Tried climbing Mt. Margaret (aka Primrose Ridge) for Grey-headed Rosy-finches this morning.
Blown off. Literally. Winds blowing 40-50mph, with gusts much higher. Wound up crawling down in mist and drizzle, driven into my skin like needles. Caked in mud. Camera okay, though, so no serious harm.
A couple of nice Willow Ptarmigan coveys on the gravel bars in Savage River Canyon, so the trip wasn't wasted.
Will try again next year.
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on June 29, 2009 at 11:09 PM
I saw a female Lynx about 2.5 miles downstream on the east side of the canyon. She seemed to be hunting squirrels, by the terrain and behavior. I couldn't get a photo - the wind was howling through there - but I was close enough to see through my binos that she had been kits.
Something had cached a snowshoe hare carcass under one of the rock outcroppings on the west side near the bridge. I'm not a good enough biologist to say if it had been killed by a wolf, coyote or lynx. Bite marks on the neck, though.
Thanks Jim - glad to hear there is still good lynx activity. That Savage River canyon and Primrose area can sure blow at times. Thanks for the trip report, I hope you get your Grey-headed Rosy-finches.
Discussion
3 repliesBlown off. Literally. Winds blowing 40-50mph, with gusts much higher. Wound up crawling down in mist and drizzle, driven into my skin like needles. Caked in mud. Camera okay, though, so no serious harm.
A couple of nice Willow Ptarmigan coveys on the gravel bars in Savage River Canyon, so the trip wasn't wasted.
Will try again next year.
Something had cached a snowshoe hare carcass under one of the rock outcroppings on the west side near the bridge. I'm not a good enough biologist to say if it had been killed by a wolf, coyote or lynx. Bite marks on the neck, though.