25 May 2012 - Birding on the Great Salt Lake

Life took an odd little detour today. I decided it was time to check out the lake. Closest I've come to the lake in years has been going to the airport. Close but no cigar. This morning the clouds were hanging thick and low over Mt. Olympus with hints of raindrops every now and then. Across the valley, I could see the sun was on the Oquirrhs. So why not? There is a wonderful access road that runs beside I-80. If you are driving on I-80, you can't even see this road, it is like a secret route. In my four hours along the lake, I saw three other cars. Very nice to be the only person in the world while enjoying some beauty.

As you approach the lake there are boggy areas filled with birds and blooming things.

This pond was home to a few Canada geese and their babies. The pink shrub in front is tamarisk, also known as salt cedar.  It is an invasive species that destroys wetlands due to its own insatiable thirst. 

 
I am completely unfamiliar with this plant.  It is a large shrub with huge clusters of these purple flowers and an incredible amount of yellow pollen.

One more thing to look up! Pretty! I only found the one plant, which makes me think it may not be a native.

 The boggy pond areas were filled with yellow-headed blackbirds. I love that they live and nest in close communities, but are they ever noisy! Raspy kruck noises filled the air. They squabbled with each other, chased other birds, and complained about my presence. Great fun. When they fly you can see bright white markings on their wings. Just a hint of it in this photo.

I spent quite some time checking out the bogs on my way to the marina. Looking across the valley to the east, the mountains were still socked in. It's hard to tell in this little photo, but you can see the rain coming down in the mountains.

 

 Where I'm standing, with my back to the marina, it is warm and sunny.  

Those are islands in the lake, you are not seeing all the way across the lake to the  mountains on the far side.  The lake is so shallow, that any little bit of wind will make the surface choppy. It was a bit churned up today. 

You have to keep your eyes open, or you will drive right by some of the access points, such as this small path through a fence. This is typical Utah landscape and I adore it. Sand with sage brush,  alfalfa, rabbit brush and grasses. 

Since I was there I had to stop at the new Saltair. It is really awful--tacky, tasteless, tawdry. The best thing about it? Cliff swallow nests just under the top of the turrets, tucked in under the ledges. 

Better yet was this baby screeching for food. When you look at all the little mouthfuls of mud making up each gourd-shaped nest, you have to admire how much work it took each bird to find and haul the mud.  What you can't tell from this picture is that these holes are pointing down to the ground, the close-up shot skews the perspective.

The original Great Saltair Pavilion was completed in 1893. It must have been wonderful in its prime. 

Over a hundred years later, some of the original pilings are still visible on the beach.

 But I digress.

Continuing on down the road to the next brackish pond I found some American avocets and quite a few black-necked stilts. The avocets spent most of their time trying to chase the stilts out of the water. 

Lots of hawks! I counted 15 in the air at one time. Not sure why they were all flocked up.  I stopped to take a picture of dead trees, and then saw the hawk sitting in the biggest one. See it? Check out the closest tree in the branch just over the ridge line.

 Not only was the there a hawk in the tree, but a small blackbird was waiting for him to move. The blackbird was keeping up a running diatribe and was occasionally answered by other birds in the lower bushes. When the hawk moved, the little bird and his friends attacked the hawk. 

 The hawk was looking pretty ragged. I was reminded of the scene in Harry Potter when Hermione says, "Professor Lupin is having a really bad day."  His feathers are all ruffled and poking out. When he finally flew from the tree, I saw he was missing wing feathers.

According to my bird books, red tail hawks eat small rodents, they hardly ever hunt birds. I guess the little birds just see them as a predator and don't want them near their nesting areas.

You never know what will happen. I went to see the lake, and ended up birdwatching. Then found I was being watched as well. It was a bit unsettling.

And just a pretty irrigation ditch whose water will end up in the lake. 

 How many ways are there to say what an awesome morning?


birds today
killdeer
black-necked stilt and babies!
american avocet
american coot and babies!
yellow-headed blackbird
red-winged blackbird
western kingbird
cliff swallows
red-tailed hawks
snowy egret
willet
california gulls
canada geese and babies
forster's tern