Antelope Island

[cldavis at xmission dot com]

I knew it was going to be a good day on Sunday when the first bird I spotted
at Antelope Island was a Snow Bunting.  It even posed long enough for a
picture.
Around 2:00 pm as I was leaving the island, I spotted what I thought were
Sanderlings on the left side of the causeway about 1/2 mile before it turns
and heads east.  I studied them for about 1/2 hour and this is what I
learned.  They had yellow or orange legs, a black beak (couldn't determine
whether it tilted down or not), they hunched down a little but not forward
like the sanderlings, they never stopped moving down the beach, some were
gray and some were brownish-orange, they had a light line over the eye, and
they were small.  After studying Sibleys for a long time, I determined they
must be Least Sandpipers. There were quite a few of them spread out down
the beach walking towards the island. 
I also saw three porcupine (one sleeping in a tree, two apparently eating
the trees they were in), thirty-two pronghorns, five coyotes hunting
rodents, long-tailed ducks, common goldeneye, buffleheads, kestrels, and
many other birds. 
The island was beautiful, especially at Garr Ranch where the sun broke
through and the fog and clouds rested on the hills with the pale blue sky
in the background.  

_______________________________________________

"Utah Birds" web site: http://www.utahbirds.org
     BirdTalk:
To subscribe, e-mail:  birdtalk-subscribe@utahbirds.org
To unsubscribe, e-mail:  birdtalk-unsubscribe@utahbirds.org
To send a message, e-mail:  birdtalk@utahbirds.org
_________________________________________________