*flails*

OMG. We had the BEST day today.

We got up hellishly early to go birdwatching at the Nature Conservancy's Layton Marsh Wetland Preserve. Dudes! It was so cool.

We saw a Peregrine Falcon!!! I've never seen a wild Peregrine Falcon before! And we saw Virginia Rails. Chasing each other and making funny noises. And I saw my first ever Hermit Thrushes. There were Black-Necked Stilts and White-Faced Ibis! And I got really nice closeups of dragonflies!

*flails some more*

And then I got stung by a wasp for no apparent reason. I've never been stung by a wasp before, or a bee. DAMN, that HURTS. It paid for its temerity with its life. Because OW.

And then, since we were in the area, we toddled over to Antelope Island. Along the causeway, we saw Wilson's Phalaropes, Eared Grebes, Franklin's Gulls, Willets, Great Blue Herons, Avocets, and a whole crapload of some funky little shorebirds that we never did identify.

Once we hit the actual island, we found a parking area and got out and walked a bit. And then we saw lizards! BIG ones! With STRIPES. They were so cool! And then, and then, there were SPIDERS! Big ones! With stripes AND spots! And there was a Spider Wasp that had caught a spider!

And then I scraped the OTHER leg open on some rocks. By this time the wasp sting had faded to a bad memory; however, the scraped leg still hurts. And it's a mess. Ouchie.

Then we drove for a bit, and just as we were getting to the point where you have to turn around and go back we saw...

BISON. LOTS of them. With BABIES! *flails some more*

So I shot a bunch of pix of them. Bison are remarkably bad-tempered. They're herd animals, but they're all, like, "Dude, if it weren't for instinct I'd totally not hang out with you guys. Leave me alone. Don't stand so close, dammit!" It's kind of funny to watch. And then they've got birds on them.

And then on the way out I got some nice shots of Avocets, one group of which I'm fairly certain was a family.

IT WAS SO COOL.

Pictures? Of course I have pictures. They're here. Caution for the arachnophobic: LOTS o' spiders. BECAUSE THEY WERE COOL. I shall be posting some later for the link-o-phobic.

*flails*

OMG. We had the BEST day today.

We got up hellishly early to go birdwatching at the Nature Conservancy's Layton Marsh Wetland Preserve. Dudes! It was so cool.

We saw a Peregrine Falcon!!! I've never seen a wild Peregrine Falcon before! And we saw Virginia Rails. Chasing each other and making funny noises. And I saw my first ever Hermit Thrushes. There were Black-Necked Stilts and White-Faced Ibis! And I got really nice closeups of dragonflies!

*flails some more*

And then I got stung by a wasp for no apparent reason. I've never been stung by a wasp before, or a bee. DAMN, that HURTS. It paid for its temerity with its life. Because OW.

And then, since we were in the area, we toddled over to Antelope Island. Along the causeway, we saw Wilson's Phalaropes, Eared Grebes, Franklin's Gulls, Willets, Great Blue Herons, Avocets, and a whole crapload of some funky little shorebirds that we never did identify.

Once we hit the actual island, we found a parking area and got out and walked a bit. And then we saw lizards! BIG ones! With STRIPES. They were so cool! And then, and then, there were SPIDERS! Big ones! With stripes AND spots! And there was a Spider Wasp that had caught a spider!

And then I scraped the OTHER leg open on some rocks. By this time the wasp sting had faded to a bad memory; however, the scraped leg still hurts. And it's a mess. Ouchie.

Then we drove for a bit, and just as we were getting to the point where you have to turn around and go back we saw...

BISON. LOTS of them. With BABIES! *flails some more*

So I shot a bunch of pix of them. Bison are remarkably bad-tempered. They're herd animals, but they're all, like, "Dude, if it weren't for instinct I'd totally not hang out with you guys. Leave me alone. Don't stand so close, dammit!" It's kind of funny to watch. And then they've got birds on them.

And then on the way out I got some nice shots of Avocets, one group of which I'm fairly certain was a family.

IT WAS SO COOL.

Pictures? Of course I have pictures. They're here. Caution for the arachnophobic: LOTS o' spiders. BECAUSE THEY WERE COOL. I shall be posting some later for the link-o-phobic.