On a beautiful, clear October afternoon 13 Rocky Mountain Naturalists and one international student, Max, from Switzerland, gathered at the Bummers Flats information sign near the Kootenay River to enjoy an easy walk along the river and to remember Tony Wideski, who passed away recently and is sadly missed. The sun was warm and the grasses tall as we spread out along the jeep trail, eventually drifting into smaller groups along the way.
Although birds were not plentiful we kept our binoculars handy, just in case, and were rewarded with sightings that included the following:
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
American Kestrel
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Elaine, Peter and Sandi, who came down from Fairmont, went the furthest, out to the pump house, and saw some Spotted Towhees and what they believe was a Short-eared Owl, a species that has been seen in this area before.
Kent shared information about lichens and Max got photos of bear, wolf and coyote scat for his scatology collection as well as a shot of a small bear paw print on the trail. There were several large piles of fairly fresh bear scat at the drop-off to the river, near a copse of hawthorn bushes and snowberries. Daryl introduced some of us to milkweed, the only plant on which monarch butterflies will lay their eggs. The two-foot high plants were found alongside the jeep track, with their large pods split open, exposing silky tufts of seeds. The sun brought out black and brown Wooly Bear caterpillars, larvae of a species of Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), which wriggled their way along the track, oblivious to our dangerous feet.
As we turned and walked back the Kootenay River wound its way lazily alongside us, sparkling in the sunshine and reflecting the brush and trees on its opposite bank. The shrubs had already turned a hundred shades of gold and red and the river’s mirrored surface threw back every detail in sharp relief. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day!
Article and Photos Submitted by Helga
Although birds were not plentiful we kept our binoculars handy, just in case, and were rewarded with sightings that included the following:
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
American Kestrel
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Elaine, Peter and Sandi, who came down from Fairmont, went the furthest, out to the pump house, and saw some Spotted Towhees and what they believe was a Short-eared Owl, a species that has been seen in this area before.
Kent shared information about lichens and Max got photos of bear, wolf and coyote scat for his scatology collection as well as a shot of a small bear paw print on the trail. There were several large piles of fairly fresh bear scat at the drop-off to the river, near a copse of hawthorn bushes and snowberries. Daryl introduced some of us to milkweed, the only plant on which monarch butterflies will lay their eggs. The two-foot high plants were found alongside the jeep track, with their large pods split open, exposing silky tufts of seeds. The sun brought out black and brown Wooly Bear caterpillars, larvae of a species of Tiger Moth (Pyrrharctia isabella), which wriggled their way along the track, oblivious to our dangerous feet.
As we turned and walked back the Kootenay River wound its way lazily alongside us, sparkling in the sunshine and reflecting the brush and trees on its opposite bank. The shrubs had already turned a hundred shades of gold and red and the river’s mirrored surface threw back every detail in sharp relief. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day!
Article and Photos Submitted by Helga
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