It's cloudy and in the upper 20s this morning. Not good hiking temperatures for me but I'm heading out anyway. Going to Antelope Island; may be a bit of a boondoggle since the animals have now scattered but I like a treasure hunt.
Still cloudy (and not quite 30 degrees) when I arrive but the sky appears to be clearing to the northwest...time will tell if I see the sun.
Heading across the causeway, I see a hawk perched on a stick on the flats.
Lots of ravens/crows around. And the water is ice-covered but as I near the island, the water is deeper and is unfrozen. Just a few ducks and they are scattered bouncing on the small waves.
I head towards the Ranch.- nice to snow on the peaks again.
Just past Frary Peak, I see a coyote heading south along the lake He is definitely on a mission.
I don't see another animal until I'm almost to the Ranch; I catch a view of some bison between two hills as I pass. I back up to confirm the sighting.
I arrive at the Ranch and take a walk to hopefully catch sight of the Great Horned Owls - no luck.
I think about walking down to Mushroom Spring but in addition to the sunless cold day, there's a brisk wind blowing from the West --- brrrr!
I get back in my car and head north.
From this direction, I see that those couple of bison I saw earlier are part of a larger herd.
I also see that coyote still heading south.
When I reach the circle road around the Visitor's Center, I head west. I instantly 2 bison herds in the distance (10-15 animals each). I head down towards White Rock campground and find a herd of bison under Bison Point and another to the south. The bison are definitely scattered along the west side.
Then I head up to the Bison Point parking.
And then brave the cold and head up to Bison Point. Views are wonderful from the top!!
After returning to my car, I head back down to the loop. On the way, I see at least 3 deer on the edge of the sagebrush.
Continuing around the loop towards the Visitor's Center, I catch sight of a lone Pronghorn just past the Visitor's Center.
Not a bad ending to my day. Animals were definitely sparse but I saw them all - bison, deer, pronghorn and coyote! And now the sun is out!
