SCHIESS: A holiday hike at Camas Wildlife Refuge - East Idaho News
Living the Wild Life

SCHIESS: A holiday hike at Camas Wildlife Refuge

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Through the thick fog, I could barely make out a White-tailed doe digging with her front hooves as I parked the truck by Two-Way Pond at Camas National Wildlife Refuge last week. Then she laid down; she had flattened the rushes, creating an insulated bed in the thick vegetation. I slipped out of the truck and dropped behind the crown of the road to work my way as close as I could to her.

My goal for the afternoon was to hike the back roads of the refuge from Two-Way Pond to Sandhole Lake on the east then to Ray’s Lake and back to the truck. The three hour jaunt would get me back to the auto-route in time to watch for the wildlife to start moving for the evening and to watch the Bald Eagles coming into the cottonwoods to roost for the night.

I worked my way toward a group of willows just south of the resting doe. As I peered over the service road I saw she was not alone – a huge buck, with just his antlers showing was also in his “Serta,” glaring right at me. Laying in the two inches of snow was not comfortable, but necessary while I got pictures to document the experience.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

The coyotes were active in the fog as several groups had been barking and howling across the dried up ponds and several jackrabbits had run passed me as I watched the deer.

One of the wild dogs must have been successful in corralling a rabbit as a distressed rabbit squeal rang through the fog. As the horrible sound of the dying rabbit got to the deer, they were up in a flash – not two of them, but five others that had been bedded in the thick Bulrushes.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

I continued by hike to Willow Lake and on to Sandhole where I could make out about 40 elk in the dense fog. As I hiked cross-country to Mallard Slough about 30 antelope were feeding on the dried up marsh grass and in a patch of willows a black-tailed jackrabbit hopped slowly past me. At Ray’s Lake I got a few shots of a pygmy rabbit resting near its den. Not many birds out in the thick fog as I only flushed a small covey of Gray partridge and a flock of Horned Larks.

On the shortest day of the year and with the fog, the light was quickly fading as I got back to the truck – only time to finish the auto-route and park to watch the eagles come in to roost.

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Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

“Last Thursday we counted 50 eagles coming to roost in the cottonwoods,” said Brian Wehausen, manager of the refuge. “They have really started moving in already.”

As I was pulling into the headquarters, two immature and two mature balds were flying from tree to tree. Wehausen thinks these four are the pair that raised the young ones on the refuge this year.

I watched as eagle after eagle made their way through the dense fog, landing in the trees, most of them perching on the inside between the rows of mature cottonwoods to protect them from the biting cold breeze coming in from the northwest.

Want a fun afternoon and evening – go to Camas NWR, hike the service roads during the afternoon and then finish the day by watching the eagles fly in to roost. Listen closely, you may also be able to hear them tell where the banquet was for them that day. Or it may be an old fashioned slumber party.

Living the Wild Life is brought to you by The Healing Sanctuary.

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