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Birding I-80

As proverbial "car birder", the subject line is fitting, but aimed at 
another point in time. Long before it was I-80, it was the Pioneer 
Trail; the Mormon Trail; the California Trail; the Donner Trail. Yup, 
even the infamous Donner Party passed through this same location.

The Pioneer Trail skirts around south of Evanston, eventually joining 
I-80 and proceeds west to Echo Junction, to Henefer, SW to East Canyon 
Reservoir, then proceeds south following the stream that feeds East 
Canyon. This main south arm of East Canyon drains snowmelt from Deer 
Valley, Park City and the back side of the Wasatch from roughly Deer 
Valley northward. The stream is carefully hidden from view of cars 
passing by Kimball Junction and Jeremy Ranch, but look carefully and 
you'll see a valley just east of the Jeremy Ranch golf course. 
C'mon...fess up. How many of you knew Park City's snow ended up in East 
Canyon reservoir?

Mormon Flats is located along this East Canyon stream at a point roughly 
halfway between East Canyon Resort and the Jeremy Ranch Golf Course. A 
dirt road follows this stream contining northward from Jeremy Ranch 
joining SR65 just south of East Canyon Resort. Marked by a sign, a 
history marker and a small parking lot with outhouse, Mormon Flats is 
significant for several reasons: 1) it is a place where early settlers 
built a rock wall as a protective barrier from which to ambush Johnson's 
Army, feared to be coming to "restore order to the Salt Lake Valley" in 
March of 1858. The wall follows an upward path along the edge of the 
hill that forms the opening to the small canyon there; 2) it is the 
beginning of the 4.5 mile ascent up "Big Mountain", as it was called in 
those days; 3) it is the starting point of a wonderful hike from that 
point to the summit of Emmigration Canyon (Big Mountain Pass) and is a 
prime spot for birding.

I'll confess, I waited way too many years to make this hike. My first 
ascent was 3 weeks ago, and I was in a hurry. Birds sang gleefully 
throughout the ascent, which begins along a willowed stream environ at 
about 6,200' and ends in conifers at about 7,4200'. July 4th, my wife 
Carma and I made the 2nd ascent with binoculars and David Sibley. One 
huge mistake....I left the camera in the car. Gosh....Idiot!

This was not "just a hike" for me. I took a moment's pause to consider 
the 70,000 people who travelled this trail between 1850 and 1870. I 
imagined the creaky wagons, the he-yawwing at the mules, oxen and 
horses. I saw the rescue teams returning with victims of the 
Martin-Willey handcart companies who had run out of food and into snow 
in Wyoming in 1856. 120 or more of that company died in Wyoming. I saw 
my great-greats on both mother's and father's sides who had traveled 
this trail and great grandmother Rachel who was only 2 at the time.

Needless to say, there's more than birds to consider on this hike. But 
there are birds aplenty. More than I could identify (with such brief 
glimpses through foilage). Please pardon my inability at ID'ing. We only 
hiked halfway this second time....to the area of the beaver ponds.

On the way up, the air was filled with songs of Yellow Warblers and 
others I couldn't get a glimpse of. At the beginning of the conifers 
(about 1 mile up) we were treated to a drum fest and fly-by of 3 
Red-Naped Sapsuckers (lifer for me). Near the first large beaver pond, 
my eye caught a large bird swooping up to land on a log. Wow! Large, but 
immature Great-Horned Owl with fuzz on it's head. This was a large bird. 
And it just sat there and looked at us from 100' away. Later, it walked 
up and parked between 2 sagebrush in plain daylight, in full view. 
Sibley describes this behavior as fitting the Short-Eared Owl, and this 
owl had no ear tufts, but seemed too large for a Short-Eared. Looked 
more like the drawing of the immature GHO.

I played hide and seek with a MacGillivray's Warbler in some dense 
brush. American Kestrels circled overhead. American Robins were 
everywhere. The Lazuli Bunting was a first for me in Utah. We saw a 
Downey Woodpecker and many Norther Flickers. One singer remains 
unidentified. I talked to myself, calling out it's markings so as to 
create a memory file. Drab light to olive wings, lighter belly, gray 
breast, rufuous cap. After the fact, I can't find a bird in Sibley's 
that fits. Looked like one of the flycatchers...not a warbling 
vireo....should've had the camera! Dang. Saw a House Wren on the way up. 
And on the return trip, down near the stream in the dense willows, I 
found a particular singer I was trying to ID from before. Hermit Thrush 
(or something thrushlike with spotted breast, but smallish). It helps to 
finally have purchased the Peterson Bird Song CD.

The GHO, the Sapsuckers and the Lazuli Bunting were the high points of 
the trip. Carma loved it!

A gorgeous, easy hike through lush foilage, beaver dams, and 
quickly-changing vegetation zones, exit I-80 at Jeremy Ranch and drive 
right up through the golf course. Stay on that same road past where the 
pavement ends. It's a fine road for any car. 2-3 miles north past the 
pavement and you'll be at Mormon Flats. Follow the trail over the bridge 
and proceed west up the canyon topo maps call "Little Emmigration 
Canyon". Well worth it.
John
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