Message from the Board
Kit Struthers
Each evening in the winter large numbers of Bald Eagles fly in to roost in the large cottonwoods at Camas National Wildlife Refuge after a day of hunting. They fly in from all directions as the sun is setting. For the fifth year, the Friends of Camas NWR is sponsoring “Come to Roost at Camas.” This year’s event will be on Saturday, February 15, from 4:30 PM until dark. Spotting scopes will be set up for the public to see the eagles. As the eagles fly in, they are greeted with vocalizations from the eagles that are already roosting.
The event is free to the public and is suitable for both adults and kids. Warm boots with thick soles plus warm clothing will make the evening more enjoyable. Free hot chocolate will be provided.
Refuge Manager's Notes
Brian Wehausen,
December 16, 2019
Currently, the Refuge has a thin layer of snow on the ground, only about an inch and certainly not enough to think about cross country skiing or snowshoeing yet. The auto tour route was plowed after the snow we received from the storm that happened just before Thanksgiving and is in good drivable condition. The crab creek snotel which is in the upper part of the Camas Creek watershed, as of today, is showing 14 inches of snow depth and 3.4 inches of water equivalent. Not a bad start to our water supply, but hopefully the snow keeps coming especially in the mountains.
We are definitely starting to see our typical winter birds here at Camas as the horned larks and snow bunting are here and the Rough-legged hawks have shown up in the last month as well. Also, a blue jay has been seen at the feeders we have by the Refuge office. We started our counts of roosting eagles last Wednesday, the 11th and only observed 5 eagles in the trees. I believe the Snake River will need to get more ice on it before we start seeing any good numbers of eagles. The Refuge road that goes through the roost trees has now been closed to all traffic so the eagles can roost undisturbed. The Refuge no longer has open water and the waterfowl have for the most part moved on.
Small groups of white-tailed deer have been hanging around the Refuge headquarters, especially now that we have snow. The rut now appears to be complete, and these deer are looking for food resources.