I arrive on the causeway and it's already snowing but the wind is calm. The snow looks pretty but the views are very limited.
As I cross the causeway, I see a few shorebirds still hanging around
And just a couple of sea gulls.
The duck numbers are rising (much larger numbers than last week).
Farmington Bay is frozen with a dusting of this morning's snow on top. The Salt Lake side is open (as expected - salt water). The only opening in Farmington Bay is near the bridge where the salt water mixes.
As I arrive on the island, I see a bison up near the Visitor's Center.
And then I continue onto the Ranch. It isn't until I reach the Frary Homestead before I see some animals - a large herd of bison stretched out along the mountains.
A little further down the road is another herd of bison near the sagebrush to the east.
I arrive at the Ranch and ready to my hike but I realize I forget a water-proof jacket (oops). Guess the hike is not happening today. But I can still go look for the Great Horned Owls!
I start walking around the wooded area and soon find one of the owls!
And then continue around. Although I see no deer, they definitely hang out back here - tons of scat!! I near the tree where I saw the owl a few weeks back and you know what? The owl is still there!!! Awesome!
This looks to be the larger one -- so the female.
Time to head back up the island.
I make a quick stop near Frary Peak and notice a lone snowy bison on the other side of the road. I wait hoping for him to raise his head but he is nose down and chewing away.
As I pass thru the fence line and the Visitor's Center comes into view, I see a herd of deer (all doe) running to the south (in my direction).
I'm not sure what spooked them but they continue to run. They run past me but oh oh, they are stopped by the fence. What will they do now?!
They pause for a moment and they turn east and trot down the fence towards the road.
And then they cross the road behind me and continue running on the south side of the fence. And they're gone!
Very cool!
I continue around to the west side of the island and up to the Bison Point parking. I think about walking up to Bison Point but the wind has picked up and now that pleasant 32 degrees is rather cold (brrrr)!
The view from the parking, well it's cloudy!
And there's no animals in sight.
So I head down and over to the west side. As I come up on a large patch of sagebrush (good spot for deer) I see a car pulled over and sure enough, they are deer watching. I stop to watch as well. There are only 5 deer (all doe) in the meadow. I look towards the sagebrush and here comes another deer, and another, and one more. Oh, here comes the male -- big guy!!!
They all herd up together.
I then move my car so the deer are right across the street from me (and not in front of me). I wait and watch as they slowly start moving towards the road. There are a couple of tussles between some females -- on their hind legs ready to fight) sending the one on the ground running.
Bet that's the dominant female.
They continue to get closer to the road
and soon run across
and continue to run through a meadow to the next stand of sagebrush. Pretty cool!
I continue around the west side seeing no additional animals and start my way across the causeway. There I see a hawk hovering over the grasses.
And see 2 more as I complete my causeway crossing.
Well the day started slowly but got pretty fun! Great day!
