The edge of the Great Salt Lake with Bison grazing Photo: Gavin Bieber
In 1963 an enterprising official from the Nevada Game and Fish Department decided that introducing Himalayan Snowcocks into the Ruby Mountains of north-central Nevada would provide hunters with an attractive target and bring more people to this remote corner of the state. The birds have done well in the Rubies, with their numbers swelling to a current population of approximately 1000 birds, confined to alpine rocky slopes above 9300 feet. The general birding public has often resorted to using helicopters to access the area frequented by the snowcocks, but in reality these birds are quite accessible with only a moderate hike. Although many birders view established exotics as less desirable species, these attractive and surprisingly large partridges are beautiful, and seeing them in the setting of a glacial cirque is well worth the effort. Although Himalayan Snowcock is undoubtedly the main target of this tour, the mountain ranges of northern Nevada and Utah and the Great Salt Lake are excellent birding sites as well. We’ll be exposed to the incredible avian abundance in the Great Salt Lake, where daily bird totals are measured in the hundreds of thousands of individuals. We’ll also spend one day exploring the high Uinta Mountains near Salt Lake City, a gorgeous range harboring a wealth of Rocky Mountain birds in a setting replete with alpine lakes, wildflower-strewn meadows, bare peaks over 12,000 feet and thick stands of quaking aspen.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6:00 p.m. in the lobby of our hotel. Night in Salt Lake City.
Day 2: We’ll explore the magnificent Uinta Mountains just east of Salt Lake City. The Wasatch National Forest covers a large part of the range, and its thick forests, alpine lakes, sunny meadows and impressive peaks will make an excellent backdrop for a day’s birding. The lower slopes of the range are covered in sagebrush and agricultural areas with a few scattered lakes. As we climb by road up into the national forest the landscape changes to a nice mixed Ponderosa Pine/Willow/Aspen forest with Red-breasted Sapsucker, Pygmy Nuthatch, Calliope and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds and MacGillvray’s Warbler. Climbing higher, we’ll reach Spruce/Fir/Loblolly Pine forest, home to birds such as Northern Goshawk, Gray Jay, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Cassin’s Finch, Red Crossbill and Pine Grosbeak. We’ll top out at the Mount Baldy pass, at an elevation of 10,700 feet, before descending. On the way back to Salt Lake we’ll briefly cross into Wyoming, where the Bear River offers excellent riparian birding. Night in Salt Lake City.
Day 3: We’ll depart early, stopping at a nearby wetland where the dawn activity should include several species common to the lowland desert riparian biome, such as Western Wood-Pewee, Yellow, Wilson’s and Yellow-rumped Warblers and Bullock’s Oriole. On our way west toward Elko, Nevada, we’ll pause near the south end of the Great Salt Lake to search evaporation ponds for breeding and migrant shorebirds, gulls, terns and wading birds such as brilliant American Avocets and dapper Franklin’s Gulls (some still in stunning alternate plumage). Huge piles of salt mined by the Morton Company provide an interesting backdrop for birding. The drive from the lake west to Nevada takes us through some of the most barren and fascinating landscapes in the country. An almost perfectly flat salt pan shimmering in the afternoon sun will stretch out for nearly 90 miles, with only the smallest sprigs of vegetation scattered here and there to break the spell. Shortly after crossing into Nevada we’ll detour to a small sewage lagoon in West Wendover. The three settling ponds play host to hundreds of Wilson’s Phalaropes (a portent of things to come), a nice mix of duck and swallow species and the occasional surprise. After our visit to the ponds we’ll make the final push to Elko, where an early dinner will give us plenty of rest before our early hike the next morning. Night in Elko.
Day 4: A 3:30 a.m. departure from the hotel in Elko will allow us to arrive at the Lamoile Canyon trailhead (elev. 8600 ft) by roughly 4:30 a.m. We’ll head up the trail before dawn so that we are in place above Island Lake, situated at 9650 feet, near first light. It will be dark as we start out (we’ll have flashlights), but the trail is graded and in good condition and the walking uncomplicated. It should take us just over an hour and a half to travel the two miles and 1000-foot elevation gain. Above the lovely alpine lake is an impressive glacial cirque with dramatic black cliffs 1000 feet tall covering a good 150 degrees around us. A few scattered pinyon pine and juniper trees, open talus slopes and a verdant meadow filled with wildflowers round out the view. We’ll set up in the shade of some large junipers and spend several hours (likely) scanning the ridges and slopes for Himalayan Snowcock. While looking for the snowcocks we’ll also keep an eye out for Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goat and Pika, along with Golden Eagle, Black Rosy-finch and American Pipit, all of which use the upper slopes of the cirque as well. Other avian highlights will include Clark’s Nutcracker, Broad-tailed Hummingbird and Mountain Bluebird. We’ll have an early picnic lunch up by the lake before slowly heading down the trail. Thick clumps of willow and herbaceous vegetation support Dusky and Gray Flycatchers, Brewer’s and Chipping Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Cassin’s Finches and if we are lucky possibly a brood of Dusky Grouse. Once back at the trailhead we’ll slowly drive out of Lamoile Canyon, birding at several spots along Lamoile Creek. The highway is one of ten selected scenic drives in the state of Nevada, and the dramatic rocky slopes are superb. We should arrive back in Elko for a well-deserved nap) around 2:30 p.m. Night in Elko.
Day 5: We’ll leave at a more reasonable time this morning, driving south toward the south end of the Ruby Mountains and the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The western side of the Rubies offers stunning views of the mountain range to our east and an endless vista of sagebrush to our west, home to breeding Ferruginous Hawk, Sage Thrasher and Sage Sparrow. The mixed riparian corridors along the way should produce Willow Flycatcher, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow Warbler and Bullock’s Oriole. To reach the refuge we’ll crest Harrison Pass, with its interesting mix of boulder-strewn hillsides, juniper groves and riparian thickets. The pass is great for viewing Lewis’s Woodpecker and we’ll also search for Juniper Titmouse, Western Scrub-Jay, Bushtit and Black-throated Gray Warbler. Ruby Lake NWR is an expansive freshwater marsh nestled against the southeast corner of the Ruby Mountains and represents the remnants of an ancient lake bed. It is the most important wetland habitat in northeastern Nevada and supports large numbers of breeding birds. We should see good numbers of several duck species, Trumpeter Swan, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Virginia Rail and Sora as well as multitudes of swallows, American Coots, Black-necked Stilts and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. After visiting the refuge we’ll drive back north through the picturesque and isolated Ruby Valley to Elko. Night in Elko.
Day 6: Today’s schedule depends on our success on day 4. If we missed the snowcocks we’ll use this morning for a second attempt. Otherwise we’ll drive east toward Ogden, Utah, with a few stops along the south end of the Great Salt Lake for shorebirds and waterfowl. We should have enough time to divert toward any local rarities that might have shown up or any species that we’ve missed. In the late afternoon we’ll drive north to the White’s Valley. This startlingly attractive grass-covered valley is a gem. A small agricultural area a few miles off the highway hosts Grasshopper Sparrow, Ring-necked Pheasant, Sharp-tailed Grouse and Gray Partridge. We’ll spend a few hours searching the fields here for these species before completing the drive to Ogden. Night in Ogden.
Day 7: A visit to northern Utah during the beginning of fall migration simply must include the surprising Antelope Island. This 28,000-acre island near the southern end of the Great Salt Lake is connected to the mainland via a six-mile narrow causeway. Driving along the causeway is simply awesome, for there are huge numbers of birds in every direction. It is not enough to see 10 Wilson’s Phalaropes, or even 1000: here there are huge flocks often estimated at 500,000 individuals. Tens of thousands of American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Eared Grebes and California, Ring-billed and Franklin’s Gulls, as well as groups of American White Pelicans, also occur in the shallow bays around the causeway. This impressive mass of birds has gathered to feed on the staggeringly large numbers of brine shrimp and brine flies that call the Salt Lake home, and watching the antics of the birds chasing down herds of flies is quite entertaining. Close scrutiny should reveal many species of migrant shorebirds. Virtually any regularly occurring western shorebird is possible here, and every year a rarity or two is found. Eventually we’ll reach the island, where the visitor’s center hosts a small colony of Burrowing Owls and often Chukar. The island’s grasslands and sage patches support a few species of breeding passerines including Rock Wren and Loggerhead Shrike. We may also see a herd of Bison and a number of Bighorn Sheep and Pronghorn as we make our way down the east end of the island toward the Fielding Garr Ranch, where a grove of trees often attracts migrant passerines. After we have covered Antelope Island we’ll drive north to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, where extensive marshes and freshwater lakes support literally millions of migrant birds through the course of the year. This refuge is part of the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network, and in early August we should be able to find good flocks of dowitchers, numerous yellowlegs and a fine assortment of other shorebirds as well as often staggering numbers of swallows, phalaropes and stilts. We’ll spend a few hours admiring this vast assemblage of birds before making the drive back to our hotel in Salt Lake and our final dinner. Night in Salt Lake City.
Day 8: The tour concludes this morning at our hotel in Salt Lake City.
Updated: 21 March 2008
Prices
- 2008 price about $2,150
- Single Occupancy Supplement $370
Notes
Maximum group size seven with one leader.