Photo Gallery
Photos by Gavin Bieber unless otherwise credite
We’ll begin our journey in Utah’s beautiful Uinta Mountains, where bald mountaintops reach for the skies…
…and specialties such as American Three-toed Woodpecker…
…Broad-tailed Hummingbird…
…and American Dipper can be found.
Photo: Paul Nistico
On the second day we’ll travel west to Elko, stopping at wetlands and in a nice area of pinyon-juniper, where we hope to find species such as Juniper Titmouse.
And then it’s hiking day! We’ll make the ascent in the pre-dawn light, likely arriving near the top of the trail just before dawn.
The glacial cirque—here still snow-covered in early July—provides a great backdrop as we scan for Himalayan Snowcock, Black Rosy-Finch…
…and Clark’s Nutcracker.
After our anticipated success with the target species, we’ll slowly work back down the trail…
…stopping for species such as MacGillivray’s Warbler…
Photo: Paul Nistico
…or maybe a Red-naped Sapsucker.
Photo: Paul Nistico
The wildflowers can be equally appealing…
…as can the rushing creeks along the trail.
We’ll take time to savor the spectacular views as we drive out of Lamoille Canyon.
The isolated and beautiful Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a great setting for viewing breeding marsh birds…
…such as this family of Pied-billed Grebes…
…landbirds like this roosting Common Nighthawk…
…and shorebirds such as this Western Willet…
…or the stunning American Avocet.
The grassy valley north of the refuge is good for raptors, and we’ll hope to encounter a regal Ferruginous Hawk among the many Red-tailed Hawks.
Photo: Paul Nistico
The sagebrush flats of the Great Basin seem to stretch on forever, and on our drive across a huge ranch we’ll share the vast terrain with working cowboys…
…and native Pronghorn.
We’ll also hope to encounter Greater Sage-Grouse, Sage Sparrow, and Sage Thrasher as we head east towards Salt Lake City.
Photo: Paul Nistico
On our final day we’ll head to Antelope Island, where we hope to find our final introduced gamebird, the Chukar, probably easier to see here than anywhere else on the planet.
The causeway out to the island teems with birdlife, with hundreds of thousands of shorebirds, grebes, and gulls using the shallow Great Salt Lake as a breeding ground or migration stopover.