May is full-on migration time, and having toured the Central flyway a fortnight earlier, we shifted West. We returned to SLC, and joined forces with birder extraordinaire Bill Fenimore and his son, Billy, to explore the sprawling (17k+ acres) Deseret Ranch, which spans multiple habitats: riparian, alpine, high country, canyons and grasslands. Because the property is Mormon-owned, special permission is required for access. This also means that the land is tightly managed, and in spite of the fact that cattle graze it, it is as close to pristine as land gets these days, supporting a wide variety of wildlife: fish, birds and even big game (no bison, though).
Above is a picture of a ferruginous hawk's nest (with eggs!) overlooking the grassland from a rock formation. These nests are built up and re-used over generations, and can reach 2 metres high. In another rock formation (below), hundreds of swallows were setting up nests in the little hollows, while a greater prairie falcon pair had returned to their nesting site in one of the larger bowls.
Up in the high country (around 10,000 feet), Spring had not yet completely sprung. Those thunderheads in the distance should help to clear the remaining snow and finish greening things up.
We stayed in Park City, which is essentially abandoned between the end of ski season and Memorial Day. Luckily, a really good coffee shop (Publik) was still open, and breakfast was still to be had at the old general store.
We tramped up into the ski-fields, where we ran into a couple of nesting groundhogs who were less than happy to see our shadows. I hope that means six more weeks of Spring!
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