As we approach the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge, a Winter Hawk takes flight from a tree it had been perched in.....
Our rugged Wasatch Mountains, directly to the east of the Bird Refuge....our home sits on a narrow strip of land between the mountains, and the Bird Refuge and Great Salt Lake.......
I think if I were an Eagle, I would want to "winter" somewhere further south......
We spot three eagles ahead, perched in the dead trees they come to year after year.....the two perched together are HUGE!
Wes had taken yesterday off, so he'd have a four day weekend. The weather here is snowy and cold, but we got up and took a nice long CRISP walk...which felt so great after having been couch potatoes the last few weeks....after our walk he asked me what I'd like to do for the day, as he takes very little time off from his regular job. "I want to see the eagles" I declared! Farmington Bay Bird Refuge is about a ten minute walk from our house, or a couple of minutes drive away...this is where the bald eagles winter every year between December and March. We have counted as many as 80+ eagles at one time other years. We got in the car, binoculars and camera in hand and made the short drive down to the bird refuge. I think it is still a bit early for the eagles...a few have arrived, but we did not see the huge numbers as we have seen in the past.....this is usually closer to March when we see the most eagles...but there is always something to see down there, whether it is a hawk or a crane or geese....you are never disappointed. I feel very lucky to have something this wonderful within minutes of our home! We saw several winter hawks and three eagles, two that were absolutely HUGE! They were perched in an old dead tree...some years we have seen 15-20 eagles all at once in the same old tree! We will continue to make our little trips out to the bird refuge over the next few months, and hopefully we will spot more eagles up close that want to have their picture taken, and we will share our photos with you!
