Leading out to Antelope Island is a road often spotted with birds native to Utah.

On occasion though, non-native birds are spotted along the causeway, like Surf Scoters and Long-tailed ducks, who have gotten a little side-tracked in their migratory patterns and mistake the Great Salt Lake for the ocean.

These birds are then included in the Wasatch Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count done each New Year's Day.

"These birds don't come inland very often, but they are remarkable migratory animals going thousands of miles with no map and no GPS like us modern people have," said Keith Evans, the state editor of all of Utah's Christmas bird counts.

Even if the birds get blown off course a little bit, landing themselves just off Antelope Island, they can still make it to their winter range area every year.

Just a few weeks ago when John Bellmon, who currently oversees the Antelope Christmas Bird Count, participated in the Ogden Christmas Bird Count, they saw more than 300 Sandhill Cranes, something they hadn't seen at all in their recent bird counts, said Bellman.

Bellmon suspects the cranes have since left and flown to New Mexico or Arizona where they usually winter, but it was definitely a sight to see. With northern Utah's recent cold temperatures, the bird count has been down.

"The normal species that we usually see just weren't here," said Bellmon.

The bird count on Antelope Island is interesting for local birders because the island is a magnet for migratory birds and other birds that normally winter here because they are not hunted or harassed on the island.

"Many unusual and rare birds are attracted to the island, different birds than we see from our other areas, which is one of the reasons why we wanted to establish a count here," Bellmon said.

The Christmas Bird Count on Antelope Island began four years ago.

About 30 volunteers gather New Year's Day, divide up into teams and count all species of birds and number each one within a 15-mile diameter circle. The count is then compiled onto the computer and sent on to be recorded in the national database.

Christmas bird counts have happened across the nation for more than a century, thus creating the longest wildlife census in the worldaccording to Bellmon.

Having a long term count of at least 10 years or more is important to birders, so the Wasatch Audubon Society is anxious to continue the Antelope Island count so they can note long-term trends and determine what is normal for the island.

Another important aspect of the bird count is to check on some of the rare bird species that are close to being listed as endangered.

"Here on the island, we have several species of nesting birds that are of particular concern in Utah, so the bird counts help us monitor these specialized birds and give that information to researchers," said Crystal Carpenter, a park naturalist for the island.

During past bird counts on Antelope Island, Bellmon's group has seen some unusual birds they didn't really expect to find. ?"There have been a few years we've had Northern Goshawks, which is more of a forest bird rather than an island bird," Bellmon said. "One year we saw five different species of owls: Great Horned, Long-eared, Short-eared, Burrowing, and Barn Owls."

Anyone is welcome to participate in the Christmas Bird Count next year. Contact the Wasatch Audubon Society at www.wasatchaudubon.org.