Refuge visit

 Yesterday was a nice day to visit the refuge..no human traffic but unfortunately not much wildlife traffic. But enough to make it interesting, plus just being there is relaxing.

Pheasants were out in force! I saw several males in the various bushes along the way, and on the way out I watched 4 of the males in  the road doing what appeared to be fighting. Unfortunately I was quite a ways away and the photos are challenging. But I’ll show you what I have.

Lots of Western Grebes - noisy little buggers - and a couple of groups of pelicans practicing synchronized swimming as they fished 

Enjoy!

This guy waited until I saw him and then waited until I took his photo.  Beautiful!

Here’s the pheasants in the road..I’m not sure what the dance means, whether they are fighting or mating!

Here are the Pelicans -- first preparing to fish, then fishing. Note the followers in the top photo - Western 

grebes and ducks - they catch a lot of what the Pelicans stir up..

An unknown duck..

The Great Blue Heron - waiting patiently by the stream...

A stern-looking beautiful hawk, tentatively identified as a Red-tailed Hawk..they have a large number of very different colored Morphs..

Antelope Island visit

 Randy and I got to the island as the sun was just rising. Cool morning, clear skies. People were already up and about on the island...bird watchers, bicyclists, hikers, campers. 

We saw lots of buffalo! Probably a couple of hundred overall. With the sun just rising they made a nice silhouette photo. After stopping for photos of them, a beautiful big buck walked out of the brush just behind us. Gorgeous rack, not too bothered by the humans close by. 

The Burrowing owls were MIA, but the antelope came through. A male with a harem of 4 paraded for us for photos, and we saw several in the distance. One coyote made its appearance, very nicely backlit by the rising sun. Overall a good day!

Enjoy!

Morning light on the landscapes...

Quite the rack on this big boy!

Male antelope watching one of his harem..he had 4 females..

Bison!

We watched these two goofballs run down the hill following their Momma! There is a truck stopped behind them...for a time I thought there might be a collision.

And the Hunter..always a treat to see a coyote..

Looking towards the Wasatch mountains, you can see the fence that was installed to keep the bison on the island when the lake level is so low they could walk to the mainland..

Trip to the zoo, page 2..

Too many photos for one blog post..Here’s the rest of them ..

Warthog..ugly but dangerous

Spoonbill..beauty in motion

Young snow Leopard...he played with his sister while we watched..

Mama Snow leopard...hanging out while the kids play..

The Queen ....

Wild looking fox!!

Perfect for July 4th..

Trip to the Zoo

 Randy and I visited the zoo Saturday. Fortunately not too many people there at the start, lots more as we exited.

We toured a new place, for me, that has less exotic and several animals that I’ve encountered. The Badger was a welcome sight, especially behind the fences. I last saw one when I was about 15.

Lots of photos, here’s the ones I liked best. 

Enjoy!

Alligator sunning it’s mouth!

Badger - look at it’s claws..

Bengal lioness..

The Queen!

Billy goat Gruff!

Sleeping Mountain lion..

Not so sleepy mountain lion..

Meditating polar bear..

Red fox..very cute!

Suntanning Rhino!!

Trip to Mill Hollow

 A cloudy July 3rd, Mill Hollow is just as beautiful in the cloudiness as it is in the sun. We thought there might be a lot of holiday traffic up there, but it wasn’t until we were leaving, around 1pm, that the traffic picked up. We wouldn’t go back this weekend..ATV’s, trucks, people everywhere.

The only wildlife we saw was a Yellow-bellied marmot. No deer, moose or elk. Understandable since we were there after the normal hours of movement. 

Loads of wildflowers!!! So beautiful, filling your vision with various colors - red, yellow, white, pink, purple and so on. 

The high Uinta peaks were a bit shrouded in the clouds, but still dominant in the distance.

Enjoy!

Mattie the marmot!!

A sparrow - not sure what type.

Uintah peaks in distance

Wildflowers galore..

Refuge Friday

 Friday was a bit cloudy but light enough for photography at the refuge. I arrived earlier than usual - more like 8am - and found no people around for the next hour! It turned out to be a good day for birds, just not raptors.

I kept busy with heron fly byes, a pelican targeting me, Great white egret fishing, lots of red-winged blackbirds, yellow-headed blackbirds AND a couple of new birds...a Wilsons snipe and a Loggerhead shrike! Fascinating!

Here’s my favorites so far..enjoy!!

Loggerhead shrike - fascinating bird..it often impales it’s catch on plant spikes or barbed wire to eat later!!

Turkey vultures just hanging out!

Not surprisingly, Red-winged blackbirds were everywhere..

Great white pelican was flying directly at me while I was driving .. mating season by the lump on it’s beak..

Shorebirds are here..I found some Black-necked stilts also. These are American avocets

Awesome Great white egret fishing!!

I’ve seen Great blue herons on these tall power poles before, but when I looked at the picture I could see why..no 4-legged hunter will reach these nests..

It was the day of the Pheasant at the refuge..I saw 4 separate males..love their colors..

I’ve heard of Snipes before but never had seen one..Wilsons snipe

And a final shot of the shrike - it stuck with me all the time I was on Goose Egg hill..