Yesterday morning a light snow had covered most of Antelope Island while the normally lovely blue of the Great Salt Lake was instead a grayish brown because gale force winds were churning it up and there were white caps as far I could see. The lake is very shallow so it doesn’t take much wave action to stir up the sand, mud and particulates.

Choppy waters in the Great Salt LakeChoppy waters in the Great Salt Lake – Nikon D200, handheld, f16, 1/1500, ISO 400, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 48mm, natural light

This image taken from the Egg Island Overlook shows the choppy waters on the Great Salt Lake caused by the strong winds. Most of the birds on the island seemed to have hunkered down to escape the wind and even the ever-present Horned Larks couldn’t be found perching on rocks and sightings of meadowlarks singing on the tops of Sagebrush were few and far between.

California Gull in flightCalifornia Gull in flight – Nikkor D300, f8, 1/3200, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light

There were large flocks of California Gulls (Larus californicus) along the shoreline bobbing in the waves. This California Gull in flight was being buffeted by the wind, I had trouble keeping my lens steady because of it too. I was almost glad to head home to get the sound of the howling wind out of my ears… almost. I don’t ever seem to get my fill of the island though.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my California Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.