Desert Destination: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

 North of Salt Lake City and west of Brigham City, Utah lies the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. It protects 80,000 acres of marshes and other habitats where the Bear River enters the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake. This freshwater area is known for its abundance of birds, and our goal was to head out to the 12-mile auto tour route.

 We drove out to the beginning of the loop, where a picnic pavilion had been overtaken by cliff swallows. Picnicking here was no longer a good option, but bird watching and photography were fine.

 The cliff swallows were in various stages of nest building.

After observing them for awhile, we got the bikes off the back of the van (last year we bought a bike rack, and it's been useful several times). Our plan was to bike the loop part of the auto tour, which we estimated to be about 9 miles (we couldn't find the actual distance anywhere, and it certainly felt longer, so perhaps when they say 12-mile auto tour that is just the gravel loop and not the part before it).

 Right away we saw lots of birds. My husband and the kids kept riding while I stopped to take some photos.

 The always-impressive American white pelicans.

 Black-necked stilt

 Cormorant--look at how low in the water this bird species is!

 The road was really flat, which is why we thought we'd enjoy the bike ride. Desert Boy wasn't in the best of moods, so we took frequent snack breaks. Eventually the food pepped him up and he did great.

 A tern--one of my favorite birds due to the amazingly long migrations they have.

 I made frequent stops to photograph more birds--a black-necked stilt and an American avocet in the photo above. This is such the birder's paradise, and I felt that on bike I not only got to see them, but also hear and smell them better.

 The yellow-headed blackbird is also common around parts of the ranch.

 A few vehicles passed us on the one-way loop, but there was very little traffic.

 A glossy-faced ibis. I love their beaks.

 A few rays of sunshine peaked out from the clouds. This was also about the time that the slight breeze went away. I had been counting on the headwind to help us get back. It's dissipation meant we wouldn't have that advantage. Even more important, the lack of wind also meant that the insects started finding us and eating us. We are not used to insects (one of the advantages of living in the desert), so we didn't have any insect repellent.

 Great blue heron

We not only saw birds, we also saw some wildlife, like the striped skunk, above.

And many muskrats. Many, many muskrats. We were surprised how many we saw.

 Great bike riding.

 It reminded me slightly of Shark Valley down in the Everglades, with the flatness (although the background mountains sure were different!), amazing birds, and plenty of water. We teased Desert Boy to be on the lookout for alligators.

 We came across a broken egg and wondered what had happened. Later we found a raven with another broken egg in its beak. Between the ravens and skunks, it could be a challenge to raise young, but the sheer number of birds help them to survive.

 Another favorite--a snowy egret, with its yellow slippers (feet).

 More black-necked stilts. We saw a lot of these!

 We reached an overlook and gratefully stretched our legs. We still had a few miles left, where we got even more insect bites from mosquitoes and deer flies. They didn't itch much then, but for the next couple of weeks Desert Boy and I suffered. (My husband and Desert Girl seemed to be immune to the bites.)

We eventually made it back to the van, happy to escape the insects. It was getting late, so we headed to downtown Brigham City to find some food. The downtown has a large sign stretching across main street that says "Welcome to Brigham, Gateway to the World's Greatest Wild Bird Refuge." I had been reading Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams, which had made me appreciate the bird refuge more. She also had some interesting information in the book about Brigham City, which started off as a communal living effort.

After dinner, it was time for a late night swim at our hotel pool. The kids improve so much each time we get to a pool. I was a little pool rat when I was a kid, so I'm hoping they can learn how to swim well.

So, in closing, I'd recommend a trip to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge if you like birds and getting away from the city. The bike loop is great IF you have insect repellent. Otherwise, it might be better to do it in a vehicle! The kids liked trying to find different types of birds (by colors, activities, sizes). They also liked seeing the skunk, muskrats, and enormous (gross) carp by some of the water structures. Some of them weighed more than the kids. All in all, it was quite enjoyable.

An Irrigating Trip with Some Beautiful Birds

 My husband had to do some irrigating Sunday afternoon, so we went out to enjoy the pleasant afternoon and have some outside family time.

 Desert Boy gingerly crossed one of the irrigation ditches, making sure the water didn't overtop his irrigating boots. He wasn't so careful later and had to dump the water out of his boots!

 Meanwhile I was going crazy because I saw some really fun birds out in the wet meadow. An American Avocet caught my eye, with its reddish head and black and white body and wings. It's long legs and bill make it well-adapted for the marshy environment.

 Nearby was a bird with a similar shape, but its legs were red and it had a body that was just black and white--a Black-necked Stilt.

I particularly liked seeing the reflection of the bird.

 
Looking east, it still looked sunny and calm as the water flowed from the irrigation ditch out across the meadow. Behind us, up in the mountains, the storm clouds were gathering and darkening the sky. Soon the wind would begin and the temperature would dip several degrees. The joys of fickle spring weather--you can have everything from summer to winter in just a couple hours!

I tried sneaking up on some Long-billed Curlews, but they didn't really want me to get close. They have such long bills!

 Henry was busy watching my husband work. He's a good dog like that. He knows how to conserve his energy.

 Of course, I shouldn't really talk. I wasn't working. I was having a terrific time wandering around taking photos.

A couple mallards took off. My husband noted that he's seen thousands of birds recently in the wet meadows and wetlands. Spring migration is well on its way, and many birds are stopping for a well-deserved meal on their way north.

 Besides birds, I also spotted some old equipment out on the meadows. I have no idea what this was, but it sure looks like it has been there a long time.

 Another shot of the meadows. This was the first place settled in our area because of the abundant water. We're hoping that the water will stick around and not be piped away, as it's critical to our ranch plus it's clear that a lot of wildlife depends on it.

 These dandelions in the mud next to the ditch made me crack up. They were in such a rush to flower and reproduce they barely made time to make any leaves.

 One more bird--White-faced Ibis. You can barely see the white near the eye.

I don't get to see any of these birds everyday (although I do see mallards at least once a week), so I was on a birding high. Even though none of these birds were a new species for me, just seeing them again made me feel reconnected to nature. Things must be going well for them at their southern homes, and hopefully they will be successful breeding in their northern homes. Seeing these international travelers makes me feel just a little bit flighty!

Spring is Here!

I am loving that we are seeing more and more signs of spring. The temperatures are all over the place, but the reappearance of plants and animals, the rebirth of things vital and beautiful, make it a wonderful season. My husband told me that the sandhill cranes were back over two weeks ago, but it took me awhile to spot them. I heard them first, their prehistoric squawks making me think again what a good nickname my husband has for them: flying pterodactyls. With dinosaurs as ancestors of birds, he's not that far off.


Watching the birds take flight and seeing their huge wingspans is impressive.

Spring is all about sudden snow storms that melt off quickly. And lots of wind. The wind isn't such a great part, but it's part of the game.


Another bird that's back is the killdeer. I like these spunky little birds that run around, calling "kill-deer, kill-deer."

I've had robins singing me awake the last two morning. Such a sweet song!

The crocuses are starting to come up in our flower garden, little bursts of color. Out in the desert (meaning the valley floor), we can find little bits of green here and there emerging. It won't be long till the brown of the winter is transformed into an amazing green. The green doesn't last long, making us appreciate it even more.

What are your favorite signs of spring?

Wild Goose Chase 2013

It was late February, which meant it was time to head to the Wild Goose Chase in Delta, Utah. The 5K/10K race is held as part of the Snow Goose Festival, which celebrates the migrating snow geese. The snow geese really like to eat in the fields around Delta and then spend some time hanging out on local water bodies. 

I've done the race many times, including in 2011, when we drove through a blizzard to get there, and in 2012, when conditions were much better. For 2013, the forecast was 50% chance of snow. I groaned. It wasn't pleasant running in 2011. But we needed groceries and had other errands, so we decided to go for the race, along with seven other runners from our valley and a few spectators.

The drive there was easy, no snow. But we could see the storm coming. When we got there we saw big chunks of ice on the shoreline. Where did they come from?

From the large excavator, making a hole in the lake so that the participants of the Dunk-Dunk-Goose could go get wet. How crazy! We saw snow geese in fields on the way to the race, but none were on the thick ice.

Desert Boy and Desert Girl tested the water and decided it was cold. Brrr! The wind started getting stronger, and we bundled them up in snow pants and coats. Then our friend Beth watched them while my husband and I lined up to run. (Thanks, Beth!)

We were glad when it was time to go, because that meant we could generate more heat. I don't think I've ever run with more layers on than I did in that race. I had on a wool long-sleeve performance shirt, the Wild Goose technical race shirt from two years ago, and a windbreaker. I was still cold! The other runners from our valley took off fast (including my husband!) and I settled in to a pace I could maintain for 10k (6 miles). But then the wind really started blowing. And it started snowing. And then about mile One I fell on an icy patch and banged my knee really hard and scraped my palm (I had taken my gloves off for a little bit because I had started to generate some heat). I stuffed my hand into my glove so I wouldn't look at the blood. Another runner helped me get up, and I limped forward, assessing the damage. My knee did not feel good. I wasn't sure if I could finish the 5k race, much less the 10k. Slowly the blood circulated, and I started a ponderous jog. Gradually I increased my speed to my regular measured speed. Of course, with the gusts of wind, it was not easy going. I tried different strategies of charging into the wind or hunkering low. Nothing seemed to work well. We were running along the reservoir, so there weren't any places to go hide out in. If this race had been in a city, I might have dashed into a store and not reemerged.

For the third mile, an 11-year old girl played leapfrog with me. She would run fast and pass me, then walk and I would pass her, then she ran fast and passed me, and so on. Finally she started just running at the same pace as me and I congratulated her on running so well. She said this was her first 5k ever, and she went on to win her age group. I still had another 5k to go. And it was not fun. Alas, I did finish. My time was two minutes slower than I wanted, but considering the weather conditions, I didn't feel bad about it.

It turned out I came in second in my age group and was the fourth woman overall in the 10k. Yippee! The other runners from our valley did even better, including a 1st and 3rd finish overall in the 10k and a 1st and 2nd finish overall in the 5k.

My husband did great! His only training was a short run the week before. Nevertheless, he had an impressive time. At the finishing line, the wind had blown all the plastic off the warming pavilion and the heat lamp wasn't working. Once I finished, the sweat I had worked up now chilled me, and I felt really cold. But we couldn't leave, Desert Boy was signed up to run the 1/4 mile race. He joined a few other kids.

He was wearing snow pants and his winter coat. I was getting mildly hypothermic, so I gave the camera to my husband and went with Beth and Desert Girl to the van to try and warm up.

Desert Boy started the race with a smile. Go, Desert Boy!


Unfortunately he was running right into the wind and quickly got chilled. He finished, but was near the end. He was crying because he was so cold. Poor kid! Next year if the forecast is for snow, we're not going. Sorry, Wild Goose Chase, as much fun as you are, you're just not enough fun in bad weather.

Not everyone would agree with me. While sitting in the car with the heater on, I watched the crazies run into the reservoir, around those blocks of ice. Brrr! I got cold all over again just watching. They even paid to do that. Are they nuts or what?

Desert Girl watched too, and told me she wanted to get in the icy water. I told her no way, later that day we'd go swimming in the warm indoor swimming pool. She told me again a couple times she wanted to get in the icy water. When she's 18, she can go right ahead and do that!

We saw a few snow geese flying overhead as we drove away. They were still present despite the weather. I guess they're getting ready to face the Canadian weather as they continue their migration northward. They are amazing birds, and I guess I should remember that running in a little bad weather isn't much compared to the feat they're accomplishing as they migrate 3,000 miles through all types of weather.