Post by b1schmor on Jul 24, 2007 20:20:38 GMT -8
Hi birders,
I just got back from a trip to the Cariboo. I took my parents so the trip focus was more on scenery than on birds, but I did see some nice stuff. We took a circular route, starting with the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo, then another ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola, and drove to Williams Lake and down the Fraser Canyon home.
The ferry ride from Port Hardy to Bella Coola was probably the most interesting in terms of birds. We managed to see Brant, Rhinoceros and Cassin's Auklet, Common Murre, Pacific Loon, and Bonaparte's Gulls. At one time during the trip we were surrounded by up wards of 50 Pacific White-sided Dolphins. These guys put on an incredible show for about 20 minutes. We also managed to see 9 Humpback Whales.
We spent a couple of nights at a place called Bracewell's Wilderness Adventures, situated in the Coast Mountains, near Tatlayoko Lake, off of Highway 20. This place is in the middle of nowhere. It was great. I used these two nights as a re-conn mission to see what was in this extremely remote region. I quickly found out that this area contains both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan. Much closer than going to Pink Mountain in the Peace River area. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to see them due to some poor weather.
The owners of the lodge are extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area. They lead hikes and horse groups up to the alpine with fine views of Chilko Lake. Grizzlies, cougar, and wolves are fairly common in the area, and I was surprised to hear the Fisher is spotted from time to time, and that Wolverines us to be common, but due to the four wolf packs, their main food source, the marmot, has been decimated so the Wolverines have moved on.
The one day we put aside to hike, we attempted to summit Marmot Mountain. As we reached tree line a storm blew in and we had to get off the mountain in a hurry. We did manage to see Three-toed Woodpecker, Townsend's Solitaire, Clarke's Nutcracker, and a number of Hermit Thrushes before fleeing back to the lodge.
On the way through Williams Lake we stopped at Scout Island and spotted on American White Pelican. The only other notable sighting was a pair of Sandhill Cranes in a field close to Williams Lake.
Cheers,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford
I just got back from a trip to the Cariboo. I took my parents so the trip focus was more on scenery than on birds, but I did see some nice stuff. We took a circular route, starting with the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo, then another ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola, and drove to Williams Lake and down the Fraser Canyon home.
The ferry ride from Port Hardy to Bella Coola was probably the most interesting in terms of birds. We managed to see Brant, Rhinoceros and Cassin's Auklet, Common Murre, Pacific Loon, and Bonaparte's Gulls. At one time during the trip we were surrounded by up wards of 50 Pacific White-sided Dolphins. These guys put on an incredible show for about 20 minutes. We also managed to see 9 Humpback Whales.
We spent a couple of nights at a place called Bracewell's Wilderness Adventures, situated in the Coast Mountains, near Tatlayoko Lake, off of Highway 20. This place is in the middle of nowhere. It was great. I used these two nights as a re-conn mission to see what was in this extremely remote region. I quickly found out that this area contains both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan. Much closer than going to Pink Mountain in the Peace River area. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to see them due to some poor weather.
The owners of the lodge are extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife in the area. They lead hikes and horse groups up to the alpine with fine views of Chilko Lake. Grizzlies, cougar, and wolves are fairly common in the area, and I was surprised to hear the Fisher is spotted from time to time, and that Wolverines us to be common, but due to the four wolf packs, their main food source, the marmot, has been decimated so the Wolverines have moved on.
The one day we put aside to hike, we attempted to summit Marmot Mountain. As we reached tree line a storm blew in and we had to get off the mountain in a hurry. We did manage to see Three-toed Woodpecker, Townsend's Solitaire, Clarke's Nutcracker, and a number of Hermit Thrushes before fleeing back to the lodge.
On the way through Williams Lake we stopped at Scout Island and spotted on American White Pelican. The only other notable sighting was a pair of Sandhill Cranes in a field close to Williams Lake.
Cheers,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford