A Birding Pictorial Showing When Life Tosses You A Curveball, Don’t Mope But Go Birdwatching Instead.

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black crowned night heron standing in some cattails on the bear river migratory bird refuge

If there’s anybody that has a valid reason to be a “gloomy Gus” lately I’d argue that both the recent passing of my mother and now my 15-year-old dog seemingly days away from leaving my side entitles me the right to toss my hat into the proverbial ring of despair, at least for a moment or two I would claim.

Yes, it’s been one of those weeks but I choose not to go that route.

I will admit after a huge life-altering event like the passing of a parent and now my beloved dog knocking on the same door it can be quite hard to keep a positive outlook about life.

And trust me here, I had to fight tooth and nail the past couple of days with this one because even at this very moment I am still finding myself thinking I need to go help my brother take care of my mom, something we both did for many years, in fact, and that urge simply just won’t go away.

But fighting off this kind of doom and gloom can be done if we channel all our effort into one thing we truly enjoy, something that can help take our mind off the sadness and gives our inner-self time to rest while our mind concentrates on something positive for a while.

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For me, that is both birdwatching and bird photography, plain and simple.

So with that mindset in place, instead of enacting my original plan of moping around the house all day today in my underwear I got up this morning before the rooster crowed, grabbed my camera gear, and headed to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route for a few hours of what I would describe as a little birdwatching and photography therapy.

Now I don’t know if it was just me being in such a lowly state over my mom’s and dog’s demises that I was receptive to anything positive, or all the stars and planets were in some kind of perfect alignment, or maybe the 4-leafed clover I found back in grade school finally kicked in, but I’m here to tell you that this morning on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was nothing short of magical.

The first section started out a bit slow, however, but after I hit the northwest corner of the auto loop, the birds were as plentiful and active as I have seen them in several years.

Originally, I was planning on leaving my camera at home so I could just find a quiet corner somewhere on the auto loop and sit for a spell or two.

But luckily on my way out the front door, the photographer in me decided a little occupational therapy couldn’t hurt so I brought the camera along just in case.

(White-faced Ibis Feeding In The Shallows. For short nature clips 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.)

If it ended up being a really good day for birdwatching and photography, and it was by the way, then I wouldn’t have any salt to pour into my wounds, per se, but rather have another birding blog post to share with you all as a result.

So let me now share with you for the remainder of this blog post a photo essay of what kind of day it was this morning on the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route.

It was a day of birding that helped me forget about my woes and recharge my inner self, something that birdwatching and bird photography do for me every single time if I slow down and give them a chance to work.

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All of the images in the gallery below for this particular blog post were taken this morning after I arrived shortly after sunrise which, by the way, is the best time to visit the auto loop for both birding and bird photography in my opinion.

In closing and before I defer you to the bird gallery below, I appreciate every single email and encouraging word sent from all who took the time to respond about my mom’s passing, I am truly grateful for each and every one of you.

Thank you, both one and all, who read and follow my writings and photography here on my website.

If you are a lover of nature and birds like I am, I offer anyone who hasn’t yet visited our subscribe page and signed up for email notifications to do so if you’re so inclined to keep up with our nature and photography excursions.

We also just started a small but growing Bear River Blogger Facebook page for those that like to spend time and keep up with what’s going on in the world through social media.

white faced ibis feeding on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(The first birds I found on the bird refuge auto loop today were a flock of white-faced ibis.)
virginia rail feeding in the shallow water on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(Even the quite elusive and very shy Virginia rail gave me an opportunity to take a few photographs when 4 rails showed themselves for a bit on the southeast corner of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto loop.)
Canada geese on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(After last month’s Canada goose banding project on the bird refuge, I wondered just how many of all the geese I found today on the auto loop were leg banded and part of that study.)
great blue heron standing on reeds on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(I only saw a small handful of great blue herons on the bird refuge auto loop today but I was able to photograph this one in some tall reeds on the most easterly section of the loop as I headed back to the main parking lot.)
go birdwatching shirt
(If you love birdwatching and the American white pelican, visit Bird Shirts and More for this unique and stylish design featuring a white pelican in flight.)
american coots standing on a stump on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(A family of American coots gave me quite an interesting scene when I hit the last leg of the auto tour route today.)
a family of terns on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(A group of what I think are Forster’s tern chicks gave me a few moments of camera time before they flew off.)
American avocet walking in the shallow water on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(I didn’t see very many American avocets on the auto tour today but I did see a few individual birds here and there along the loop. Typically, to see a lot of avocets this time of year the Great Salt Lake causeway is a good bet as American avocets and other shorebirds start to congregate on the Great Salt Lake before they migrate south for the winter.)
american white pelicans and gulls on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(A few American white pelicans and some other birds gave me a nice scene on the southernmost section of the auto tour route.)
ducks flying over the wetlands of the bear river migratory bird refuge
(One of the most common types of birds seen on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge today was large flocks of ducks flying low over the wetlands.)
large flock of swallows on phragmite on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(One sure sign that fall is on its way is the large flocks of swallows grouping up on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route. Soon these aerobatic little birds will be gone until next spring.)
great blue heron getting dive-bombed by a tern on the bear river migratory bird refuge
(Probably the most interesting birdwatching scene for me today was this great blue heron getting dive-bombed by a tern on the south end of the auto tour route.)

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