Thanks, John, for the post. Relatively few reports come from that neck of
the woods given its proximity to the populated southern strip of BC. Just a
few comments:

> Screech Owl - one heard at Chilko Lodge

This is interesting. If Tweeters would recall, Riesen Reto posted a query
on here many months ago re. the likelihood of W. Screech-Owls in the dry
southern interior after he heard an owl call similar to a Screech Owl on a
trip he had made to a location near to Chilco Lake. Naturally we were
circumspect then, but testimony such as this points up the need for a
concerted field effort in the area. There could be an inland range
extension of this species into the moister ecosystems of the Chilcotin
plateau.

>Also, a brief glimpse of a sparrow that I can only guess from my first =
>impression might have been a clay-colored. It had a distinct =
>buffy-white central crown stripe, and an 'ear patch'. Unfortunately, it =
>disappeared into the brush before I could get a better look. Is =
>Clay-colored Sparrow likely in the Chilcotin?

Clay-coloured sparrow populations have been mushrooming in central BC the
past several years so it is highly likely that the bird was indeed a
"Clay". Yet another species responding positively to the loss of forest
stands (they absolutely love clearcuts).

>The amazing spectacle was the tens of, hundreds of thousands of spawning =
>sockeye salmon. The lower mile of the lake and the upper 3 miles of =
>river were absolutely Red with fish! This group of fish spawn below the =
>lake; when the fry hatch out next spring, they swim *upstream* into the =
>lake (how did *that* behaviour evolve?) to rear for a year, before they =
>'smolt' and go down the Chilko and Chilkotin to the Fraser and spend =
>most of the rest of their life in the ocean. They return as 4 or 5 year =
>olds to the Fraser and make the journey back to the gravel of their =
>youth, to spawn and die (lots of carcasses on the beaches - thank =
>goodness the weather wasn't too warm). And the circle is completed. =
>What a success story!

Yes, and the Chilko Lake fish are one of the bigger races, too. Not quite
the size of the Stuart Lake sockeye but close.

>Downstream a couple miles from the sockeye spawning area was a half-mile =
>stretch of river where they counted about 10-12,000 chinook spawning =
>earlier this season. The gravel in the river had a 'scalloped' =
>appearance from the action of all those big fish moving the gravel =
>around.

Great escapement numbers for Chinook for one spawning area for this day
and age.

>It was interesting that there were relatively few eagles taking =
>advantage of the bounty - kind of like expecting to see wall-to-wall =
>eagles on the Skagit when the fish are spawning, then seeing more at the =
>landfill when you return home from your birding trip than you did in the =
>'eagle sanctuary'.... Bears were not uncommon - I only saw tracks and =
>sign of black bears, but a few other people saw the animals themselves =
>and one pair of canoeists saw what they thought was a yearling grizzly =
>(their description was good, but we're waiting for their film to be =
>developed..). =20

Are eagles just lazy, or would there be an influx to the spawning area when
the sockeye carcasses have reached a certain level of putrefaction loved by
them?

>One final note: Just when I think that logging practices here in =
>Washington stink, I see what is going on with the forests of B.C. =
>Flying north past Howe Inlet and Sechelt, I was amazed to see the =
>logging that has taken place on slopes of more than 70%!! How do the =
>choker-setters keep from falling off the mountain?!?? Clear up to =
>timberline! The mass-wasting and land-slides from the huge clearcuts =
>and off the logging roads are terribly apparent from the air. Are the =
>huge rafts of logs down in the salt chuck (destined for the orient? or =
>for the pulp mill in Powell River?) worth the loss of bird and salmon =
>habitat? Isn't there a better way to log? If there isn't, should this =
>kind of 'forest practice' be continued? =20

You have to sell logs to keep the board members happy, John. The
major shareholders care nothing for *how* their pockets are lined. Public
pressure to mend the errant ways of the logging companies has had some
salutary affect the past few years what with the Forest Practices Act being
passed. However, it is still largely a cut-and-run type of operation in
the backwoods out of eyesight of the troubled greenies. How do you replant
a slope that has lost 50% of its soil load? Only continued pressure will
assure that they do not log every last merchantable tree off the slopes of
BC's mountains, coastal and interior.

- Jack




Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
Canada
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca