13 November 2016 - Nature Girl Strikes Again

I'm sure you think that birding has taken over my life. In some respects that is true, but it so often coincides with many other interests. For example, my grandparents were rock hounds. They used to take us all over the state to dig up crystals, find geodes, petrified wood, dinosaur bones--you name it. While I'm not what you would consider a rock hound, it is that question, what am I looking at? that drives me in so many ways. 

Last week, four of us went down to Fish Springs to see what had migrated in. It was a fourteen hour day, but so much fun. Our fearless leader, Bryant, is a true naturalist and makes these trips so much more than just looking at birds. Our first stop was at Topaz Mountain. All kinds of memories came flooding back about being here with my sibs and grandparents and digging for topaz. The ground still sparkles with Apache Tears and tiny bits of topaz. 

Ant hills are a really good place to look for topaz crystals. You just need to be careful not to stir up the ants. They get very protective of their hills. 


Bryant took us on a hike to the top of a hill where we could look down into old bertrandite mines. Bertrandite is a gorgeous purple color. We found some tailing piles that looked as though they had been painted. 

From the top of that hill we could see that the next hill over was covered with huge machines strip mining for bertrandite. The rock is taken to a mill and crushed then shipped out to another plant that uses it to make beryllium. 

Here is what bertrandite looks like  in the mine. Barb climbed down into the opening to get a better look. 

Those of us on top tried to become petroglyphs. 

We all gathered specimens of rhyolite, adamite, bertrandite, topaz and apache tears. You can also find garnets and opal in this area. 

Next, we were able to get really good looks at antelope squirrels. They are quite small, about seven inches long. I had not even heard of antelope squirrels and here I was staring one right in the face. 

Turns out they do not hibernate so they are a very important food source for hawks and eagles. 

We also found a spring with Least Chub. This tiny little fish, which is often less than two inches long, is very close to being put on the endangered species list. 

It was originally a native of Lake Bonneville and is only found in Utah. they rather look like minnows.  

And of course, one of my favorites, dragonflies. They were very busy over the chub spring. 

During this time of year, hunting season, I'm always looking to bag a trophy buck--with my camera that is. Sometimes you get lucky and find a buck and a goat. 

On our way back, we took a different way than we came, driving through Nevada to Wendover then home on I-80. Coming up on Nevada, the sun was setting and the Belt of Venus was visible. The dark color just above the earth is actually the earth's shadow. The pink above the shadow is the Belt of Venus. Out in the west desert we had a really good view of both.

While I love the birding, I find the journey to be just as compelling. What you see and learn along the way is as wondrous as the birds at the end of the road. Our world is rich in scenery, flora and fauna. It's the discovery that I love.