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Thursday, April 6
Glenn met us at 5:30 this morning for a drive back to East Canyon. Some rain and then heavy snow on the way there. Visibility was low at times in the dark, but we made it to the lek of the Greater Sage Grouse just as the show was beginning. Unbelievable sights and sounds as the males puffed themselves up and paraded for the females. We even saw a couple of males get into a little fight! We probably saw 35 Grouse in all. Lifer for both Joan and me. Definitely worth getting up early for. We watched them for about an hour, then suddenly all but one took off. A couple of people in the car saw a Golden Eagle "on the horizon," but one of us didn’t.
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We left and headed to Morgan City, snow-covered brush and mountains were beautiful. Had breakfast at the Spring Chicken, then headed back to Layton. Still raining and snowing so we went back to the hotel and left Glenn.
In the afternoon, the weather was still not good, but we decided to try a little birding anyhow. Drove to Glover’s Lane (near the Farmington Bay WMA) where we could bird from the car. Joan spotted a Wilson’s Snipe, and I found three more. (That would have been my 100th Utah bird (including those I had seen in Zion NP on an earlier trip) had I counted a Western Sandpiper that Joan identified earlier, but I only caught a glimpse of, or if I had seen the aforementioned eagle. Anyhow, we saw a total of 9 Wilson’s Snipe. Other goodies we saw were 2 American White Pelicans, a bunch of American Avocets in the snow, and lots of American Robins and Killdeer. We also enjoyed watching a large flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the cattails. The usual ducks were also there. As we were leaving, we identified a Brown-headed Cowbird on a wire. Utah bird 100.
Only 26 birds for the day—but if the Grouse had been the only one, the day would have been worth it. Trip total now 85; lifers now up to 4.
Day 7: Southeast Utah With UOS The SongStar Home Page
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Copyright © 2006 by Glenn Barlow and Joan & Richard Becker