Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
May 30, 2007.
We did not arrive in Layton, UT until after noon. As you will recall
we were in Salt Lake City earlier in the day touring Temple
Square.
After touring the Temple
Square area in Salt Lake City we returned to the motorhome
and headed south to a Super Wal Mart located in Layton, Utah at exit
334, where we dropped the motorhome and headed to Antelope Island
in our Saturn.
When we returned we moved the motorhome to a strip mall parking area
adjacent to Wal Mart because there was more space available for overnighting
RV's.
We visited Antelope Island, a Utah State Park located in the Great
Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake, as you may know, is the largest natural
lake west of the Mississippi River. The lake is a remnant of pre-historic
Lake Bonneville, which covered more than 20,000 square miles during
the Ice Age. Four distinct shorelines from the lake may be seen from
Antelope Island and include, Bonneville, Provo, Stansbury, and Gilbert.
Currently Great Salt Lake is 75 miles long by 28 miles wide covering
1,700 square miles. At this level, maximum depth is about 33 feet.
Size and depth vary greatly with seasonal evaporation and precipitation.
Water flows into the lake from four river drainages, carrying 2.2
million tons of minerals into the lake each year. Great Salt Lake
has no outlet; water leaves only through evaporation. Because of this,
high concentrations of minerals are left behind. Salinity level ranges
between four and 28% compared to the ocean at 3%.
Salinity is too high to support fish and most other aquatic species.
However, brine shrimp, brine flies, and several types of algae thrive
in the lake. Brine shrimp and brine flies tolerate the high salt content
and feed on algae. Brine flies and brine shrimp are primary food sources
for millions of migrating birds.
Nearly 80% of Utah's wetlands surround Great Salt Lake, making its
ecosystem one of the most important resources in North America for
migratory and nesting birds. The area hosts 250 bird species each
year, which represents a significant part of the six to nine million
migratory birds passing through the Pacific Flyway.
The lake and its marshes provide resting, nesting, and staging areas
for these birds.
Oolitic sand is a unique feature of Great Salt Lake. These round
grains of sand are formed when mineral grains or brine shrimp fecal
pellets are coated by concentric layers of aragonite, a form of calcium
carbonate. This is similar to how pearls are formed. I did not have
time to find and closely examine this unique form of sand. This will
have to wait until our next visit.
With that as background it is time for us to head across the causeway
connecting Antelope Island with the mainland.
View from causeway to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
Access to Antelope Island State Park is from SR-108 (exit 335 on
I-15) via a very long causeway. There is a State Park fee to get on
the causeway leading to Antelope Island.
Joyce took this picture from the causeway looking south at the south
end of Antelope Island with mountains around Provo in the background.
View from causway to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
This was taken from the causeway looking to the southeast toward
Salt Lake City. The water is part of the Great Salt Lake. The Wasatch
Mountains are in the background.
Chukar on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
Once on Antelope Island we immediately spotted these chukar hiding
in the shade of picnic tables.
Chukar are exotic birds that have been introduced to the area as
game birds. They are thriving throughout Utah and especially on Antelope
Island.
Chukar on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
Causeway to & from Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
This picture is looking east from the visitor center on Antelope
Island. We have just completed the drive from the mainland across
this causeway. The water is the Great Salt Lake. It is only inches
deep in this area.
Antelope Island is the largest of Great Salt Lake's ten islands.
Protected by the lake, the island's relative isolation has helped
preserve its unique environment, which appears today much as it did
when Mormon pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
The Great Salt Lake is one of the most important avian breeding and
migratory staging areas in the United States. Officially designated
as a Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve, the lake is an important stopover
for long-distance migratory birds and a home for many other species.
The lake's waters and shores provide plentiful brine shrimp and brine
flies, two important sources of food. In addition, more than 400,000
acres of contiguous wetlands around its shores provide prime nesting
habitat, food, and cover for many species.
Great Salt Lake supports over 160,000 California gulls, more than
anywhere else in the world.
Over 600,000 Wilson's phalaropes have been counted in a single day
at the lake representing more than half the total U.S. population
of these birds.
Over 250,000 American avocets nest on Great Salt Lake. This is more
than the rest of the western United States combined.
Over 1/2 million eared grebes, more than 30% of North America's population,
mass on the lake during fall migration. We saw thousands of eared
grebes feeding in the shallow water north of the causeway as we made
our way to the Island. They are shy birds and stayed out of camera
range so seeing them and getting a decent picture of one is a different
matter.
Great Salt Lake is considered the single most important nesting area
for white-faced ibis in the United States. We did not see the first
white faced ibis while in the Great Salt Lake area but we did see
many glossy ibis when visiting Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge which
we will do tomorrow.
Gunnison Island on Great Salt Lake is one of the largest white pelican
rookeries in the United States, supporting between 5,000 and 18,000
birds. I suppose the white pelicans raised in that rookery are the
ones that we see all over the western states. We saw a few white pelicans
but not that many on our Antelope Island visit.
Over 30,000 marbled godwits have been counted in a single day. Great
Salt Lake is the largest interior staging area in the United States
for this species. We looked for marbled godwits but didn't see the
first one.
We did not see many of these species because we were not there long
enough to tour the entire island and many of them only migrate through
the area. If you are not here when they are migrating through you
are not going to see them.
We looked for long-billed curlew while on Antelope Island but didn't
see any even though we did see them the next day when visiting Bear
River Migratory Bird Refuge north of here. However, Antelope Island
has been called the last stronghold of the long-billed curlew on Great
Salt Lake. Coyotes keep foxes, the curlew's primary predator, off
the island. The island's high quality grasslands provide ideal nesting
habitat for curlews.
We didn't see any snowy plover but they are here we just didn't get
in the right location. Snowy plover are perhaps the only bird that
will nest on the desolate salt flats (playas), the snowy plover is
well camouflaged. Over 10,000 nest on Great Salt Lake, the largest
inland population in the United States.
We missed the Wilson's Phalarope that migrate through here. Wilson's
phalaropes are long-range migrants who fly nearly non-stop from North
to South America. Gorging themselves on brine flies and brine shrimp,
these amazing birds nearly double their weight during their short
stay at Great Salt Lake.
Magpie on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
We weren't expecting to see a magpie at this altitude but this one
posed for us. We don't usually see magpie until we get to much higher
elevations. I think I recall the Great Salt Lake being around 4,000
feet in elevation.
By 1890, the teeming buffalo herds that once roamed the Great Plains
of America had been reduced to less than one thousand animals. William
Glassman, an Ogden, Utah, resident visiting friends in Texas, became
enthralled by the sight of a small bison herd. Recognizing the need
to preserve these fascinating animals, Glassman purchased a number
of bison for a planned zoological garden on the south shore of Great
Salt Lake. He sold four bulls, four cows and four calves to the owners
of Antelope Island. In early 1893 they were barged to the island,
and turned loose. They became the foundation of the present-day Antelope
Island bison herd.
As a result of William Glassman and the owners of the ranch on Antelope
Island, Antelope Island is a refuge for one of the oldest and largest
public herds of bison in the United States. Those bison introduced
in 1893 now numbers over 700 animals. Each fall, the bison are rounded
up and some are sold to limit the size of the herd with the carrying
capacity of the Island.
Large herds of bison are primarily comprised of cows, calves and
young nonbreeding bulls. Older bulls stay to themselves most of the
year in "bachelor" groups. Typically, only during breeding
season (July-August) do older bulls join the big herds. A 9-month
gestation period leads to calving season in late spring.
On Antelope Island most bison give birth to their calves high up
on the east slope of the island. At higher elevations, there are more
nutritious native grasses, more water and it is cooler. They may also
travel to these high elevations to get away from people. The east
slope is closed to people, to preserve it forever as a refuge for
bison and other wildlife.
The signature scene, the dangerous buffalo hunt, from the movie "The
Covered Wagon", was filmed on Antelope island. Released in 1923,
it was one of the most successful films of the silent era and the
first epic western ever produced.
At the time the buffalo herd numbered close to 200 buffalo. Cowboys
from the Island Ranch hired on to stampede the buffalo in front of
the cameras. Even then it took three day before the buffalo would
cooperate.
The film was wildly received by the public playing to capacity audiences
for months. When the film opened with much excitement at the Paramount
Theater in Salt Lake City, the theater served buffalo burgers at the
front door. Now, only the location's name -- Camera Flat -- is left
from when Hollywood came to Antelope Island.
Later, the "Last Great Buffalo Hunt" of 1926 that included
heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey eliminated nearly all of the
herd that had grown to over 400 head. Fortunately, enough survived
that the herd was able to perpetuate itself. I find it remarkable
that as late as 1926 even national heroes were actively trying to
eliminate this species.
The island's forty springs afford buffalo and other wildlife plenty
of fresh water.
After the entire island was purchased for a state park in 1981, management
of the island's bison herd became the responsibility of the state.
A concerted effort was begun to improve the rangeland used by the
herd. In 1987, the Division of Parks and Recreation initiated a bison
management program. Each year, the otherwise free-roaming bison are
rounded up, weighed, vaccinated against disease, and checked for pregnancy.
Outside animals have been introduced to the herd to provide genetic
diversity.
If you are interested, Antelope Island's bison roundup occurs in
late October, and can be viewed by visitors. Bison corrals are located
on the north end of the island near near park headquarters.
We did not see any of the Islands buffalo in our short visit but
we did see pronghorn antelope near the visitor center. The buffalo
must have been further south than we were able to get.
Causeway connecting Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake to the
mainland
Joyce took this picture from Antelope Island about 5-miles south
of the causeway looking north.
Burrowing owls of Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake
Typically, burrowing owls make their nests in open grasslands using
abandoned burrows of prairie dogs or ground squirrels. However, since
Antelope Island has no prairie dogs or ground squirrels, the owls
utilize abandoned badger dens. Feeding primarily on grasshoppers,
burrowing owls are the only subterranean owls in North America.
If you are visiting Antelope Island stop at the Visitor Center and
look for these small owls perched on large boulders east of the Visitor
Center. These aren't the best pictures but they were at a distance
and looking into the sun. I share them with you so that you will know
what to look for when you visit Antelope Island. Once you know where
to look you can spot them fairly easily. They can be seen both from
the visitor center and from the road that runs south to the Ranch
where the road passes east of the visitor center.
Shore birds feeding along causway to Antelope Island in the Great
Salt Lake
Avocet were visible by the hundreds along the shore where they were
feeding on brine shrimp.
Shore birds along causeway to Antelope Island in the Great Salt
Lake
American Avocet.
American Avocet
American Avocet.
You can clearly see brine flies that provide food to several migrant
species that stop by here on their way to other places.
Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake viewed from the causway
The highest and most rugged portions of Antelope Island are home
to a variety of species. The rocky slopes provide nesting habitat
for rock wrens. The cliffs and air currents near them are home to
golden eagles and other raptors. In addition the craggy topography
makes ideal habitat for bighorn sheep.
The rugged portion of Antelope Island is that part in the center
of this picture taken from the causeway looking to the southwest.
Does it get any better?
Until next time remember how good life is.
Mike & Joyce Hendrix
