April 29 - Antelope Island

 Mostly cloudy morning in the 40s. High is only supposed to be in the 50s today.

Heading up to Antelope Island for hopefully one last hike but I fear the biting gnats have probably hatched this week. We'll see!

Very windy this morning; strong northerly. If the gnats are out, they shouldn't be an issue assuming I want to chance that the wind will die down.

I reach gate and yes, there's a sign on the station that those biting pests are now out - shoot!

I reach the island and head south towards the Ranch.

No animals behind the Visitor's Center, no Burrowing Owl out and no other critters to be seen until I reach the Frary Peak area. And there, the Mom/baby herds are back!

There's a large herd on the east side of the road on the grass. Majority of the bison are laying down - I think they are all asleep. 


But there are a few moving a bout.

The babies are barely visible above the tops of the grasses. 

I've never seen them that way before so close to the road.

Not 200 yards farther south on the west side road is another large Mom/baby herd and again, they too are all laying down. Pretty cool!

I continue down to the Ranch and there's no bison around Mushroom Springs (yea)! But the question is whether I want to take that chance with the gnats. I look at the weather and it's says that winds should only be 6-8mph - NOT! So no, I'm not taking the chance.

Instead, I go look for the Great Horned Owls - no luck there.

Time to head north.

When I reach the southern most herd, they are all standing and running northeast, crossing the road and grass on the other side. Funny to see all those animals on the move including the ones 300 yards away near the mountains. They're all heading to the other side. Why? Only they know. But there's lots of snorting/grunting noises.

Once on the other side, many of the babies are nursing.

When the road clears, I drive forward to the other herd. They too are all up and moving west, crossing the road and heading towards the mountains. (Totally different movement from the other herd.) 

Babies are nursing as well.

Fun stuff.

I continue on passing 5 bison up on the hill behind the Frary Peak Pit Toilet.

Farther north, still no Burrowing Owls out in the open.

Once on the north side, I head over to the west side to check on the Burrowing Owls behind the Visitor's Center. There's a small herd of bison once I cross over and no Burrowing Owls.

No hiking today but the Mom & babies made for an incredibly fun morning.

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