This last weekend Leann and I went down to the Rock Island Waterfowl Management Area, at the south end of Utah Lake, to do some birding. We've actually tried to go once before, but due to faulty instructions from one of Leann's friends, we couldn't find it. This time I used Google Maps and we were able to arrive.
While we were driving on the road out to the park, we spotted a field that had been partially flooded by a nearby canal. Out in the water we spotted some Black-necked Stilts (you'll probably have to click on the picture to see them). Along with them we saw some Northern Shovelers, some Green-winged Teals, a White-faced Ibis, some Killdeers, and some American Avocets.
At the end of the road was a gate and behind the gate a lookout. The view from the lookout was pretty good, but there was a constant whine in the air from all the midges. (If you look closely you can actually see the midges in the sky in the next picture.) There was another road running north out into the park, but it was full of puddles and I didn't feel like losing my car.
Out in the wetlands was a pole set up and there were two osprey building a nest on it. We also picked out some American Coots, American White Pelicans, and Barn Swallows.
While driving around we also noticed: American Robin, Black-billed Magpie, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Kingbird, Mourning Dove, European Starling, American Kestrel, Great-tailed Grackle, and a flock of Double-crested Cormorants nesting in a tree.[1] And we heard (but did not see): Western Meadowlarks and Ring-necked Pheasants.
Notes:
[1] I would've liked to get a picture of them, but we saw them from the freeway. Thus trying to photograph them wasn't safe or feasible.
While we were driving on the road out to the park, we spotted a field that had been partially flooded by a nearby canal. Out in the water we spotted some Black-necked Stilts (you'll probably have to click on the picture to see them). Along with them we saw some Northern Shovelers, some Green-winged Teals, a White-faced Ibis, some Killdeers, and some American Avocets.
At the end of the road was a gate and behind the gate a lookout. The view from the lookout was pretty good, but there was a constant whine in the air from all the midges. (If you look closely you can actually see the midges in the sky in the next picture.) There was another road running north out into the park, but it was full of puddles and I didn't feel like losing my car.
Out in the wetlands was a pole set up and there were two osprey building a nest on it. We also picked out some American Coots, American White Pelicans, and Barn Swallows.
While driving around we also noticed: American Robin, Black-billed Magpie, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Kingbird, Mourning Dove, European Starling, American Kestrel, Great-tailed Grackle, and a flock of Double-crested Cormorants nesting in a tree.[1] And we heard (but did not see): Western Meadowlarks and Ring-necked Pheasants.
Notes:
[1] I would've liked to get a picture of them, but we saw them from the freeway. Thus trying to photograph them wasn't safe or feasible.
We've been looking for different birding spots close by. Thanks for the detailed info!
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