Henefer Lek and other N. Utah Places

This morning (Saturday, the 26th) I went up to the Henefer Lek to see what the Greater Sage Grouse are up to. I was the only person there. It was probably about 20-ish degrees and I actually wore a sweater. About 1.25 miles to the northeast before coming to the lek I accidentally flushed six birds (Greater Sage Grouse) that were on the other side of the road that I did not see until too late. I arrived at the lek at 6:05 AM. There didn't seem to be any activity at all, no birds to see though I scanned the area a few times. I then went both southwest on the road and back up to where I had flushed the birds to see if any were congregating there. No luck. Well, I decided to go back to the established lek and just wait. As soon as I got there I saw a lone male hunkered down. Not displaying, not doing anything. Through continued searching I did locate five other males. As the sun begin to rise I thought I would just continue to wait. As if by prior arrangement, as soon as the sun hit that area a number of birds flew in from the north and landed on both sides of the road. There was a total of 25 males and 2 females so the lek is starting, but not going strong yet. Even the males weren't that preoccupied with displaying, as they took time out to eat at least as much as they displayed. There were also Meadowlarks, Starlings, and a female Northern Harrier that I think was lost - the grouse didn't seem to care she was around (well, they are bigger than her after all). For any one who is limited in their mobility this is an excellent place to go. You do not need to (nor is it encouraged) to get out of your cars. The lek is located right on the Summit/Morgan County line on highway 65. Go to Henefer on I-84, go through town of Henefer, and you will see a sign pointing you to East Canyon up highway 65. Be careful as you approch the lek as these birds do have a habit of displaying! right i n the middle of the road. One curious male actually decided to check my truck out and came to within 10 feet of me. At last, he showed his intelligence by deeming me to not be a female and retreated.

I then went to East Canyon Reservoir. Some Common Goldeneye (male and female), Common Merganser, but not a lot of anything. At the dam itself two immature Golden Eagles were soaring directly above the mountain right across the water where you can park, until the diminutive Red-tailed Hawk decided to chase them away. About 1.5 miles below the dam was an adult Bald Eagle who apparently did not get the memo to leave for more northernly parts.

I then went over to Pineview really just wondering if the Ospreys are on their way back yet. I headed over Trappers Loop. I went to Middle Fork but it was still closed off to all public access for "wintering wildlife. I then continued around to see if the GH Owl was nesting where it did last year. Nothing. I proceeded around to North Arm parking area, and low and behold there was a single osprey on the eastern most stand/perch. Eating something, maybe a perch? I then went to the dam and there were Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, mostly males. I counted five Common males and 7 Red-breasted males. Plenty of gulls.