Went out birding today...

[jedirunner]

Left early in the morning with daughter (the 11 year old that shoots with me a lot). We went out to Utah Lake, and drove around West Mountain, following the shoreline and stopping everywhere we could pull off the road and walk down towards the marshy areas. Just a discovery trip really, but we did end up with some keepers, and have spent the last hour or so going through the 350 shots we took identifying (almost) all the birds in them. Before today I think the only birds we could identify by sight would be a peacock, robin, and bald eagle. ;-)

Anyway, we came up with the following list positively identified (and I must say that iBird Pro for iPad is awesome!):

• Black-necked stilt
• American avocet
• Yellow-headed blackbird
• Bairds sandpiper
• American white pelican
• Caspian tern
• Northern shoveler
• American coot
• California gull
• Ring-necked pheasant
• Sandhill crane

The sandhill crane was the least expected and coolest surprise of the day.

I had 2 birds we couldn't identify positively. I'll post photos of them later.

After I can pick out the best shots, and crop/process a bit, I'll get them posted.

Oh, and the other day, I was out with her at another spot, and our main find for the night was a Black Crowned Night Heron.

It was a blast of a morning, and we found some sites we'll go back to for sure. We'll keep exploring various locations we've heard about and see what there is to see and find some favorite spots. We're just getting started!

Thanks everyone for the inspiration here. We're looking forward to more!

Kevin

 

[WesternGuy]

Sounds like a great trip Kevin. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

WesternGuy