Lewis Woodpecker

Posted on November 19, 2012 by birdquest2004

This past August, Sue and I, met up with Pat and Dave, in British Columbia’s, Okanagan Valley.  Sue and I had met Pat and Dave on one of our first trips to Arizona, they are both passionate birders and we clicked right away.

We visited the town of Osooyos,  spenting a few days relaxing and birding.  We  hadn’t seen Dave and Pat for a few years and it was nice to visit with them and spend a bit of time birding.  I had mentioned to Dave, that I’d love to get a better image of a Lewis Woodpecker.  He knew a spot that had a family of Lewis Woodpeckers.  As usual he didn’t dissapoint.

Following the Crowsnest Hwy (3) eastbound, up the hill, the first road on the left is Chapman Road, following this road about 1/2 km you will come to a split, take Deerfoot Road left at the end of it is a lovely B & B.  They have a bird feeder and the Lewis Woodpecker comes in frequently for a few seeds.

In the area we saw a family unit of about 8-10 birds, one was a brightly colored male and he was the one I just had to photograph, with the permission of the owner of the B & B, I parked near the feeder using my car as a blind.

I saw California Quail, Towhee, Finches and even a small Wren as I was waiting.

I was about ready to give up when in he came for some seeds and gave me a lovely view from about 40 feet. A keeper image.

Thanks, Pat and Dave was a real pleasure to see you, I think I gained about 2 pounds…lololol

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Ciao for Now

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Winefred Lake

Posted on November 19, 2012 by birdquest2004

On the long weekend in September, I had the opportunity to fish with my cousin Paul and his son Rodney at Winefred Lake in Alberta.  Paul and I flew into Fort McMurray and met Rod (he works there) and drove 3 hours to the lake.

A 4 x 4  is needed, the road is rough but passable, the  final mile or so from the main dirt road into the lake can be muddy in spots (good tires).

The Lodge, cabins, rooms and staff are A1, the food that’s served is great and they have 16 foot boats with 2ohp motors for rent.  You can rent cabins, bring your own food and boats.

Big spoons, 7 of diamonds, Williams Wobblers, and spinner baits all worked well.  Absolutely, no live baits or scented baits can be used.  Barbs must be pinched.  Even so we caught at least 150 fish in 3 days of trying, many in the 6 pound range but at least 10 tipped the scales over 16 pounds and one bruiser was 20.7 pounds.  We caught most fish in very shallow water and we even caught a few walleyes on large 7 of diamonds.

You can’t fish after dark, unless you have your own boat but you really don’t have to, day fishing rocks.

A GPS can be very handy on this lake which is 15km x 10 km, everything starts to look the same when your 10 km from the camp.

We had 1 afternoon of decent weather and the wind blew at about 20 mph for the other 2 1/2 days, which made getting out fishing tough but we were troopers and went out each day.  Although I must admit the passengers and guide (Me) were getting tossed around quite a bit, at times. It was great having our Helly Hanson rain gear with us.

There were quite a few birds such as Eagles, pelicans, grebes and ducks on the lake.

The airfare (WestJet seat sale) to Fort Mac, 3 days fishing and hotel night before and after, all under $1500 , I would go again in a heartbeat.

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RodPaul

Great Choice Rod

Ciao for now…….

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