Owl Springs photo by Kenny Frisch

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Description:
Rabbit and Owl Springs are 2 springs about a mile apart in the middle of the desert on the northwest edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats.  The springs are several miles north of Lucin and should be birded while at Lucin given the proximity.  Despite little to no water at either site, there is plenty of understory and some decent sized small trees.  These tiny migrant traps can be very productive during the spring and fall and the small areas make them easy to cover thoroughly.

Birding:
The basic idea here is to walk around and through the springs and just see what you can find.   There isn't a ton of habitat so it doesn't take long to check out both sites.  Warblers, sparrows, flycatchers, vireos, and other migrants show up here when they over shoot Lucin in the spring or come up short to Lucin in the fall.  They may also move between these locations during the day, but given the remoteness these tiny springs are islands in the desert. 4 species of empids and 9 species of warbler including AMERICAN REDSTART have been observed here.  Great Horned, LONG-EARED, and SHORT-EARED OWLS have all been recorded as well.

Directions:
From East Wendover, Utah, take I-80 east to exit 4, and get off the freeway. Turn left and head north till the road forks--take the left fork called Leppy Pass Road. After a short drive you will come through Leppy Pass and come to a fork in the road again at a small building, take the left fork and stay left as it forks again right after the building.  You are now on Pilot Mountian Road which eventually turns into Grouse Creek Road. The road swings out to the west into Nevada before looping back into Utah for about 42 miles before reaching Lucin on your right. From Lucin continue to follow the road as it crosses the railroad tracks and heads northeast for .8 miles.  You'll pass a road that shoots off to the right, followed by another road on the right, before Grouse Creek heads due north.  Take that second right and follow it 3.9 miles to Rabbit Springs.  From Rabbit Springs take the road that forks to the left and follow it about a mile to Owl Springs.
You can also take Route 30 from Brigham City to the east, or take I-80 west from Wendover to Route 233 east bound.  These routes both are paved up till the turn off at Grouse Creek Road. Take Grouse Creek Road south 1.1 miles and turn left.  Follow this road 1.4 miles then take a light right for .3 miles to arrive at Rabbit Springs.