Bird Watching In Ranch Country
America’s west is filled with vast tracks of land we call ranches that attract and provide habitat for a host of wildlife and birds, when Open Range returns I’ll tell you about a creature that hasn’t been seen in some locations for years and is mesmerizing the outdoor community. I’ve learned that if you want to know where a wolverine roams or see an elusive sage grouse, ask a rancher. One virtue of spending so much time outdoors with animals is they know the migratory patterns of the creatures that move through the rangeland, be it wood ducks or a certain elk herd. For many of us in ranch country Ithis is the season Bald Eagles return but this year there is another magnificent bird that’s making a lot of us stop whatever we are doing and pause for a moment in awe. Ranchers throughout Washington State’s Coulee region, Moses Lake, all throughout the Palouse and into Idaho periodically report Snowy Owl sightings. With a wing span of nearly 5 feet the birds are show stoppers and the fact they can remain air born at nearly 5 pounds is a testament to the miracle of flight. For reasons unbeknownst to biologists, Snowy Owls residents of the Artic, Scandinavia, Russia ,Greenland and Siberia are appearing in great numbers throughout the Northwest and other parts of the. One theory is that there’s a shortage of food up North, another that overpopulation is driving the owls to new habitat. So keep your eyes open and a camera handy you might just receive the gift of spotting this spectacular silver bird, regally perched on a crag or stump as you travel through our western ranch country.
