Birding the Great Salt Lake

I've just returned from an epic two-week work/vacation road trip to the Rocky Mountain West.  Salt Lake City, UT to Jackson, WY to Bozeman to Arco, ID back to Salt Lake City then to Park City before on to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks in the south.  I'm jealous of myself just typing that.

Eared Grebes, mostly, from the Antelope Island Causeway

Though birding wasn't my primary activity, like any birder worth his salt I saw loads of great birds; birds an East Coaster like me rarely gets to spend time with.  Black-billed Magpies and Brewer's Blackbirds everywhere!  Pygmy Nuthatches!  Rock and Canyon Wrens!  Dippers!  Townsend's Solitaire!  Grace's Warbler!  Though I dipped on a bunch of possible lifers (mostly grouse), I did manage three: Trumpeter Swan outside Jackson, WY; Chukar on Antelope Island, UT; and, a FERRRUGGGGGGG!! Hawk outside of Arco, ID. 

I want to use this space to talk about the most impressive birding sites I saw on the trip: those along the Great Salt Lake.  Holy cow, you guys.  I was able to spend some time at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the north end of the lake, as well as at Antelope Island State Park.  Being by far the largest body of water in the West, the Great Salt Lake is a gathering point (for breeding and wintering) for millions of birds.  And I mean millions.  I don't think I've ever seen concentrations of birds like I saw out there.  What follows is going to be a lot of pictures of cool stuff.  Click to enlarge.

Look for Bear River MBR along the northeastern side of the Lake, and Antelope Island SP on the southeast, where that bison is.

 

 

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Slate Update

Hi folks-

I am traveling in the West (typing this from beautiful Bozeman, Montana) but I wanted to update with a couple articles I published on Slate recently.

The first is a book review/personal essay for Peter Doherty's Their Fate is Our Fate

The second is about faked sightings of supposedly extinct species

I hope you enjoy!  OK, off to find Gray Partridge in the morning.