Friday August 2, 2019
Melinda and I got to bird Antelope Island State Park on Friday evening. First we checked out the Great blue heron rookery at Gower Ponds. The rookery not only included a few herons but a couple of Double crested cormorants.
When we got to Antelope Island it was only a couple of hours before sunset. There were so many, many birds on the water along the causeway. Thousands of Wilson’s phaleropes, hundreds of sandpipers, avocets, ducks, grebes and more covered the water but far out so most of them appeared as dots of black, brown, and white.
Mostly phaleropes
Honest, there’s a burrowing owl in this photo. My big telephoto lens is at the repair center. I miss it so very much.
Young Great horned owl
Adult Great horned owl
Stretching her wings
And a preflight leg stretch. Of course, she took off while I was looking at another of the youngsters.
Sunset
I’ve never birded Antelope Island in the fall so I was very surprised by the sheer number of waterbirds. I’m definitely coming back next year, with my big lens. — Jenny
Birds
- Western kingbirds
- Canada geese
- Great blue herons
- Double crested cormorants
- Forsters terns
- American avocets
- Ring billed gulls
- Black necked stilts
- White faced ibises
- Cinnamon teals
- Gadwalls
- Wilson’s phaleropes
- Caspian tern
- Eared grebes
- Burrowing owl
- Horned larks
- Great horned owls
BlueRavenBirders 