The Himalayan Snowcock, successfully introduced to mountains in northern Nevada, provides one of the greatest challenges of any resident bird in North America. Even though they are as large as our largest grouse, the snowcock is nevertheless very skilled at avoiding detection amongst the rocks and cliffs of some of the most rugged and remote mountains in the lower 48 states. To even get a chance to see them requires a considerable physical effort (or a helicopter!). Those who go to this effort are rewarded with not only a chance to see this spectacular bird, but also some of the most stunning scenery anywhere. |
© J & A Binns |
There are also some other great birds, such as Black Rosy-Finch, and Lewis’ Woodpecker, to be found there. Although even our best efforts cannot guarantee that we will see the snowcock, we have been successful on over 90% of our tours, and have been successful on every tour for the last six years.
We start very early on the first morning, and hike the first two miles (from elevation 8600 ft. to 9500 ft.) in the dark. We need to be in position to see the birds at first light. The rest of the climb is off-trail, and increasingly rugged. How far we need to go depends upon the birds.
We allow two mornings to get the bird. If we are successful the first morning, then we chase other “want-list” birds for the rest of the trip. If not, we try again the next morning. After leaving Nevada we will visit some of Northern Utah premier birding locations - the Wasatch Mountains, Bear River Bird Refuge, Antelope Island and Deseret Ranch, making this short trip truly spectacular.
After an mid day arrival in Salt Lake City, we make the three-hour drive to Elko, Nevada with perhaps a few short birding stops on the way, as we pass through good shorebird habitat along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake and some ridges covered with pinyon-juniper woodlands. We'll have an early dinner in Elko, and do a little birding around town afterwards, looking for waders, California Quail, and western songbirds in the riparian habitat along the East Humboldt River.
We meet at 3 am (coffee and snacks available) for the 45-minute drive to Lamoille Canyon and the trailhead, from where we hike 2 miles to Island Lake. From the lake we'll head up into the cirque above the lake to look for snowcocks (breakfast at the trailhead and on the trail). Most of the morning will be spent in the cirque, looking for snowcocks, Black Rosy-Finch and enjoying the many other birds and spectacular scenery of this alpine area. Late morning will find us on the trail again, birding our way back to the trailhead (numerous good birds are possible, including Blue Grouse, hummingbirds, western empids, warblers, sparrows and finches). On our way back to town we'll stop at the mouth of the canyon, where a grove of large cottonwoods is home to a colony of Lewis's Woodpeckers, and where other birds, such as Chukar, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Green-tailed Towhee, and Lazuli Bunting can be seen.
© J & A Binns |
After lunch in town, we take a short break for a nap, a swim or relaxation, and then spend the late afternoon birding in the Elko area. A trip to South Fork Reservoir, about 15 minutes southwest of town, will round out our list with an amazing variety of waders, waterfowl, shorebirds and terns.The drive to the reservoir, through rolling sagebrush-covered hills, gives us a chance to see sagebrush birds such as Sage Thrasher and Brewer's Sparrow. We return to Elko for dinner at one of the town’s famous Basque restaurants.
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This morning, we have one last chance to try for the snowcock (if we need it) before birding our way back to Salt Lake City. If we try for the snowcock, our activities will be exactly as in the previous morning. Otherwise, we'll do some early morning birding in the town of Lamoille and the adjacent Lamoille Valley, where wet meadows and riparian woodlands lie at the base of the Ruby Mountains. Raptors, Sandhill Cranes, hummingbirds and many western songbirds will be the main targets of the morning. We'll return to town to check out of our hotel.
After lunch we'll stop to bird the pinyon-juniper woodlands in the Pequop Mountains, where we'll have a chance to see Pinyon Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Gray Flycatcher and other birds of this specialized habitat. We'll also look for migrant shorebirds and Snowy Plovers on the salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake and along the south shore of the lake. After check-in and dinner at our hotel, we'll spend the evening birding the foothills and canyons near Salt Lake City - Band-tailed Pigeon, Spotted Towhee, Black-headed Grosbeak and Western Scrub-Jay are all possible.
This morning we head north to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake to look for Burrowing Owl and Chukar and where we'll have our first taste of the shorebird migration on this inland sea - truly one of the west's greatest birding spectacles. Nearly 1 million Wilson's Phalaropes join hundreds of thousands of other shorebirds on the lake and the surrounding wetlands at this time of year. After the island, we continue north along the lake to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge - perhaps Utah's most famous birding location. After lunch in nearby Brigham City, we'll head east over the mountains to Cache Valley, another Utah hot-spot, where a mix of wetlands and agricultural land provide habitat for many birds, such as Swainson's Hawks and Sandhill Cranes. |
© J & A Binns |
In the afternoon, we head up Logan Canyon and into the Bear River Range, where a good mix of mountain birds will round out our bird list for the day. Continuing east and south, we arrive in the evening at Deseret Ranch where we'll look for Flammulated Owl after dark.
We'll spend the entire day today touring the vast Deseret Ranch. At over 200,000 acres, the ranch is the largest piece of private property in Utah. The ranch is managed to maintain a healthy and diverse ecosystem, and abounds in wildlife and birds. Over 270 species of birds have been seen there. Among the "ranch specialties" are Greater Sage- and Blue Grouse, but many other birds can be seen there as well, including Golden Eagle and Prairie Falcon, Sage Sparrow, Green-tailed Towhee, Canyon Wren, McGillivary’s and Virginia’s Warbler as well as an assortment of empidonax. Late in the day we'll make the short drive to Salt Lake City and our hotel for our final night.
This morning we'll have a final chance to bird in the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City. At the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon lies the resort village of Brighton and picturesque Silver Lake. Birds that can be found here include Northern Goshawk, Three-toed Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsucker, Dipper, Pine Grosbeak and crossbills. By late-morning we'll return to Salt Lake City and the airport for your flights home.