I don't think I ever blogged about a big deal birding trip for our family in 2017.
Every once in a while we get to see something rare in Utah. Sometimes they are Eastern birds that have made their way this far West (blue jay in 2018, Eastern bluebird in 2017). Sometimes they are birds we don't see in the Continental United States. Jeremy saw a blue footed booby in 2018.
Sometimes a bird is blown off course in a storm or something and ends up out of its range and in Utah. Sometimes it is a big deal and birders come from all over the state to see it (like the above mentioned blue footed booby). One such bird was one we saw in February of 2017.
Great Gray Owl.
This was the first time many birders had ever seen one in Utah.
Jeremy went up to the place it had been spotted a few days before we went as a family and was able to see it.
So one morning we headed up where it was supposed to be... and couldn't find it. Sigh. We searched for a while and finally decided since we were already North we'd head over to Antelope Island and had a good time there. 
After that trip we said we'd try one more time for the owl. We found other birders who were able to point us in the right direction and we were able to go in someone's backyard to see it. Some people are so nice to let birders come on their property to see birds. Lots and lots of birders.
We made the comment that it was the first time any of us had seen a Great Gray Owl in the wild including Lucky who was just little. A lady nearby commented that it was her first time seeing one and she was in her eighties. So it was definitely a rare bird. One of the Utah County Birders who has been birding forever and has seen more than any of the rest of us said this was his first Great Gray Owl in Utah.
Target bird: acquired.
It was an unforgettable experience. And now I've finally blogged about it.
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