Ward Campout

Some beautiful Grebes we saw at Strawberry Reservoir. Steve and I took the girls to the ward camp out in Heber while the three oldest recovered from Simulations Week. Our neighbors showed us how to catch crayfish with chicken legs in the reservoir. We caught 50 between us and the girls loved it!

Antelope Island

Dad and Janey and Ellie went camping on Antelope island while Mom and the older kids were getting ready for graduation. They saw lots of wild life up close and personal and especially loved seeing many barn owls. They also enjoyed biking the island until a big rain storm stopped them short. I'm so glad they love nature and adventure! Thanks Dad.

Snow Canyon

My mother's day present this year was a trip with Steve down to Southern Utah to bike beautiful Snow Canyon. Along with the amazing scenery, we saw many fun birds, including the curious Canyon Wren pictured above. We biked miles of trail and hiked through the red sands. A quick and timely getaway that was the perfect present!

For the Birds

Presidents' day we took our 4th Annual excursion to see the Bald Eagles migrate through the Bird refuge in Farmington. We also identified 15 other birds for the boy's Bird Study Merit Badge. My favorite was the brilliant yellow Western Meadowlark we saw. This year we got to show Analese the birding ropes and Steve's sister Emily and her kids joined us last minute, for a very enjoyable day.

For 3 Saturdays every February the boys attend a Merit Badge Pow Wow. This year Steve decided to share his love of birding by leading the Bird Study Merit Badge class. He put a lot into making it a successful and fun class, and both Steve and Daniel were able to earn the badge. I hope Steve will teach it every year and pay forward the love of nature and birding that was instilled in him by a talented and caring science teacher long ago.

Eagle Watch 2011

Monday we took our traditional President's Day pilgrimage out to Farmington bay to see the migrating Bald Eagles.

Steve's Sister's family joined us on our birding trip which added so much fun!

We also saw the nesting ground for the Great Blue Herons. Can't wait for next year already!

Antelope Island

Steve took the little girls exploring on Antelope Island and taught them the finer points of birding. Janey and Ellie have been avid bird locators for years, but Saturday they learned to look up birds they saw in the field guides and identify and date their finds. They also got to play in the sand, collect rocks, and see real bison. I call that a good explore!

A long billed curlew.

A couple of cute rare chicks!

Presidential Eagles

On Presidents' day we made the trek out to Farmington Bay to see the Bald Eagles who are passing through. We went earlier than last year, and were rewarded by seeing many more eagles (approx. 30 or so). We also took our cousins which made our birding trip extra fun. We topped it off with a pic-nic and hot chocolate. I feel a new Presidents day tradition coming on!

Bald Eagles by Whitney

Last week we went to the Salt Lake Bird Reserve. It was a lot of fun, but really cold. The highlight was that we where able to see Bald Eagles! The park is on their migratory route
and they where on a stop-over and where chilling on a huge dead tree. We also saw a HUGE flock of whistler swans on one of the lakes, there where thousands of them! We also saw pelicans, ducks, hawks, breeding great blue herons, doves, water birds and tons more. It was awesome, everyone had binoculars and we also had a telescope. I can’t wait to go back!

A list of birds we saw:

Great Blue Herons
Herrier Hawks
Bald Eagles
Red Wing Black Birds
Canadian Geese
Coots
Pelicans
Northern Shoveler Ducks
Whistler Swans
American Kestrals
Mourning Doves
Sparrows
Seagulls

The Whip-Poor-Will by Whitney

Today I was out side playing with Cooper, when I saw what looked like a rock sitting on top of our fence. But on closer inspection I discovered it was a Whip-Poor-Will! I ran inside to get dad’s camera and got some pics. (I think it was a female)











Note by Dad: Dad has never seen one as it is not native to Utah, the Western United States, or the day-time. It sleeps during the day and feeds at night. Hense the large eye. Definitely a lifer for Whitney who spotted and identified it! Great job!