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February is bald eagle month in Utah and the Utah DWR (Department of Wildlife Resources) held a bald eagle viewing event today at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. Since we had good luck at the Mountain Goat Viewing and considering the DWR knows what they are doing, we thought we’d go check it out. I love the DWR Wildlife Viewing events and try to make them when they are not terribly far away. This one will include a nice scenic drive along Farmington Bay which will be great because last time we came out here it was super foggy.
Scenic Drive Details:
Length: About 7.2 miles out and back to the Turpin parking lot.
Time Needed: Half Hour to an Hour
Road Conditions: Mostly dirt. Somewhat bumpy but a sedan can make it.
Summit: N/A it’s completely flat.
Restrooms: There is a pit toilette at the main parking lot just past the entry gate.
Interesting Things: Over 200 different species of birds to discover!
Other Info: See the wildlife.Utah webpage for hours and when the roads are open.
To Get Here:
This is located behind the Great Salt Lake Nature Center. Coming from the south, you will want to take exit 322 in Farmington. Immediate take the first right on to the frontage rd. Then take the first right onto Glovers Ln and head over i15. Go about 1.4 miles and turn left on 1325 west. If you hit the Nature Center you went too far.
The dike roads are pretty well maintained and even little cars shouldn’t have any trouble (DBP). There can be some bumpy spots though.
The ponds have thawed out with our weirdly warm winter (DBP).
One of the outlet streams and some seagulls (DBP).
Loving the clouds today (DBP).
Not a great shot, but a northern harrier flew by (DBP).
We made a lot better time today without the fog and before we knew it we were at the Turpin parking lot where the DWR had some some scopes setup and some information. It was a lot more crowded than normal due to the viewing event, but not completely crazy.
As promised, bald eagles! They were pretty far away and even with the telephoto lens they are a little small but hey, we got to see them.
Couple action shots.
A great blue heron before it has tucked it’s neck in.
And after he tucked it in. This is how I usually see them in flight.
With an eagle, some geese and a bunch of seagulls. You can really see the blue coloring in this shot too.
What is with the seagulls? Hoping for scraps I guess?
We this is really really neat but I was hoping to get a closer view. So we decided to drive back a ways and see if we could see them better from the road.
The little ponds are not nearly as deep as I thought they were (DBP). This one is just a muddy flat at the moment.
The mountains above the ponds (DBP).
We decided to stop near this outlet creek.
Boy am I glad we did! We got to see an eagle soaring high above.
We decided to head back to see if more eagles were hanging out.
All the cars at the Turpin parking lot (DBP).
Fun fluffy clouds (DBP).
Mountains above.
Well, there aren’t any eagles here at the moment and with the wind it is pretty miserable out here so we decided to go back down the road and see what else we could find.
Eagle out on a log (DBP).
Another northern harrier (DBP).
And another.
We decided to see if the GSL Nature Center was still closed.
It is still closed, but you can still see the great blue heron nesting poles from the parking lot.
I wish they would hurry up and finish the new visitor center I really enjoy walking around there.
Well that was a fun day! I am super glad we came out. I was a little worried it was going to be a madhouse considering it was advertised on the news and all, but it wasn’t too bad. I really hoped we would get to see them a little closer, but honestly I am just happy we got to see them. I need to invest in a longer lens one of these days. I am also happy we got to explore further down the dike roads without the fog. All in all definitely a fun day.
As for difficulty, well it’s a drive and really get out and look so DR1..
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