After the success in the Ruby Mountains with Black Rosy-Finch and Himalayan Snowcock, I was now headed to Utah for some more target birding.
My first stop was out to Antelope Island which sits in the one and only Great Salt Lake. I don't think I had ever been there before on any of my previous travels so I was happy to see something new. Along the causeway were lots of many things. For example, lots of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES:
Lots of Brine Flies:
Lots of FRANKLIN'S GULLS eating lots of Brine Flies:
My one and only target for this stop was the introduced-but-established CHUKAR. This is a species I had heard 1-2 times in my life but hadn't actually seen. As far as I can tell, Antelope Island might be THE place to see this species here in the US! Like others said it would happen, I soon stumbled onto one:
After that, I didn't stick around! Up to the mountains I went the next morning. My first and only stop ended up being Mirror Lake in Duchesne County. I walked around this lake:
Along the way I saw things like PINE GROSBEAKS (some even feeding young):
What was my REAL reason for taking this detour? It was pretty simple, eBird showed recent and reliable spots for AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS. Ahh, my quasi-nemesis! I had high hopes for the first half of the hike but it was starting to dwindle towards the end. This was not going well. I was losing hope and then just as suddenly, here they were! I ended up with 5 on that walk. Here are a few photos:
After that, off towards Colorado I went. At a rest area, I noticed this WHITE-TAILED PRAIRIE-DOG. The ID was pretty simple because there was only one prairie-dog species found in that part of Utah.
A long drive. Time to think. Time to move along:
