Lately, there’s been a void that’s settled deep within me and, to put it mildly, I’ve had just about enough of it so today, despite the increasing rain, menacing clouds, and declining temperatures, about the worst set of conditions for photography one could hope for, I finally decided to go and do something about it.
It’s been far too long since I visited and, more importantly, photographed the wonders of Antelope Island so this morning, after a short back-and-forth discussion with my inner self, I reached the conclusion that it was time to face my emotions and return to one of my favorite and most photographed stomping grounds.
Of all of the places in nature that I’ve visited with my camera, Antelope Island is, without question, in the top three places in nature I want to photograph and, well, just plain immerse myself in so today, even with the lousy weather on tap, that is exactly what I did.
Between the bison, the birds, the scenery, and, of course, the sunsets, I can’t think of any other place that has so much to photograph at one time and in one place than Antelope Island but as I just mentioned, however, there is indeed an emotional barrier that has been keeping me away from the island for a while now, a pretty strong barrier, in fact.
It has been a very, very long time since I’ve visited and photographed Antelope Island and the reason for that is simple, ever since the decline and eventual passing of my mother last year, I just haven’t been up to the task of opening the floodgates of sorrow and sadness about still missing her each and every day with memories of all the trips me and my mother enjoyed on the island together, literally 3-4 times per week for several years or more regardless of any prevailing rain, snow, or sunshine.
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Maybe I’m an old softie, possibly even a mama’s boy of sorts, I don’t know for sure but what I am certain of is I sure do miss my mother and it has been hard enough as it is to get through her passing without the thought of revisiting and reliving all the moments and places we saw bison or birds together without my mom there in the vehicle with me so, simply put, I literally just stayed away from the island to keep the sorrow and sadness to a manageable minimum, if there is such a thing.
But as the adage says, time heals all wounds if we let it and from personal experience, I can soundly say it is true but, unfortunately, healing certainly doesn’t happen overnight and it won’t happen without some effort, which is why I’ve been visiting the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route a lot this winter to not let myself stew over things even though the birdwatching has been a bit spotty at best the past few months.
(Bison Herd On Antelope Island. For short nature photography tips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature, both on and off of the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.)
So with that said, after a long time away from our favorite place to take a morning drive together, I decided the time has come to reintroduce my camera and Antelope Island to one another and get back to what my life’s calling seems to be, photographing and writing about nature.
It’s too bad decent weather didn’t accept my invitation to join in but, even so, time spent on Antelope Island is an opportunity to put anxiety and stress on hold for a bit and just enjoy a slice of nature so close to home.
And enjoy a slice of nature I most certainly did for several hours or more, in fact, as I slowly drove around the island and reacquainted myself with all it has to offer.
Being in nature for a spell has the unique ability to do just that, calm and soothe our souls from what deadlines, bills, traffic jams, sorrow, and just plain societal chaos can and oftentimes do to our most inner selves if we don’t get away for a moment or two and just relax and enjoy the natural part of the world we live in.
Interestingly enough, the very first bird sighting I encountered today, one of very few, unfortunately, was an old friend that immediately put a smile on my face, an American kestrel that I photographed on a prior trip with my mother a couple year back, coincidently almost to the day two years ago.
The reason I know it is the same kestrel is the green-colored leg band, placed there by Hawkwatch International for a study about kestrels, that prominently stood out the instant I put my camera on the bird.
It was such an incredible moment to see the same bird a couple years later in about the same location as before, the west side of the island by the restaurant and beach access.
As I drove around Antelope Island and headed to the visitors center, a large herd of bison was noticeable from quite a ways off and I readied my camera for the occasion, hoping for one of the big bison bulls to be close to the road for an impromptu photo session.
Needless to say, the bulls were not very cooperative today but something just as good happened that I had never seen before, a mass migration of bison traveled to the exposed Great Salt Lake bed for a while then came right back to continue grazing.
Now I have to say here with pretty much certainty the bison were most likely headed to and loafing on the lake bed for one reason and one reason only, to put a little salt in their diet.
I’ve seen bison on the salty lake bed numerous times in the past but I have never seen them travel on cue like this, back and forth as a herd in a form of unspoken synchronicity, and it was quite a thrill as I turned around from photographing a couple of bison left behind that decided not to take the journey to nearly being overrun with a hundred or more bison making their way back to their grasslands to continue grazing as before.
An interesting sight took place as the bison were making their way back to the grasslands where thousands of starlings flew in a couple of large flocks around the bison, continually landing right amongst the massive herbivores, as they slowly made their way up the incline and across the paved road.
I can only think there is some kind of connection or symbiotic relationship between the bison and starlings with how intently the birds followed the herd but, honestly, I’m not certain what that would be this time of year when bugs being stirred up by the bison for the birds to feed upon seems highly unlikely during the middle of winter.
As for my bird photography efforts today, the only opportunities I was given to photograph our feathered friends were a patient, even somber-looking horned lark sitting on a rock and a chukar partridge elsewhere doing the same.
As I sat and photographed the horned lark, off in the distance another horned lark could be heard singing his heart out but the one that sat quietly before me seemed to be content to just sit and pose for the camera for a few moments before I headed off and, unsuccessfully, searched for the singing horned lark just up the road a ways to try and record his enchanting musical presentation for a video.
All in all, even though no sunset materialized, not a single great horned owl was found, and I was actually chased off the island before the sun even started to drop by another, more intense, rain storm, the time spent on Antelope Island today searching for birds to photograph was nothing short of rejuvenating for both the mind and the soul, not to mention the good it did me to get the camera focused on some bison once again.
It’s great to be back on Antelope Island and now that I have another yearly park pass in my possession, I will be spending some dedicated photography days on the island throughout the year to show just how incredible this place really is.
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