USA 2014 - Scott M Matheson Wetlands Preserve

The Scott M Matheson Wetlands Preserve was named after a former, late, Governor of Utah, by the Nature Conservancy, in honour of his commitment to conservation, and it is a lovely place to visit.

We arrived late afternoon in the full heat of the day but there's still tree cover, seating and a trail alongside the river:

The red rock provides a great backdrop for bird portraits too:

As evidenced by this House Finch:

and this Rock Wren:

Around the preserve we saw a number of Say's Phoebes, this one look to be a recent fledgling judging by the gape:

Spotted Towhee's sang, scurried and scuffled and then sang some more:

We tracked a Yellow-breasted Chat as it sang and moved, eventually both seeing it and capturing the profile in sympathetic light:

Hot, tired and hungry, we stopped at a veggie and vegan friendly wholefoods store to stock-up on snack foods (for missed breakfasts and lunches) and then enjoyed dinner at one of the veggie-friendly restaurants in Moab.