Final Utah Entry...Probably

Granted, I haven't been with Eagle Optics that long, but this booth was the busiest one I have worked by myself thus far. What really made my smile about the Bear River Grand Opening was the number of kids that showed up and the number of parents getting optics for their kids. One family was planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park got their kids some monoculars and pocket binoculars. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the monoculars. Those 7 power Insights are great. I use one when I walk around Lake of the Isles. I'm on my exercise walk but I want something handy in case a cool warbler pops up. The Insight fits right in my pocket and isn't too heavy at all.

The other binoculars that were really popular at the festival were the Talons. Hands down, I think these are the best binoculars that you can get for under $200. They produce a good, clear image, are purged so they won't fog up on the inside, can close focus within four to five feet, are waterproof and come with an unbelievable warranty (unconditional, short of theft). These are excellent starter binoculars or for someone into birds who can't afford to spend a lot of money at the moment.

While at the festival I found a new use for a tripod, apparently, they're not just for spotting scopes anymore:

If you're not strong enough to hold a ten to twelve pound bald eagle on your arm (they feel more like 50 to 60 pounds after ten minutes) then just rest your hand on a tripod for added stability. Who knew?

I have to say again that you must find a way to visit Bear River Wildlife Refuge in the spring, the western grebe mating is so fun to watch from your car:

Also, if you love harriers...

and western meadowlarks...

then this is the place for you. Utah is lousy with both, and what great birds to be lousy with! Oh, and all the midges flying around make this a great place to watch for swallows. This flock was mostly full of tree and rough-winged swallows (this photo shows about a quarter of the entire flock that was buzzing around my car):

One of the things that I appreciate about other birders is the generosity. When I arrived at Bear River to set up the binocular booth, I met one of the volunteers named Jean. They weren't quite ready so I said that I would just go to lunch, Jean invited me to go with her, which I was grateful for. I'm such a social creature, I hate to eat lunch alone. She took me to a great local restaurant called Ricardo's with authentic Mexican cuisine. Turns out Jean is an artist and was leading one of the workshops at the grand opening.

I admired this hat when a gentleman walked by my booth. I asked, "Is that a Cooper's hawk on your head? I love Cooper's hawks! What a cool hat!" Then he gave me his hat right then and there. I ended up having dinner with his family and that's when I learned he was not only a rocket scientist, but an award winning rocket scientist as well. He's head of a project to help astronauts repair the shuttle while in orbit. He and his wife told me that periodically in this area of Utah, rockets are tested and that one night while watching a rocket being tested, the roar woke up the birds and they saw all the bird silhuettes against the lights from the firing rocket. His wife is on the board of directors for the local art museum and their kids are either writers, artists or bird researchers (one bands flammulated owls in Idaho). They were just a neat family and if I didn't have a really wonderful family myself, I would want to be adopted by them. That is one of the coolest perks of my job is that I get to meet people with such interesting lives.

As part of what I do for Birding Business, I stopped into a local Wild Bird Center in Layton, Utah. This man really knows how to run a bird store. I overheard the owner, Bill, talking to a customer and informing them about bird walks scheduled by the store. The customer asked, "Is there a cost for the bird walks?" And Bill simply answered, "The only cost is your enthusiasm." What a great way to get people interested! If you find yourself in Utah, I highly recommend you visit his store. Bill is kind of cute. He reminded me of the actor that played the voice of Kit in Knightrider and was on St. Elsewhere only dressed like a birder--complete with vest and Tilly Hat.

I have always wanted to visit a western bird store. I knew they would have some different mixes than we do out east. Check this out:

Birders in the eastern region are looking at this mix aghast. Why would anyne want to feed this to birds. Eastern birds would not care for this mix, too much millet and milo (FYI, if you are in the eastern region of the United States and you are not getting many birds at your feeder, compare this photo to your seed mix. Cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches and finches do not care for this type of mix). However, this is Bill's Dove and Quail Mix. Out west this type of mix works well with the birds, chukars, quail and doves will eat this like there is no tomorrow.

As I was reviewing the store, I came across a paperback version of Raptors of the World. I was so excited to see this book I bought it on sight. I've wanted it for awhile but had purchased it. I was hoping Non Birding Bill would buy it for me for my birthday or our anniversary, but hardcover was $60 and I hadn't gotten yet. The paperback was only $30 so I picked it up. I like how this Wild Bird Center catered not only to the backyard birder but to the hardcore birder as well.

Okay, I think I almost have the Utah trip out of my system.

Grrr, blogger spell check isn't working again!!! What is a sloppy typer to do???? Sorry for the typos.

Antelope Island

If you've read my blog, you might know that I have never seen a barn owl in the wild. I've handled them at The Raptor Center, held injured ones, etc--I just haven't seen one doing what a barn owl does naturally in the wild. At the Bear River Refuge, one had apparently been roosting at night outside of the building, you could see streaks of its poop above the deck:

The way this structure was designed out on the deck allows sounds to be picked up off the refuge. You can hear people on the other side of the wetland having conversations as well as western meadowlarks, coots, grebes and frogs. I wonder if the barn owls hung out there at night to take advantage of the amplified sound...not that they really need it. Anyway, the poop just seemed to mock me all the more--"You haven't seen a wild barn owl--nah nah nah nah."

I heard from a reader of this blog (Hi Susy) that I had a pretty good chance of seeing a barn owl at Antelope Island so decided to check it out. When I drove onto the island, I was so overcome by the beauty of the landscape I didn't care if I saw a barn owl or not, it was just so gorgeous and worth every penny of the $9 entrance fee. I was there early on Sunday morning and apparently most people in Utah are in church, so I pretty much had the island to myself. I just sat and took some time on the rocks looking over Salt Lake and some of the other landscape enjoying the sounds of the wind, the waves on the lake, the California gulls and western meadowlarks. What a glorious way to spend a morning.

The weird thing about this place is that it was called Antelope Island, but I didn't take the title too seriously. I grew up in Indiana and used to go to Turkey Run State Park, but I never even saw turkeys there, let alone see one running a state park (although from what I hear from my mom, there are probably turkeys there now). I wasn't on the island very long when I saw an antelope:

Who knew? An actual antelope on Antelope Island. This guy had just crossed the road and was on his way to another heard in the distance. The antelope were actually kind of dangerous if they started chasing each other and not paying attention to the cars. Several times as I was driving I would catch a couple males running in my peripheral vision and within seconds they were in front of my vehicle.

When I walking around along the rocks and brush I did find some old antelope bones. Judging by the size of my the leg and hoof compared to my hand, I would guess that it was very young when it died and was dragged into some brush by the prdator for feeding. All that I could find were leg bones, no skull and no ribs. I wondered what predators the antelope had out here and very quickly got my answer. Here's what I digiscoped in the distance:

A coyote running around in broad daylight. Probably what got the young antelope. I did find part of a rabbit skull in the same area and then this sitting on top of some sage brush:

At first I wondered if it was left over prey shoved in by a shrike. Upon picking it up, I discovered that the dead little rodent was so dried out, it was practically mummified. It didn't have much of a smell and must have been there awhile. There was a black-billed magpie flitting around nearby as well as a pair of kestrels. Perhaps one of them had dropped this prey and forgot about it.

Antelope Island was chock full of chukars. They were all over: mating under rocks, clucking on top of rocks, scurrying in front of vehicles, just doing what comes naturally to a chukar. If you've never seen a chukar, this is the place to go, you can't spit without seeing one.

Another island specialty are the buffalo. They were everywhere. So for fun, I popped in an excerpt from the Dances with Wolves soundtrack from my iPod while driving around looking at them. As I was doing that I suddenly started having images of Kevin Costner and his "acting" so I put in the Vertigo soundtrack instead. While on the subject of buffalo, you want to see what a photo of an idiot looks like? Less than half a mile from the sign pictured in the above photo, I saw this:

Now, I call the person in the above photo an idiot because I have done enough idiotic things in my life that I feel like kind of an authority. Call me crazy, but when a sign asks you to stay in your car, getting within 20 feet of a 2000 pound animal may not be the best decision you could make. I stuck around and watched the scene with my cell phone at the ready. There were actually about six buffalo surrounding her. As she got closer, one of them stood up and started coming towards her. After snapping a few photos she walked back to her car and didn't get trampled. What a dork.

When I got to the island, I checked in at the visitor's center to find out if the barn owls were still being seen. I was told by the guy working at the front desk that the barn owls were in fact still in the area and if I drove down to the ranch and walked into the barn that I would see them. He was also kind enough to point out some burrowing owls hanging around outside the center--what a helpful guy! I drove to the ranch and checked with the man at the gate and asked to see the barn owls, he pointed the way and here is what I saw:

A barn owl in the sense that it is a great horned owl nesting inside the barn. It had laid its eggs inside an old raven's nest. A very cool owl but not the barn owl I was looking for. Ah well, another bird for another day.

Susy, thank you for pointing me to this wonderful park, I truly enjoyed my time there.

Is There An Ugly View In Utah?

So, I challenged myself to try to find an ugly view in Utah.

Hmmm, wasn't ugly outside my hotel.

It wasn't ugly at Antelope Island. The visit was so beautiful and worth every penny of the $9 entrance fee. I didn't just give up with one glance, I check other places on the island.

It wasn't ugly here either.

Looking out on Salt Lake was beautiful.

I tried taking a photo with dumpsters and semis in (perhaps that was cheating) but it was still pretty. Utah: 4, Birdchick: 0.

Even a road to nowhere was beautiful. How long can Utah keep this up?

Even with a storm coming in, the landscape was still breathtaking. This was outsde of Golden Spike National Historic Site. My eyes were getting exhausted at this point. I don't know why I went to the historic site. I think because my father used to really be interested in trains, and he specifically talked about the Jupitor and the Union Pacific. The Jupitor being his favorite, so I figured since I was so close I should see the site that symbolized connecting the west and east. Here is a view of the site right before the final railroad tie was put in place:

Here is a photo of the same area today:

Sometimes I think it's easy to get caught up in all the things going wrong with the environment and conservation. Driving around Utah reminded me that we do occasionally get things right.

Here is the spot where they drove in the final and historic golden spike that linked the transcontinental railroad.

Waiting for a Plane

I'm in Denver having lunch and waiting for my connecting flight to Minneapolis. It's cold, I could see my breath when I got off the plane. I'm excited to be heading to warmer temperatures. I'm eating at a pretty good restaurant for an airport, called Jimmy's. The tomato bisque soup is tasty.

Well, after the previous entry, I feel the need to cleanse. So I offer incredible sculpture. His name is Greg Woodard.

That's Greg with his peregrines chasing teal stature at the Bear River Visitor's Center. When I first came in and saw it, I thought to myself, "This guy HAS to be a falconer. No one else could know the bird's body like that, especially in a dive." Here's an upclose of one of his peregrine statues. They were having a showing of his work at the local art museum.

I love it, he really captures a peregrine in mid-hunt. Turns out he is a master falconer and currently flies (when it's in season) a gyrfalcon.

This life size golden eagle going in for a hare (or should I saw hair--har har) was unbelievable. If I were a woman of unlimited means I would have this in my apartment. Cinnamon might disapprove, but after the report I got this morning from Non Birding Bill, she could use a little reminder to behave:

"Your rabbit is a big ol' bunny butthead. Her new gig is digging in her litter box. Not a terribly big deal, except for this morning, when I found out she was kicking the litter out of the box when she was digging. What's she looking for? Truffles?"

Oh, dear. Obviously, she's missing me and is acting out. NBB has been known to do similar things when I'm away.

I leave you with one last amazing statue by Greg. The actual statue is a life sized golden eagle sitting on a railroad tie looking to the west and it's supposed to be symbolic or something (you can see the whole stature on the cover page of his site). I think I missed that, all I saw was an eagle who just saw something move that looks edible.

Man, this guy knows his raptors.

Utah Art

I was busy tying up some loose ends and visiting a really cool Wild Bird Center today. I have to pack and catch a plane, I promise more entries about the lovely state of Utah very soon. In the meantime, I give you some art that is available for sale at the Antelope Island Visitor's Center:

Title and Price:

Item Number 2:

Title and Price:

Cool Brown Birds

I dedicate this entry to Non Birding Bill who claims I'm not interested in a bird unless it's brown.
I'm so excited by all the cinnamon teal out here--they are everywhere. We just don't get that many in Minnesota and they are one of the prettiest ducks on the planet. When they take off, they have a gorgeous patch of sky blue on the wings.

Hey, check out this cloud of midges:

Actually, that was smoke from a distant controlled burn going on near the refuge. This was my view for most of the day today. It's was perfect for customers to test out binoculars and spotting scopes, the flames from the fire were particularly exciting.

Western meadowlarks can be heard throughout the day. I love the calls of both the eastern and the the western meadowlarks, but out here the western call just suits the area. The town is so quiet (you can hardly hear traffic) so in the afternoon all you hear is that call and it sounds so solitary, combine that with the mountains and it makes for a beautiful setting. I also really enjoy the calls of the red-winged blackbirds out west. It's not the konk-kor-reeeee that you hear in the east. In the west it's a konkor-reeeeeee-o. The first time I heard it was along the Snake River in Idaho, gives me chills just thinking of that sound echoing up the canyon walls. Western birds are some of the best singers.

This bird kind of threw me for a loop. We can see them in Minnesota, but it's usually a bird I hear more than see. It looks like a sparrow, but the bill looks like a thrush. Any idea what it is? It's an American pipit--cute and brown.

Man o man, the day is catching up to me and I am tired. This entry is starting to lose cohesion. I started work this morning at 7:30am at the booth and didn't close down until 5:30pm. I have the same schedule tomorrow. I need to not think about diopters for awhile.

I had dinner with the coolest people tonight. Turns out one of them was a rocket scientist (and award winning at that). I have never met a rocket scientist before, but he was pretty darn cool--and I thought I had an exciting job.

So, I leave you with a view of the Brigham City mountains at sunset.

Well, NBB, if the birds aren't colorful, the landscape sure is.

Extra Extra! Kenn Kaufman Wears A NON Blue Shirt

For as long as I've known him, Kenn Kaufman has always worn some form of blue shirt. Don't believe me? Grab the latest WildBird magazine and check out the Nikon ad with Kaufman in it. Take a look at his photo on the back of one of his field guides or Lives of North American Birds. You can also see the blue shirt evidence here, here, here, here and even here.

Betsy Beneke and I were pointing this out the first night he was here in Utah and what do you suppose happens today--he's wearing a greenish plaid shirt. I almost didn't recognize him in a color other than blue. It looked incredibly fresh, I can't help but wonder if he ran out last night and bought one. I'll be curious to see how long this non blue shirt trend continues.

In other news, Non Birding Bill sent me this link to a blog called An American Werewolf in Japan about gulls. It's a cute entry--although hard core birders be warned, he calls them seagulls and not gulls. He probably doesn't know any better so go easy on him.

Fun At Bear River NWR

I am totally over stimulated, the birding at Bear River is just spectacular. Yellow-headed blackbirds (not a bad digiscope with my binoculars) and marsh wrens are just throwing themselves at you begging to be noticed. I never get tired of yellow-heads! The marsh wrens are throwing me for a loop. I have the Eastern version of the birdPod and the wrens here have a western accent. What's weird is that as I was playing both calls with my windows down and calls playing, the marsh wrens responded to the sound of the eastern sedge wren. Visual observation confirmed that they were in fact marsh wrens and not sedge wrens.

I about peed my pants at all the avocets and stilts running around. I couldn't believe that they just would scurry right in front of my car. The water level is a bit high and I did have to drive through some minor flooding to continue the auto tour.

On Friday I am for sure going to be at the Refuge Headquarters but on Saturday the festivities are moving into the refuge itself. I'm torn: do I tear down the booth, repack and reload at the festivities on the refuge or stay at the headquarters on Saturday? I'm concerned about he flooding. I took the above photo in the morning. When we went over the same patch in the evening the water was a little higher. I don't think my compact rental car can take higher levels of water. I'll just have to decide Friday afternoon.

White-faced ibis are thick in the refuge and would flush just as your car goes by. Betsy Beneke (a legend among bird festival organizers) took all the volunteers at the refuge out for a tram ride on the refuge this evening and it looked as though more ibis had moved in throughout the day. Kenn Kaufman and his wife Kim are here. Kenn is a guest speaker and it was good to see him again. But I feel compelled to warn people that he and Kim are still in that "newlywed phase" and are quite mushy. A piece of advice: if you find them on a trip stealing a quick smooch, saying things like, "You guys aren't going to get gross and mushy are you?" makes them get more mushy with each other. The best defense is to turn away and pish the nearest bird. Those crazy kids!

Speaking of gross and mushy, midges are EVERYWHERE!

I hesitate to bring this up because I don't want it to prevent people from coming, but I feel it must be noted that the midges are quite thick at the refuge. I know some people would be just icked out, but with a few precautions you can enjoy the birds here, relatively midge free or at least midge lite. When I was driving around this morning they weren't bad at all. By around 10:30am, I noticed what looked like dark clouds low to the ground in the distance, it almost looked like smoke. On the first look with my binoculars, I worried they were clouds of mosquitoes but it's been a little to cold for those dudes. The upside is that the midges don't bite and are a fantastic source of food for the birds. The down side is that they are everywhere. Taking an auto tour with your windows up solves the problem and makes for a pleasant day of birding. Besides, the birds don't mind your car and you can get closer to them staying inside, than by walking to them.

I was very excited to see both western grebes and Clark's grebes. I couldn't believe it when a pair from each species swam close enough for me to digiscope a photo with my binoculars! Can you tell the difference? Which one is the Clark's grebe and which one is the western? The western is the grebe on the left that looks like he's sporting a Moe (of the 3 Stooges) haircut.

As if I didn't love pelicans enough already, today I got to appreciate them on a whole new level: thermalizing in front of a mountain range! Absolutely gorgeous. I was going out of my mind when I took the above photo, I couldn't figure out what cool thing to focus on. I had pelicans flying overhead, mule deer frolicking to my right and a Virginia rail clapping to the left--not to mention all the great waterfowl like cinnamon teal, shovelers, ruddy ducks and nightherons. This place is so awesome.

To round out the day, I even got to see a couple of long-billed curlews. This pair started out on the road in front of me, then flushed and I got a photo with my binoculars. Kenn says that you can't tell male and female based on plumage, but based on bill size. Females have longer bills. Okay, Non Birding Bill, I know these are brown birds, but aren't they cool with that massive bill? Even you would be excited to see one of those.

Holy cow, I can't believe how many photos I've posted and I still have a few more that I didn't include. I'll save those for tomorrow. I have to get to bed, tomorrow is a big day. Hope birding is as much fun where you are as it is here. It is spring after all, so it is hard to find a bad bird spot this time of year.

Quick Utah Entry

Okay, if you have never been to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah for birding you need to figure out how to get your butt out here next spring. This place is awesome!!! I'm hard pressed to find an ugly view anywher in the fair town of Brigham City.

And just to give you and idea, you know the birding is going to be fabulous when American avocets and black-necked stilts are blocking your car from going forward:

I was totally on sensory overload this morning. There will be more reports soon, now I have to go back to setting up the Eagle Optics booth.