today i walked 5 miles through the sweltering playa of the great salt lake to look at shorebirds. recently exposed microbialites (the lumpy sedimentary structures dotting the horizon) have attracted brine flies, which birds have been gathering to feast on. tens of thousands of phalaropes, sandpipers, and gulls. it was stunning to witness. my heels are blistering from chafing in my mud boots and every muscle in my body is aching, but i saw some neat birds.
wilson's phalaropes spin as they feed. they do this to create whirlpools that pull small invertibrates to the surface.
