[Birdnet] Red Butte Gardens

[Carol Gwynn]

Today was the perfect day for the annual pilgrimage to Red Butte 
Gardens, just south of the University of Utah campus. This is still one 
of the best places in the valley to see Lazuli Buntings, and they did 
not disappoint. Many were singing their little hearts out from the 
scrub oak above (east of) the main garden area. Also seen were numerous 
Bullock's Orioles, Scrub Jays, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Cooper's Hawk, 
Yellow Warblers, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Spotted Towhees, California 
Quail, Song Sparrows, Barn Swallows, omnipresent Magpies, Mallards, and 
Broad-tailed Hummers.

As I was walking down the main path from the patio area towards the 
stream, a couple of walkers behind me were discussing the"snake 
habitat" sign they had just passed. A man said, "Well, speak of the 
devil. There's one right over there." Sure enough there was a nice big 
rattlesnake right next to the retaining wall on the right side of the 
path. So I got to observe a Great Basin rattler from just a few feet 
away. It soon moved on into the brush next to the trail. I had heard 
that there were lots of rattlers in the Red Butte area, but in all of 
my trips up there I had never seen one until today. So it pays to look 
at your feet every now and then while birding this area.

There is a $6.00 charge to enter Red Butte Gardens, but the birding is 
quite good in late May to early June. They also have some free 
admission days periodically. The same birds can also be observed from 
above the Bonneville Shoreline trail adjacent to the gardens. The trail 
system in the garden area simply makes access much easier, and you 
don't have to worry about the kamakaze bikers that use the shoreline 
trail. As an added bonus, there were lots of flowers to look at.

Carol Gwynn