Monthly Archive for October, 2009

It’s time for the next birding adventure with birding experts Penny Rose and Scott Hoskin:

“Skunk!…………….Swimming!” Scott exclaimed. “What?”

My partner Scott and I had just completed a six hour arduous but gorgeous journey from Seattle to the heart of Okanogan County. I was sure that the stress of driving the open top Land Rover over the severe North Cascades, combined with the fear of not getting “our” campsite was taking a toll on Scott’s sensibilities. Granted we had discovered “our” campsite waiting and available with no other birders, fisher folk or outdoor enthusiast for miles around. The tent was set up, the kitchen in order and the scope was in place scanning the lake for our feathered friends of previous visits. But skunks, swimming?! Sure enough as I stepped up and looked through the eyepiece a magnificent Striped Skunk was paddling across the lake in the most serene manner. Its long black and white tail floating behind just as if this was an ordinary short cut for any self respecting skunk. It eventually reached shore and waded through the cattails in search of more skunkly pursuits.

Thus began another intriguing weekend in the Okanogan- an area we have visited and camped in regularly over the last four years, always in search of good bird sightings.
Each spring we conduct a breeding bird survey over a 25-mile route, counting innumerable Western Meadowlarks, thrilling at the Bobolink and Bank Swallow colonies, and marveling at the occasional Golden Eagle. This September we were setting up another survey route through the Wildlife Refuge in hopes of adding species of interest in the confines of the refuge.

At least that was our goal. But there are so many other wonders of nature to discover when one goes birding. The concrete outhouse near the campsite surprised us last spring with a very large Western Rattlesnake guarding the front door. Not a shock one wants to discover prior to entering any bathroom. This fall I checked immediately to see if it was still on duty. Alas, the snake had moved on but the quarter sized female Black Widow was doing a superb job of guarding the interior from any unsuspecting flies that may have wandered in.

While marking the stops of our new bird route on the GPS I caught sight of yet another “cool critter”. Quickly insisting Scott stop the Land Rover, I jumped out and caught the biggest Rubber Boa I have ever seen. A fascinating snake, gentle in manner, unless you are a vole, small bird or smaller snake; they defend themselves by curling up and placing their head shaped tail up through the coils, while hiding their real head safely at the bottom of the pile. We enjoyed its cool, rubbery muscular body gliding gently over our hands then quietly placed it back in a safe area away from the road.

The new route marked carefully on to the lap top, we returned to the campsite for some real birding. This consists of carefully placing oneself in a camp chair facing the lake and waiting for the world to fly and float by. We were rewarded with no less than 38 Wood Ducks dabbling about in the water weeds. Many of the group was adults in full breeding plumage – the males could not have been more stunning reflected against the quiet windless lake. It was good to see the large number of young they had successfully raised during the long hot summer months. The Pied-billed Grebes were still raising their stripy headed youngsters – trying desperately to fill the months of these peeping beggars. Their cries were heard across the lake from dawn till dusk.

Each evening as we watched the sky fill with a carpet of stars from horizon to horizon, listening for Western Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls calling from the pines we promised we would go to sleep right after the next shooting star. But it was hard as the days and nights were filled with so many sights and sounds of nature at her best in the Okanogan. And really isn’t that what birding is all about – getting outside, discovering new and vivid memories. So go outside – go birding – you never know, you might see a skunk swimming!