Five of them. At least.
1/80, f/8, ISO 840, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
Long-time aficionados of Antelope Island will remember the old abandoned semi-trailer that used to sit on the south side of the hay barn near the bison corrals. Barn Owls raised in the adjacent hay barn nest boxes would roost in the depths of the trailer where lots of junk was stored, including this jumbled mass of old painted and bird-whitewashed pipes that may have originally been a kid’s swing set or something similar.
Early in the morning of June 22, 2011 I found at least five of them perched on the pipes in the depths of the very dark trailer. I’ve always wondered if the faint patch of rusty-red we see above the head of the owl on the right was a sixth owl with just enough light on part of it to show up in some of my photos. It was so very dark back there I couldn’t really tell for sure. Or at least I can’t remember.
There was an old fragment of burlap? hanging down from the top of the trailer at upper right that was so bright white and distracting at this exposure I cloned it out. I don’t like to do that but in this case it seemed the lesser of two evils.
I’m having a very hard time adjusting to all the changes on Antelope Island in recent years. The drought and disappearing Great Salt Lake have created havoc with bird and wildlife populations and new construction projects have caused immense amounts of ecological damage. Human pressure on the island has increased dramatically, due in part to exploding visitation rates as a result of the pandemic, and the construction of a huge new campground certainly isn’t going to help in that regard. It’s only going to get much worse and very soon.
Because of increased visitation to the island the places visitors used to have access to are becoming much more tightly controlled and restricted. The very large group camping area at White Rock Bay is now gated off and available only to those reserving it (usually it sits empty except sometimes on weekends). Several parking areas surrounded by excellent bird and wildlife habitat are now closed during winter. The dirt road going south from Garr Ranch that became available only a few years ago now seems to be closed more often than it’s open, even when the road is dry.
I know, ‘progress’, but I don’t have to like it. If I wanted a Disneyland experience I’d go to Anaheim.
Ron
Note:
I certainly wouldn’t want my comments above to be construed as criticism of Antelope Island State Park management personnel. Nothing could be further from my intention. Jeremy Shaw and his staff and crew do an incredible job with a nearly impossible task, especially at a time of decreased funding and a stretched-thin staff. As a retired government employee in Utah I think I have more than just an inkling of the political and economic pressures they must be under from politicians and state government officials.
In priority-challenged Utah that can’t be easy.
That’s not a sixth owl. It is a UFOwl.
Could be…
😂
Yay for the “boots on the ground” staff and BOOOOOOOO to the government officials who have their heads up their arses.
Big yay for the owls and all that whitewash. A couple of the owls are looking at you like you interrupted a clandestine meeting and they’re afraid of you stealing classified secrets. I’m voting for a 6th owl!
BTW, if you ever want to come to the “Mouse House,” you’re welcome to stay with us. We’re not too far.
Marty, I think I may remember a sixth owl being there a time or two but ten years later I can’t be sure.
Progress so often isn’t.
And huge thanks for the owls to start my day on.
“Progress so often isn’t”
Well said, EC. Again.
Ron,
My hat is off to the staff as well. A couple of years ago I was out there for sunset photography (after golden hour bird photography) and found myself trying to turn around and come home. I mistook a patch of sand for more solid ground (at the time I actually thought it was a parking lot) and got stuck up to the running boards. Thanks to the Park Ranger that came along, I was pulled out after two other Good Samaritans had failed. It was dark and lonely and I had wondered if I was going to sleep in the Jeep that night. I had no cell service and couldn’t call for a rescue… AND the gate was already closed! So in my distress he came along. His chastisement was gentle but to the point: Don’t leave the road in a state park. We broke three tow tapes but finally he got me out with the last, and largest, one in his truck. “If this breaks I will go back to the house and get a chain.”
In the words of Yoda, “Foolish, I felt!” But I was very grateful to the Ranger. They have now put large rocks up in that area so no one else makes the same mistake. I was surprised how quickly I got stuck even with my 4-wheel drive. I was only a few feet off of the pavement!
I agree: Kudos to the staff. And yes, I mourn what you are talking about above. Sad.
Best,
Stephen
Stephen, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger. I’ve seen lots of folks get stuck in that sand. It’s a very special kind of sand called “oolitic sand” that’s oval-shaped (instead of angular like most sand) almost like nearly microscopic marbles so it only takes a few inches of that stuff to get anyone stuck, 4-wheel drive or not.
A couple of times I’ve even had trouble getting through it when a patch of it has been blown onto the paved road.
And by the way, since your rescuer said he might go “back to the house” to get a chain I suspect he might have been Jeremy Shaw, manager of the park who lives on the island. He’s a nice guy and a great asset to the island and all of us who love it.
I wondered if that might be the case (Jeremy Shaw). He did give me that educational moment about the sand there in the dark. He had a name for it but I don’t recall. And intuitive or something.
Such strange faces…but beautiful. The markings on the feathers, the small ‘dots’ are intriguing. The stretching wing on the first shows such a range of colors. Nature at her best. I would love to see one of these owls someday. thanks for sharing this photo today. I’m hoping with one of our state parks near here this year that the amount of people will be less. Last year there was so much damage and disruption that many of the people who frequented it routinely ending staying away because of that. I felt sorry for the park employees having to contend with it.
Kathy, one of the things I enjoy seeing with that sibling on the left is all the fledgling down still left on its upper back.
Antelope Island is just a stone’s throw from the Wasatch Front, the most populated area of Utah. So hordes of people cooped up because of the pandemic have been flocking to it as a convenient, if temporary, escape.
I could not figure out what those Owls were doing on some tropical vine or bamboo. Pipe did not come to mind. To paraphrase another author, they appear to be Strangers in a Strange Land.
Let’s see, what was I doing ten years ago….yep, coffee and the newspaper.
You’re right, Lyle – those pipes do look a little like some species of bamboo.
BEAUTIFUL photo of the weird and wonderful Barn Owls.😍 As you know, we don’t have them here.
UT and many other places place their priorities on “growth” rather than preservation – don’t envy the folks that have to try and work with that situation..😒
Neat photo Ron. They look like ghosts from an Edgar Allan Poe story. I’m with you on leaving things the way they were. As Joni Mitchell sang, “Don’t it always seem to go, That you don’t know what you’ve got, till it’s gone, they paved paradise, and put in a parking lot.”
Thanks, Everett. As usual Joni was right.
Joni’s song is a perfect fit.