October 14-24, 2019 - Oh Canada!!

Monday, October 14th starts a 10-day excursion to the Heartland of our Neighbour to the North.  For the past several years, I have gone duck and goose hunting with some fisheries types in Saskatchewan.  My plan is to drive across Washington State and cross into Canada on Highway 95, then east across the Rockies to the Prairies.

I didn’t get out of Olympia until 1 p.m., totally blowing past my hoped-for 10 a.m. departure.  It was a beautiful autumn day as I drove over Snoqualmie Pass and into central Washington.

I made a short stop at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Center at Vantage.  This site overlooks the pool of the Columbia River, Wanapum Lake, the reservoir formed by building the Wanapum Dam in 1963.

I walked around the visitors' center and scoped the reservoir, then walked through the picnic area. Sunny, light east breeze at 3-5 knots, 60° F.  Of course, I carried my binoculars and was surprised by a pair of yellow eyes staring at me from one of the large elm trees.

When a snoozing owl is disturbed during the day, it will often do its best to pretend it is part of the tree it’s roosting in.  This is called the erect posture.  Owls exhibiting this posture stretch themselves as tall as they can with their ear tufts standing straight up.

I made it as far as the Bronco Inn in Ritzville, so stopped to get a room for the evening, and headed out again in the morning east on the Interstate into Idaho and north on Highway 95 at Coeur d’Alene.  As I crossed into Canada at the Kingsgate border station, there was a flock of Wild Turkeys feeding around the buildings.  I presume that these turkeys don’t need their passports to go back and forth between the countries.  As it was, the Canadians didn’t even want to look at my shotguns!  Likely, the lack of their inspection was that I had all of my paperwork in order, as well as my $25 Canadian ‘import’ fee in cash.

I caught Highway 3 at Cranbrook, and drove east as far as Fort Macleod, where I took a room for the night at the Sunset Motel.  The less-expensive Canadian motels here are ‘way higher quality than similar places south of 49° North.  In a lot of ways, the Canadians just do things a lot better than we do . . .

Arriving on the Canadian prairies from the Rockies is always amazing to me.  The land stretches to the horizon, and one’s impression of one’s station in the Universe changes from that of when one is hemmed by mountains and forests.

Not that we have no impact on that land.  The farmers are busy now, harvesting the bounty of what I presume is mostly the hard red spring wheat, which accounts for about 60% of the Provincial crop.

But, I’ve never really asked one of the local farmers to show me the differences among the many varieties.

I love the name of this town . . . proudly displayed on the grain elevator

On Monday, I continued east, ending up at Kindersley, Saskatchewan, where I met up with Owen Bird and Elmer Fast.

A former supervisor of mine at WDFW, Dick Geist, hunted with them until his health precluded him from doing so.  Dick invited me to join the group then, but this year, it was just the three of us.  We ate pretty well, and slept well in Kindersley, and hunted on Thursday and Friday the 17th and 18th.

We look for these tree rows among the grain fields, and ask permission of the landowner to hunt upland birds.  Caragana arborescens, is a smallish tree that was commonly planted as a windbreak between wheat and pea fields in the Province.

These windrows provide good cover, adjacent to the spilled grain from harvests, and are places where we hunted “Huns” (Gray partridge) and Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Elmer is a pretty darned good wing shot

The Grey Partridge were “Year Birds” for me, as I hadn’t seen them on my Okanogan winter trip last January.  For my Peregrination Year, it was good to see them.  As far as hunting them, it was pretty obvious that unless my wing-shooting skills improve, the species is not in any danger of depletion.

Owen, on the other hand, is a crack shot!

After two days of ‘partridge’ hunting out of Kindersley, we drove on to the Lucky Lake Hunting Adventures.  This is run by Garett Tully, assisted by his guides and excellent cooks.

Kitchen and Dining Room at Lucky Lake Hunting Adventures

Besides the deer and duck hunting 'trophies' on the wall, Garett has several mounts of hawks and owls that he has found road-killed.  These are, of course, under permit, and well done additions to the decor.

Garett hunts coyotes in the winter, and uses road kill and animal carcasses to attract the song-dogs to his 'line'.

You never know what you'll see at a farmstead on the prairie . . .

The cook insists that the menu item here was "tongue-in-cheek", but it was pretty good stew . . .

The set-up here is that the guides work in pairs; one scouts for the next day’s hunt and arranges permission from the landowner, while the other guides a hunt.  Then, they switch off.

A glorious sunrise over the prairie; what better way to start a day?

We clients get one morning hunt, are driven back to the base for a filling lunch, then go out in the afternoon for the evening hunt.

Nearby Luck Lake has been a really good holding area for waterfowl, especially in dry years when the Ducks Unlimited project retains water.  This year, we had news that DU would no longer maintain the marsh:

“After years of speculation and rumour, Ducks Unlimited has made a decision about the future of the Luck Lake marsh. As a landowner on the edge of the lake, we received a letter informing us of their decision to "decommission the engineered works and naturalize the basin." They go on to say that "By discontinuing the importation of water...there will be periods when water levels on Luck Lake are very low or even dry as they were historically before the project was constructed."

Tourism Saskatchewan photo of the Luck Lake Marsh

Their reason for the decision is the estimated cost of more than 2.5 million dollars to rebuild the existing infrastructure and the annual cost of $100,000 for water importation.  This is not a surprise, but a big disappointment to those who appreciate the hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that are able to use Luck Lake as either a feeding and rest stop or a breeding area.

We set up our decoy spread in harvested wheat or pea fields

It was a really fun hunt, and it is always great to spend time with good friends.  The memory of a sky full of waterfowl as the sun rises is among my earliest recollections, as my father took me to the duck blind at an early age.  It was certainly a big part of starting my life as a biologist and a birder.

I tell my non-hunting friends that it's not about killing game (although I do love roast goose, and duck summer sausage), although I do take pride in knowing where my food comes from.  If I can "make meat", prepare it well, and respect the life I've taken, I am at peace with myself.

I just had to have a 'blood-and-feathers' photo (This was the bag for the three of us that morning)

We hunted with the outfitter for three days.  If the Coronavirus restrictions are lifted in time for October 2020, I will cross the border again, and enjoy my time with good people in a great place.

I also just had to have a shot of me in my Utilikilt . . .

I got to sleep in a bit on Tuesday the 22nd, and packed for my return.  On the way home, I stopped at the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park for a bit of birding.

The location is a former Métis river crossing and part of the historic Swift Current-Battleford Trail.  I enjoy stopping there to hike the "Prairie Vista", "Ridges and Ravines", and "Rings, Ruts & Remnants" interpretive hiking trails.

Prickly pear cactus in the Blue Grama grass

For birds, the Harris' Sparrows are common, and the Song Sparrows have a much different, lighter-brown, plumage than the ones I'm used to back on the West Coast.

Harris' Sparrow Zonotrichia querula

Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia melodia

American Tree Sparrow.  Shouldn't this one be a Canadian Tree Sparrow?

I was able to see several moose in the ravines.

Viewed them at a distance, thank Goodness . . .

It slows me down on my return drive to stop and wander through the area, but I love to walk the open prairies, especially this time of year when there are few other 'tourists' and the sound of the wind helps cleanse the Spirit.

I came back through Alberta, stopping at Lundbreck Falls, which was just off the highway.

I was surprised by what seemed to me to be an out-of-place American Three-Toed Woodpecker fly by.  I expect to see this species in the heavier conifer forest, rather than in the riparian area along a stream, but there was spruce forest not far away.

I couldn't get a photo of it, but enjoyed walking through the campground, and along the Crowsnest River.

Someone had a fun time stacking rocks on the riverbank

The most entertaining bird find today was the Dipper foraging below the falls.  They apparently nest here every year.

There's a warning sign in the campground that it is frequented by bear and cougar, although there's naught to worry about in the middle of the day.

This stretch of the Crowsnest River is apparently a spawning ground for rainbow and brown trout.  Neither species is native to these waters, but both are prized game fish.

On a neighbouring property, I was delighted to find a late 1940s-era International KB-2 pickup rusting away.  I learned to drive on an old "Cornbinder".

I left Canada at the Laurier-Cascade border crossing and made it as far south as Ritzville, Washington that night, then had an easy drive the next day, sightseeing my way south and then over White Pass and home.

Home:  The Land of the White Volcanoes!

October 9, 2019 - Wednesday Bird Walk at Nisqually

I went out to Nisqually Refuge for the weekly bird walk, attended by about 30 other folks.  The estuary boardwalk is closed through the end of the month, and when it re-opens it will be closed 400 yards short of the end for the waterfowl hunting closure.  The Refuge built its boardwalk right to the property line between the NWR and the State of Washington’s public hunting area, so the closure is to provide a safety zone for the Refuge visitors during the seasonal hunt.

Refuge Volunteer Ken Brown lines a scope on the estuary restoration area.

The weekly Wednesday Bird Walk, led by Refuge volunteers, meets at 8 a.m. at the Refuge Visitors’ Center.  Today thirty-five of us enjoyed a cool but sunny day at the Refuge.  Temperatures were in the 40's to 50's degrees Fahrenheit with breezy conditions.  Highlights included first of year Barred Owl, Evening Grosbeaks, and Marbled Godwit.  We were not able to relocate the Northern Pygmy-Owl or Rusty Blackbird which were seen over the weekend, but did have nice looks of Black-throated Gray Warblers, a quick peek at the Red-shouldered Hawk, and first-of-the-season Dunlin.  A late Pacific-slope Flycatcher was a treat.  There was a Low 1.75-foot Tide at 9:32 a.m., so we finished the morning walk by 2 p.m., took a short break and several of us went out for a second walk from 2-to-4 p.m. to catch the incoming 13.04-foot high water at 4:39 p.m.

Starting out at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook at 8 a.m., we had sightings of Wood Ducks and a Wilson’s Snipe.  Ken Brown called in on an early morning scout to report the Barred Owl on the inside of the east side Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of the twin bench overlook.  We rushed out, but by the time the group arrived, the bird had flown.  We did relocate the Owl just south of the twin benches for many of our group to see.  This species is unusual for us to see on the Refuge, and we presume the resident Great Horned Owls make life a bit chancy here.  We did check the northeast section of the loop trail but did not relocate the Northern Pygmy Owl seen over the weekend.  We also were unable to find the Rusty Blackbird reported around the west side of the Visitor Center.  A Virginia Rail was seen in the sedges across from the Riparian Forest cut-off.

Barred Owl

The Orchard was hopping with flocks of American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins.  We also had nice looks at Black-throated Gray Warbler there, along with several Yellow-rumped Warblers of both the Audubon's and Myrtle variety.  We got to see four species of woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, and Red-shafted Flicker.  Golden-crowned Sparrows, Anna’s Hummingbird, Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, both Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Oregon Juncos, and Fox Sparrows made for a busy sojourn.  We were even saw a Varied Thrush, which aren’t all that common on the flat-lands of the Refuge.

Along the maintenance Access Road, the southern field was flooded and hosted hundreds of B.h. minima Cackling Geese, with attendant American Wigeon, Northern Pintails, and Green-winged Teal.  A Red-tailed Hawk hunted the fields, and we were surprised by a late Osprey carrying a starry flounder overhead.

Whittier's hearing is better than mine . . .

Whittier and others heard Evening Grosbeaks fly over (which I missed); we have seen them in this stand of woods during this season in previous years.  Heading north between the parking lot and mowed fields to the west we had a Merlin fly over the group, carrying prey and being mobbed by American Pipits!   From the old McAllister Creek Access Road green gate, we had a brief sighting of the Red-shouldered Hawk, perched in a willow along a line of bramble just north of the gravel road.  Almost as soon as it was sighted, it flew south along the bramble line to trees along the McAllister Creek Access Road, providing views of its distinctive barred tail and white crescents at base of primary flight feathers.

If the Beavers were doing their jobs better, we'd have had better views of the Hawk!

The west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail was good for Cedar Waxwings, another Wilson’s Snipe, and Pied-billed Grebe.  The twin bench overlook south of the Twin Barns cut-off had a remaining Cinnamon Teal mixed in with Mallards, Green-winged Teal, and Wigeon.  We heard and saw one of the reclusive Pacific Wrens along here as well.  And, the "tree frogs" are out.

Pacific Chorus Frog with a friend

The Twin Barns Overlook was quiet and cool in the shade, so we quickly headed out to the dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail to warm up in the sun.  The Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail is still closed for bridge work, and are hoping the work will be done soon so the boardwalk can reopen in November.  On the mudflats of the surge plain we observed Black-bellied Plover and Ring-billed Gulls.  A male American Kestrel has been regularly seen hunting from the artificial snags in the restored estuary area.  We had good sightings of a Peregrine Falcon hunting the Green-winged Teal, another Red-tailed Hawk and Bald Eagles.  A Coyote was also hunting adjacent to the fresh water marsh, not far from where we had seen Columbian Black-tailed Deer earlier.  Several Western Meadowlarks were flying around the freshly-moved fields.  We also picked up Glaucous-winged and California Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, and a single Savannah Sparrow.  No swallows to be seen.

Scratch where it itches . . .

The Nisqually River Overlook gave us our day’s Belted Kingfisher and a view of a River Otter.   This being Autumn in western Washington, the trails and roads are crawling with Woolly Bears!  These fuzzy caterpillars are the larvae of the Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella.  There are lots of myths about being able to tell the severity of the upcoming winter by the width of the bands on these little critters, but no one's ever been able to establish a correlation.

Banded Woolly Bear

Several were all black.  These woolly worms are not the portent of a Winter Apocalypse, but rather are the larvae of another species of Tiger Moth, which I think is the Ornate Tiger Moth, Apantesis (Grammia) ornata.

Black Woolly Bears Matter

On our return the east side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail was good for Chickadee, Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and the seasonally late “Pac-slope” Flycatcher - this Empidonax species has a small prominent eye-ring, two wing bars, a moderate primary projection, and spatulated bill with yellow mandible and yellow belly.  I got photos of the flycatcher foraging in the top of a Red Alder next to the slough with the beaver deceiver.

We finished up the walk around 2 p.m., started a new eBird list, and made our way back out to the dike to catch the incoming tide.  We were rewarded with nice looks of five Marbled Godwits, and good looks of first-of-the-fall-season Dunlin, Black-bellied Plovers, Dowitchers, Western Sandpipers and Greater Yellowlegs.  It's certainly nice to see the large shorebirds using the Refuge as a rest stop on their migration.

There's that Snipe, again . . .

We saw approximately 70 species for the day, raising the count to 164 species for the year on the Wednesday Walk.  Barred Owl, Evening Grosbeak and Marbled Godwit were new for the year.  Mammals seen were Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Coyote and River Otter.  The American Beaver have been very busy around the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail.

Nisqually NWR a.m. eBird Checklist is Here

Nisqually NWR p.m. eBird Checklist is Here

Go Beavs!!