Last (bird) day of the year

My friend, Beth, and I went to Antelope island in hopes of seeing one of three possible birds that have been reported there. Upon arrival, the causeway to the island was foggy and the temperature in the high 20's. The brilliant colors of the island  silenced by the fog and white frost that coat it. There was no wind.The dense morning air clung to us; containing the heaviness of winter. This is one of my favorite places to go. I am always in awe of its beauty.

We started out, as we do all trips to the island, by slowly driving down the causeway and stopping to look at anything birdy. Today the causeway was mostly Killdeer; working the edges of the lake and the dry areas in between. Occasionally, the group of killdeer would diversify with one or two different species. The first group to do so contained the first bird we were hoping to see. A Ruff!

The Ruff is a medium sized wader; usually considered the only member of its genus. More recent research (Thomas et al, 2004)though, indicates that the Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers may belong there too. Their breeding habitat is bogs, marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in northern Europe and Russia but Ruff are migratory, wintering in southern and western Europe, Africa and India and is a rare migrant to North America.

We watched the Ruff for some time (along with a dozen or so other birders) then moved down the causeway for a weak attempt at finding our nemesis bird, the Snow Bunting.  We continued our slow drive down the causeway searching through the fog for the occasional group of Killdeer (for another Ruff- there have been sightings of two) and for flocks of Horned Lark and a possible Snow bunting. The sun was starting to break up the fog. A small halo in the sky. Creating moments of light and moments of dark.  Beth sighted a "peep". At first, I could not find the peep but kept seeing strange horned larks working the shoreline.  The peep turned out to be a Baird's Sandpiper and the strange horned larks were Snow buntings! OMG! They are freaking cute little plump things.  

Our nemesis bird finally conquered, we headed out to the Ranch to see the Varied Thrush. Upon arrival we were greeted by the Ranch host who informed us abut the Great Horned owls in the Barn. We went to see them before heading out to the wooded area behind the spring house. The spring is one of the few available fresh water sources on the island. Creating a hot spot for migrating passerines. 

The area surrounding the deciduous trees were covered in snow. A white blanket of winter, peace, and silence. We barley spoke to one another; enjoying the spiritual lessons winter has to offer. After some time working through a foot of crystallized  snow (Beth in tennis shoes) and checking out the known "hot spots" in the area we finally located the birds working the leaf litter at the south edge of the wooded area. Here the snow was melted at the base of the trees giving an area of food to the species that overwinter here. Spotted Towhees, Song Sparrows, Northern Flickers, and American Robins thrashed through last seasons leaves; in search for a warm meal. Here we also saw the female Varied Thrush keeping company with the local Robins.

We left the Ranch chatting about how we “never see the bird we are looking for… let alone all three with ease and with time to spare.” I saw two new birds today and Beth three. It was a rare day of birds and friends and a good end to a great year.