscape which was exactly the reason why we had to go to Utah.

Helping us find this bird was none other than Mia McPherson.  She is one of the best wildlife photographers out there.  And it turns out that she's also a wonderful person to get to know!  Our main target was the exploration of Antelope Island State Park near Salt Lake City.  It's located within the glassy waters of the Great Salt Lake.

Thousands of American Avocets hang out near the causeway

As we scanned the causeway onto the island, we saw thousands of birds covering the patchy stretches of water around the Great Salt Lake. Today that "lake" is disappearing due to drought conditions and water usage. Waterless piers that once held skimmers are now void of any traffic.  Hopefully, Utah will benefit from the wet El Niño winter pattern that has begun to take hold for many of the Western states.  

Western Meadowlark near the empty piers

And yet, there are still areas that have larger patches of water. It's strangely a beautiful sight to see.  There were so many water birds around this island that I forgot we were exploring a drier area of the US. 

Phalaropes fly over our heads from out of nowhere!

Once on the island, I kept my eyes and ears open for the Chukar.

Several moments later, I heard "different" birds making an unusual chatty sound nearby the visitor center.  My eyes focused on the various rock outcroppings and boulders in the area.  And then......

......it happened!  I saw Chukars sitting on top of rocks.  And not just one or two but MANY!  I quietly walked down the path and turned the corner of a large boulder.  As I did, a pair of Chukars faced me only several feet away.  And in that moment of quiet, we watched each other carefully.

Chukar

Antelope Island is truly a magical space that doesn't feel anything at all like Utah.  Or maybe it does feel like Utah? I don't know.  I haven't visited enough of Utah to make a judgement, but I can tell you that I loved it. I highly recommend this state park for a visit. There were RV's parked in their camping areas and I was a bit envious that people were able to spend several nights on this island.

Sage Thrasher

The golden light of the Utah sun made for wonderful photo opportunities. A pair of Sage Thrashers popped up on greasewood for some lovely views.

Horned Lark

While Mia navigated around the island, we were always careful to keep an eye open for the many bison walking around the roads and paths.

We stopped along the way investigating unusual habitat on the island.  At this particular stop(below), Mia showed us an older Black-billed Magpie nest.  This dome creation is a piece of art!

At one point, I had my window open and almost fell asleep.  I was SO relaxed. The urban sprawl of Salt Lake City stopped at the the entrance to the causeway.  And the island was a sanctuary of peaceful thoughts.

The golden browns of the landscape can make bird spotting a challenge.  Take for example this Wilson's Snipe below.  Mia spotted the bird along a riparian area and it took me several minutes to find her snipe!!!  It was only a couple feet away from my face!  Camouflage!

Wilson's Snipe

Our adventures in Utah would continue one more day.

I'd like to thank Mia for her friendship and also for her time showing us around the natural spaces of Salt Lake City.  I will never forget this trip out to Antelope Island. 

On our final voyage into Utah, there was one other bird I so badly needed to find.  Stay tuned for more......

Transitions

Common Raven

Life can get crazy. This past week included getting rid of a swarm of bees on our patio, preparing for Micheal's birthday and running errands for various things.  So when do I get to bird?

Willow Lake in Prescott, AZ

Well like everything else, I have to make the time.  One of the hardest decisions that I've had to make recently was letting go of the Presidency at our HOA.  As of the 31st, a huge weight and stress will be lifted from my shoulders.  More precious positive time again!

Evening Grosbeaks in Sunflower, AZ

As for other transitions? Well I also need to get back into shape again.  I've let myself go.  Yes, I hike and exercise, but it's the food!  I love it so much:)  I'm good the entire day until around 4 PM and then I go crazy.  This summer, I will be trekking around Southern Mexico and I need to get my body prepared for the high humidity hikes.

The treks make me laugh.  One week, I'm freezing my butt off on Lake Michigan.  The next weekend I'm down in Mexico birding along the beach.  This past weekend, we headed up north for a little R&R in Prescott, AZ. Talk about crazy weather extremes!

Western Meadowlark at Willow Lake

I think if it wasn't for birding, the friendships/family or my other half, I'd simply go insane.  Life is crazy.  At the beginning of the year, I thought my time out in the field would be cut to a minimum due to the wedding.  However, I've discovered that I can't let that happen. One day versus a whole year?  I just don't get the crazy need for spending thousands upon thousands of dollars for a one day event. Anyhow, I find the time to explore wherever we go now.

White-breasted Nuthatch

And of course, I enjoy the fun ride that goes with the birds. Today's post takes place at Willow Lake with Micheal and Cynthia near Prescott, Arizona.  Everything was blooming.  Allergies were high and so were the warblers!

Micheal, me and Cynthia

I marvel at it all.  From the chilly woods, to the mountain terrain, and so on and so on.  When one birds, life is an everyday adventure.  Until next week friends..... 

Pops feeds the Mallards, Canada Geese and American Black Ducks  Look lower left in pic to see the ABDU.

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind

When we think of the word "ALIEN", our minds often go to outer space.  If you live close to an international border,  you might think of someone who is NOT from your own country.  Today's adventure takes us into the heart of a snow storm, the search for a very welcome alien, and a trip to Roswell, New Mexico.  But we weren't searching for UFO's. 

It began as we headed on I-10 towards New Mexico.  My final days of vacation were to be spent searching for a very rare bird to North America. Some might call this bird an illegal alien.  But most birders think otherwise:)  I didn't want to go back to work wondering "What if...."

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

As we moved closer to the New Mexican border, we began to see a very snowy and cold weather pattern building.  And so it began.  Severe snow showers! At times, we were in white out conditions.   How would this impact our trek??!!  Should we turn back?  

Western Meadowlark

But I began to see images like the ones above.  Birds in snow. I became curious and watched the heightened bird activity throughout the state along our route.  It was a very rare opportunity to see New Mexico covered in a blanket of snow.  And it was an opportunity to do a rare photo shoot with SNOW! 

The aftermath.....a frozen tundra!

Our trek would lead us into the Chihuahuan desert, up into forests and then back down into the hilly grasslands. As the skies began to darken, we pushed further into the storm before absolute darkness took over.  We had two excellent windows for observing this rare bird and one of them would be closing for us in a matter of hours!

Known as the Common Crane in Europe and other parts of the world, this crane isn't so common here in North America.  Cranes, during the day, will fly out into the agricultural fields and feed.  At night, the birds return to their wetlands to roost.  Early morning, they warm up and take off.  Those opportunities are what birders call "windows".  I didn't feel like chasing cranes all over the farmer's fields due to the bad road conditions.  Ice had begun to form.   

We arrived into Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge just in time.  The snow was now falling quite a bit.  We had our gear as we hiked to a spot where we could count the hundreds of Sandhill Cranes flying over our heads.  It wasn't long before we spotted our target bird, but darkness had settled in.....and so had the cranes.  We marked their location and where the Common Crane landed so that we could get some photos in the morning. By this time, the roads had become slick and dangerous.   

On the way back, we spotted deer and elk along the sides of the country roads.  We drove slowly to our bed and breakfast on the back roads careful not to make any sudden moves allowing ourselves enough breaking room.     

In the darkness, I could make out Western Meadowlarks hunkering down for the night.  This bird was very common around the fields here and it was a bird I wanted to study more.  We have both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks in southern Arizona, but they seem to be trickier to capture on camera.  Every time I've gone to New Mexico, they seem to pose for me.  

But this Common Crane.  It was our target bird.  A couple years ago, I studied cranes and took plenty of notes on them during a summer trip to Wisconsin.  My focus, at the time, was our state's very special crane known as the Whooping Crane.  While we were there, we attended several lectures about the various crane populations around the world.  The Common Crane, unlike many others, has a stable and very large population back in Europe, Asia and other parts.                                                                                                                                                            

Common Crane

It's rather distinct when compared to our Sandhill Cranes here.   The bird is larger.  It has a black crown and neck.  There is a white patch behind the eye with a yellowish bill.  The very top of the head on this crane is red and featherless. 

I've placed a pic of the common Sandhill Crane below for comparison. 

Sandhill Cranes

There is no denying the voice of a crane.  It's loud and can be heard in the far distance as they fly from one area to the next.  In the evening, we scanned the skies and counted over 2000 Sandhill Cranes!  And we found one Common Crane in the bunch.  In the morning, we knew we had to go back and relocate for an ID pic.  Anytime a rare bird is observed, it is best to get a picture for not only credibility but for evidence as well.  When ebirding a rare bird, it's important to include as much information as you can like......what you observe, what time, where, pics, etc etc....

So I am including real time photos of what we saw.  With my binoculars, I could see everything.  As you can see with this camera pic, it's a lot more difficult using a camera.  We stood in the cold.  Micheal kept the data as I relayed to him the information from my bins.  He'd punch in the numbers and I'd count the cranes flying over.  This allowed me to focus on what direction the cranes were flying and where they were landing.  Bitter Lake National Wildlife refuge was a new area for us and it was important we didn't waste time in the morning searching for the birds before they took off. 

Start counting and look for Waldo!  I mean...the Common Crane:)

We returned in the morning to the 2500 cranes.  They are noisy birds so it was easy to get into an area to view them.  The problem with this particular target bird was distance.  Scopes are great but I don't own one.  However with binoculars, I was able to spot the bird.  If I had used only a camera, I wouldn't have been able to spot the bird. 

Where might the Common Crane be?  Can you find the bird?

When I began birding, this type of mission would have been impossible for me.  Experience and practice have been wonderful teachers.  I used to dread these challenges but today I look forward to them.  I've also learned better to enjoy these crazy places and look beyond the birds.  Roswell wasn't what I thought it would be.  Sure it has its cheesy museums and restaurants, but it's also more than that.  

So part of our experience explored the cheesy tourist fun while the other led us into the amazing landscape vistas around this fantastic New Mexican locale.  

Note:  Bald Eagle above my head

When I first began birding, I hated the idea of exploring New Mexico because I "thought" it was a boring state.  After several years of visiting this state, I have fallen in love with this secret gem of America.  The food, the people, the landscape, the culture, and the wildlife seem to be mostly untouched by the outside world.  When compared to the crazy urban development of California, New Mexico is still wild and open. The Wild West is still alive here and I hope it stays that way for a very long time.  

My Senior Graduation Picture

Perhaps the greatest question behind discovering this bird was, "How on Earth did this crane get all the way over here to the US?" A common opinion is that this crane got mixed up in the northern migration route with the Sandhill Cranes.  Every bird has a story.  And in a way, I suppose it's a similar story to the Roswell Aliens who landed here many years ago. Supposedly, they also took a wrong turn:)  Either way, I now can say I've seen an alien(or two) in Roswell, New Mexico.

Black Friday Birding Specials

Crested Caracara-we counted 26 of them! 

Oh there's nothing like waiting until the last minute for those special items......

The stress.  The mad rush to get those last minute birds before that big day arrives. 

Juvenile Crested Caracara

To find them, you have to get a little down and dirty.

Red-breasted Sapsucker-snapped this past week in Madera Canyon 

I can't order these specialties online nor do I seem to find them anywhere on the racks.  "Limited edition!" I'd say.   

A favorite!  The Arizona Woodpecker.  

But I got up early before everyone else did!  Not fair.  Who cut the line?

Sexy sexy Lark Bunting

Did I go to the wrong place?  But the advertisement said......

A common color for birds out in the Flats is yellow.  Western Meadowlarks(above), Savannah Sparrows, Horned Larks, etc are just some examples.  All were in great numbers on this trek. 

.....there'd be one available down this way!  I even had the right GPS coordinates!

American Pipit

Well I guess I'll do the best I can. That's really all I can do to get ready for the big day. 

Last week after school I went to capture a shot of the geese near my school.  Snow Goose(left) with Greater white-fronted Goose

Thankfully we all teamed up and switched to Plan B.  It's always good to have a Plan B even if you didn't know you had a Plan B. Luckily we found some Mountain Plovers together.  

Mountain Plover!  We counted 6 of them.  A much needed "new" bird for the year. Nothing like waiting until the last minute:)

Better to team up and share the experience!

December 31st is approaching quickly.  Just how many more birds can I find before the year is over?  This has been an amazing experience.  Part of me just wants to bird like a normal person again.  The other part wants to keep going.  And the other part worries that I might be obsessed with birds:) A special thank you to Magill Weber for driving and suggesting a trip out to the Santa Cruz Flats. Laurence Butler also joined in on the fun and together we conquered the Flats. (Or so we thought.  A group of wise ancient birders covered the same area and found a rare gem to AZ known as a Black-throated Blue Warbler!) I swore I wouldn't go out there again unless I had to!  I even tried to get my Mountain Plovers in Colorado but that plan didn't work out.  So back to the dirty Flats it was. Even if you bird from the car, you will get dirty! But I will say that the Flats have one of the best raptor shows in Arizona during the winter. Just be prepared to take a shower when you get home:) More next week.....