Okanagan Vacation 6 - Mount Kobau
June 22nd, 2011
Columbian Ground Squirrels
We did a lot of driving in the mountains this trip. Mount Kobau was the first serious expedition. Our original plan was to go to the top. Some unusual birds nest at the very peaks of tall mountains in the Canadian Rockies--birds adapted to live and forage in treeless alpine tundra, such as the Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch. But when we got as high up as we could drive, we found that the 1km hiking trail to the top was unnavigable without winter boots--possibly even snowshoes! So there our trip ended.
Sagebrush, sub-alpine conifers and patches of snow near the peak of Mount Kobau. Photo by Michael Britton, wallpaper available.
It was a peak moment for me. Literally (well, almost) and figuratively. Tall, majestic, primeval-looking conifers dominated the landscape. The air was cool. A little rivulet of a stream trickled along, and Oregon Juncos watched us from the rocks. I felt still and peaceful and like I'd come to one of the most untouched places on earth. From above, from the very treetops, trickled the haunting song of the Hermit Thrush.
Photo by Michael Britton
Yes, sagebrush and snow. In the same landscape. In June. Who knew?
I tried to photograph the juncos, but they did not wish to be photographed. The stars of the day ended up being a colony of Columbian Ground Squirrels we ran into on our way up the mountain. They seemed to have a home in a big blackened brushpile, likely remnants of the forest fire that swept through the Okanagan in 2003. They retreated to the brushpile when we approached--but couldn't resist poking their heads back out to see what we were up to.
Eventually they decided that we were mostly harmless.
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Okanagan Vacation 5 - Kruger Mountain
June 19th, 2011
Other points of interest on the trip up Kruger Mountain:
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This American Coot was sharing the mountain pond with the two pairs of Ruddy Ducks--apparently peaceably. Coots are part of the rail family and are not ducks, despite appearances. They show up in Ottawa in migration, but are uncommon enough here that it was a treat to get to photograph one at close range.
Mountain Bluebird
I photographed this old snag because I liked the orange and yellow lichen growing on it. I didn't noticed the bird's nest until now!
Okanagan Vacation 4 - Okanagan River bike path
June 18th, 2011
The Evening Grosbeak is a stunning burnt-yellow finch the size of a robin. It's hard to find in our area unless you know where to look--namely residential areas adjacent to Larose Forest, in fall and winter. If you don't typically get out that far, you can easily bird Ottawa for years and never see a one. I hadn't.
Well, I've found the motherload of Evening Grosbeaks. It is the West. In the south Okanagan in June it would take a concerted effort not to see an Evening Grosbeak! As I hiked a bike path along the river, whole flocks of them periodically filled the trees.
Trivia point: the greenish hue of the beak in the above photo is not an artifact--it's real. Evening Grosbeaks typically nest in spruces. The spring-green color of their conical bills evolved (so scientists think) to match the appearance of young green spruce cones, camouflaging them when they poke their heads up out of the nest. In winter the green is no longer useful and the bill changes to the color of bone.
Gray Catbirds serenaded me from the riverbanks.
Ring-Necked Pheasants were common, though much more often heard than seen. This species was introduced from Eurasia in the 1800's and has since naturalized over many parts of North America. (Ottawa itself once had a small population. But our harsh winters wiped them out.) I spotted this one out in the open in a farmyard adjacent to the bike path. He quickly returned to cover when he noticed I was watching him.
I found this guy basking on the bike path. Possibly the biggest snake I'd ever seen! It was a little intimidating as the south Okanagan does have rattlesnakes, but his head didn't have the triangular shape so I doubted it. Research back home indicates that this is a Great Basin Gopher Snake. Harmless to humans, not so harmless to rodents!
Apparently a Gopher Snake will do its best imitation of a rattlesnake if it feels threatened: flatten its head into a triangle, and shake its tail around in dead leaves to make it sound like a rattle. I guess this one didn't feel particularly threatened.
To show scale:
Okanagan Vacation 3 - Elm Tree Farm
June 17th, 2011
One of my first activities at ETF was chasing California Quail around the yard. They often came scratching for food on the lawn. They seemed tame from a distance--downright foolish where cars were concerned--but got skittish when you approached them, especially if you approached them with a purposeful gleam in your eye!
So I stalked 'em. Because quail spend most of their time on the ground, they tend not to notice you if there's an obstruction in the way. I put a woodpile between myself and one quail and slowly crept up on him. When he finally hopped up on the woodpile to take a look around, the startle response was comical.
Alas, I did not manage a shot during that golden moment when he was standing on the woodpile--but I did get a not-bad picture as he ran away.
While I was hunting
It took me far longer than it should have to ID him. An interesting study in the danger of preconceived ideas. I had just finished reading Kingbird Highway. I remembered how Kaufman had moved west and fallen in love with Western Kingbirds, and how bold and visible he found them to be. Thought: well, this bird is bold and visible, and I've certainly fallen in love with it. It's a flycatcher with an orangey belly. Western Kingbird is a flycatcher with a yellowish belly. Must be a variation...?
The thing bobbed its tail constantly. "Just like an Eastern Phoebe!" I remember thinking. And why I didn't follow up on that thought, I don't know.
I knew in my heart that I didn't have the right ID. But I was mystified. As soon as I got a chance I described the bird to Tom and asked him about it. "Oh, the Say's Phoebes!" he said. "We've got a pair of them nesting on the house. Drive the cat crazy." I then looked up Say's Phoebe in my field guide and found the clearly visible picture in the flycatcher section that, indeed, looked exactly like my mystery bird. I had flipped past it about ten times on my way to the next page, where I had stared at the picture of Western Kingbird until blood ran from my forehead.
Okanagan Vacation 2 - The Marathon
June 16th, 2011
No, not a literal marathon--well, there was a race going on in town (a Half Ironman), but that's not what I'm referring to. This was a birding marathon. I had booked a tour for our first full day with Great Horned Owl Eco-Tours. It was just me, Mike and the guide (Greg Byron). We spent twelve hours in all travelling to various avian hot spots around the Okanagan Valley, including riverbanks, arid regions, farmland, marshes and mountains. This trip netted me 15 lifers (new species) in all. Many of them I re-found on my own later in the trip, but a few--such as the rare, locally endangered Yellow-Breasted Chat--I probably could not have seen without help.
Two of the high points of my vacation occurred during this tour. One was watching a Northern Harrier and a Bald Eagle, perched on a field edge two fenceposts away from each other. Northern Harrier is a big raptor--it stands over a foot and a half tall--but next to the eagle, it looked tiny. Clearly it felt itself tiny, and felt more than a little defensive, because it repeatedly flew over to the eagle and took potshots at it. The eagle snapped at it when it got too close but otherwise seemed unfazed--very much the same sort of reaction I've seen in crows harassed by angry blackbirds. It was the harrier who gave up first and abandoned his post.
The other high point was finding two male/female pairs of Ruddy Ducks on a mountain pond. The Ruddy Duck is one of the strangest-looking ducks in North America, a bird that makes you wonder what Mother Nature was smoking when she came up with the color combination of brick red and electric blue. It's rare in Ottawa, findable, usually, in only a few specialized locations, such as the Moodie Drive quarry pond. When you do go there, they're usually so far away you have to use a spotting scope to see them.
But the ones we found were swimming close to shore and showed almost no fear of us. They even engaged in courtship displays while we watched: the males lifting their stiff, spiky tails, bobbing their heads and bills, making strange, bubbly sounds, and paddling furiously across the water.
I didn't bring a camera with me on the tour. But the very next day, Mike and I drove back to the pond, and this time I was armed and ready. They were still there!
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Tail up in display:
Okanagan Vacation 1 - Arrival
June 15th, 2011
First of all, any good things you've heard about Westjet are true. All four flights went off without a delay, without a hitch.
I got my first lifer of the trip at Calgary International Airport, if you'll believe it--a Black-Billed Magpie flew by as we sat at the gate. I'm generally into corvids (I like their intelligence and adaptability), and magpies looked beautiful in the pictures I'd seen, so I was looking forward to them. I only glimpsed my first, but was struck by how it reminded me of a dragonfly. The two North American magpies are among our only three species of birds with tails longer than their bodies (the third is the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher.)
My first, slightly disappointing discovery about south Okanagan birds is how many of the common species back home were also common species there. My second discovery is how many of the common species are close counterparts to common eastern ones. Often the name itself gives it away, as in Eastern Bluebird and Western Bluebird, Eastern Wood-Pewee and Western Wood-Pewee, etc. There are many, many such pairs. The birds of greatest interest to me were those with no close analogue back home--of whom magpies were the chief!
Lifer #2 was my first of many California Quail--an adorable topknotted ground bird that's a common site in rural and suburban areas throughout the south Okanagan. One ran across the road on our way to our first B&B.
We shortly thereafter arrived at Elm Tree Farm...and my jaw dropped. I expected it to be nice, but I didn't realize just how nice it would be. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. Having reserved two bedrooms, we had basically a whole cottage to ourself, complete with a full kitchen and two bathrooms. The place was ultra-clean, ultra-comfortable, and surprisingly well-soundproofed. (Actually, maybe not so surprising given that it was originally built as a practice area for the owners' sons' garage band!) Tom was really friendly and an awesome cook. Our final breakfast was frittatas with the proverbial kitchen sink thrown in, laden with cheese, and big enough to fill a casserole dish each. They were to die for.
A wooded stream flowed by right outside our windows. Red-Winged Blackbirds nested abundantly in the reeds, several Bullock's Orioles (close cousins to our Baltimore Orioles) had built their hanging nests in the waterside trees, and a large Wood Duck family called the stream itself home.
Photo by Michael Britton
Back from the Okanagan
June 13th, 2011
We're back, and had a wonderful time on our vacation. Travel went without a hitch, B&B's were both excellent, we spent large swaths of our days exploring and nature-watching, and my triplist is, well, epic.
I have many photos to sort through. Eventually I'll be posting a full pictorial account of our adventures. But for now,
My 10 favorite things in the south Okanagan:
- Driving up snow-capped mountains. Driving up all the way to the snow on
Mount Kobau, where the landscape is dominated by immensely tall firs and
spruces, and the haunting song of the Hermit Thrush filters down from the
treetops.
- Watching the courtship shenanigans of Ruddy Ducks.
- The way the Mule Deer bound across the slopes, so light-footed, you'd think
someone had filled them with helium.
- The western corvids (crow relatives). Seeing my first magpie, my first Clark's
Nutcracker, my first Steller's Jay. Above all the magpies, the gorgeous,
intelligent, dragonfly-shaped magpies.
- Eating centimeter-thick bacon and a cheese-laden frittata big enough to fill a
casserole dish at the splendiferous Elm Tree Farm B&B.
- The breathtaking vista of lush orchards, vineyards, mountains and lake from Brin de Soleil B&B.
- A nearly 2-foot-tall Northern Harrier looking as small as a sparrow--because
he was perched beside a Bald Eagle! The fight that ensued between David and
Goliath.
- The oh-my-god-cute California Quail. Stalking one through the farmyard at ETF.
Catching it by surprise.
- Watching and listening to the courtship of Common Nighthawks whirling high
above us in the mountains. I had read that courting nighthawks do aerial
dives, creating a whooshing sound with their wings. I didn't realize that the
sound is like a tiny sports car zooming down a tiny highway two inches away
from your ear.
- The warm, trusting and generous locals.
Vacation ho
June 3rd, 2011
On Saturday my husband and I are off to the south Okanagan. We return on the 12th. There I'll be, of course, birding my little heart out, lifelisting all sorts of western birds that I've never had the opportunity to see before. (I'm particularly looking forward to magpies.) There will also be hiking, canoeing, swimming, dining, and, for Michael at least, wine-tasting.
I was originally planning a long, detailed post about this vacation and what we expect to do and see. But time's run out, so I'll just have to tell you all about it upon our return!
Encounter
June 2nd, 2011
I was on trail 24 of Stony Swamp when a coyote walked right out on the path. He crossed over and disappeared into the woods.
...after pausing to give me a long, speculative, slightly unsettling look!
Liftoff
June 1st, 2011
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