January 25 - February 7, 2001

Contact: Madonna Luers, 509-456-4073

Don't think a tropical vacation is necessary to escape dreary winter weather – wildlife viewing opportunities can lift your spirits and take you out of seasonal doldrums.

Although nearly two months of winter remain, many animals are visible now as they gather and forage in winter conditions and some are already starting spring mating rituals.

Keep an eye out while driving, walking, skiing, snowshoeing, or pursuing other activities for these signs of spring: Owls are hooting to each other from treetops, their way of courting or determining pairs. Coyotes are howling to each other, giving chase to potential mates, and breeding. Great blue heron males are checking out traditional communal nesting spots, getting ready for the later arrival of females. Some ducks are starting to pair up.

Here are specific wildlife viewing ideas and updates on winter fishing, region by region across the state:

North Puget Sound:

• Wildlife viewing: Trumpeter swans and bald eagles wintering in the Skagit Valley are the focus of special events coming up in the next two weeks. On Saturday (Jan. 27) trumpeter swan enthusiasts will gather for the official public dedication of the Johnson/DeBay Swan Reserve, recently developed by WDFW and a local stewardship group. Gates will open at 9:30 a.m., and volunteers and WDFW staff will remain throughout daylight hours to answer wildlife watchers' questions. Besides the trumpeter swans, visitors to the site may encounter bald eagles, hawks, geese and ducks and a few tundra swans. Those planning to visit should remember that pets must be kept inside vehicles. On Feb. 3 and 4 the action shifts to the Upper Skagit Valley for the Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival will be underway. Eagle watchers should use designated public viewing areas and-- for safety-- avoid parking on narrow highway shoulders. The viewing areas are located on State Route 20 at Milepost 99 and Milepost 100; at Howard Miller Steelhead County Park, and at WDFW's Marblemount Fish Hatchery. On weekends through the festival date, trained U.S. Forest Service volunteer hosts are stationed at the four viewing areas. To gear up for these winter wildlife watching highlights, visit the event sites on the Internet. The Trumpeter Swan Society's webpage offers directions to the DeBay Swan Reserve, as well as links with information on swan identification. The bald eagle festival's site offers tips on eagle viewing and weekly counts of bald eagle sightings in the area.

• Fishing: Steelhead fishing is winding down in the region's rivers, with fewer keepable hatchery fish now in the water, says Curt Kraemer, WDFW district fish biologist. Anglers are reminded that wild steelhead must be released in most rivers. With winter weather so mild that it imitates spring, anglers might want to turn their attention to year-round lakes, Kraemer suggests. On fair days, afternoon lake fishing for trout and bass can be productive, he notes.

  The Washington Sportsmen's Show runs today through Sunday (Jan. 24-28) at the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup. Exhibitors, educational seminars and a display of trophy game are in store for visitors. The show opens at 1 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. on the weekend. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 16.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Wildlife viewing: Ducks and geese may be scarce this year, but "Buster" is a rare bird indeed. That's the name a Menlo couple has given to the white ibis that has taken up residence on their dairy farm in recent weeks. Standing two feet tall with a bright red face and a curved bill, Buster would be a common sight in parts of Florida and Central America. But Menlo? Bruce Fischer, vice president of the Grays Harbor Audubon Society, said the bird is the first of its kind to visit Washington State – and that has a lot of birders twitching with excitement. The Aberdeen Daily World reports that more than 60 bird watchers – traveling from as far away as Yakima and Salem, Ore. – have stopped by the farm at 1087 State Route 6 to see the white ibis, which is apparently faring well in this mild Northwest winter. How did it get here? Jack Smith, regional WDFW wildlife manager, suggests that it might have been blown off course or joined the wrong flock. "Nobody knows for sure, but it's definitely attracting a lot of attention."

• Fishing: Heavy rains have made it impossible for steelhead to see – much less take – bait on north coast rivers in recent days, but fishing can be good once those rivers drop back into shape. "Watch the weather report," advises Bill Freymond, WDFW fish biologist. "The snow pack is so low this year that the rivers can become fishable just a couple of days after a major rainfall." Most of the action recorded in a mid-January creel check was on the Sol Duc River, where 102 anglers caught 34 wild steelhead and five hatchery steelhead in a one-week period. The Bogachiel, Quillayute and Calawah were far behind, although wild fish were still predominant in the catch. For hatchery steelhead, try Wentworth Lake in western Clallum County: WDFW planted 150 surplus hatchery fish there on Jan. 23. Or, if you're looking to hook a rainbow trout, try Offutt Lake or one of the many area lakes offering year-round fishing. There isn't a lot of competition and holdover rainbows can run to 20 inches. Coming up: Blackmouth fishing opens Feb. 16 from Marine Area 5 (check out the Sekiu derby Feb. 17-19) to the bottom of Puget Sound. Also, WDFW has tentatively scheduled a razor clam dig Feb. 7-10 at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch Beach, pending the results of a marine toxin test the week before. Mocrocks beach – from Copalis River to the Moclips River – is also scheduled to open for two days, Feb. 9 and Feb. 10. Digging will be allowed on all four beaches from noon to midnight. Call the Shellfish Rule Change Hotline (360-796-3215) or check the WDFW website for updated information.

Southwest Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: Recent observations in the Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area indicate there are about 250 elk using the area. Volunteers from the Mount St. Helens Preservation Society, which works to improve elk habitat and to monitor the animals, reports that habitat improvement efforts undertaken last year appear to be paying off, with greener grass and typical elk droppings, indicating an improved diet. The group recently conducted its first winter mortality survey of the wildlife area and found no deaths. The elk are easily viewed with field glasses from pulloffs along State Route 504 between the Hoffstadt Creek Bridge and the Weyerhaeuser Forest Learning Center, which is closed for the winter.

• Fishing: Smelt should start showing up any day in the Cowlitz; a very small number have been seen in the mainstem Columbia and none so far in the Cowlitz. WDFW fish biologist Joe Hymer said there have been recent, unconfirmed reports of smelt at the mouth of the Columbia. Since conditions are good and it's close to prime time, they could start showing up in these locations any time. Call WDFW's Southwest Regional office hotline message at 360-696-6211 and press *1010 for updates. There are still some bright steelhead in local rivers, though low water conditions are making them difficult to catch. Good places to try include the Grays, Elochoman, Kalama, Lewis, and Washougal rivers and Salmon Creek. Bank anglers in the Cowlitz at the mouth of Blue Creek have had some success lately. Sturgeon fishers are having success, especially in Bonneville Pool, where anglers caught an average of 0.4 legal fish per rod last week. Best prospects include the area between Hood River and Drano Lake. Between wind storms on the lower Columbia, the sturgeon fishers have been catching an average of 2-3 legal fish per boat between Kalama and Bonneville Dam. In Kress Lake near Kalama, 160 broodstock rainbow trout averaging four pounds apiece were recently planted. Coming up: The Pacific Northwest Sportsman's Show is Feb. 7 to 11, in the Portland Expo Center. WDFW staff will be there to hand out free hook-removal devices and demonstrate how to use them without touching fish for minimal impact catch-and-release fishing. Also coming up: walleye catches are predicted to begin picking up in early February from the Bonneville Dam, The Dalles and John Day pools. Stay tuned.

• Hunting: Late goose depredation season started Jan. 20, and it appears it won't be a hot year for goose damage, says WDFW wildlife biologist Jeff Lewis. The first weekend there were only 21 hunter-days and only five successful hunters, (a 0.238 success rate), primarily because landowners haven't reported a great need for hunters to help with goose damage yet. Through March 10, WDFW pairs up landowners who have goose damage with hunters who have completed the Advance Hunter Education course and a special goose identification test. Participating hunters are reminded they must go through the Woodland check station.

Eastern Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: There's good cross-country-skiing or snow-shoeing at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge just southwest of Spokane where there are currently at least three dozen elk and pairs of Great horned owls hooting at each other. There are good chances to see snowy owls in the Mondovi area off the old highway north of State Route 2 between Reardan and Davenport in Lincoln County. WDFW Wildlife Biologist Jerry Hickman reports that there have been three different snowy owls in that area, along with lots of northern shrikes. Eastern Spokane County's Saltese Flats is a good area to see other birds of prey and coyotes. River and stream habitat throughout the region is dotted with the unmistakable white heads of bald eagles. Listen for screech owls in courtship calling along the Little Spokane River in the county-owned Natural Area on the northwest edge of Spokane, and look for great blue herons near their old nests in the cottonwoods right on the river's edge. Buck deer throughout the region are shedding their antlers now; if you're a shed-antler collector, make notes about where you see deer so you can go back and search the area later this spring or summer when you won't disturb winter stressed animals.

• Fishing: Sprague Lake ice-fishing is pretty productive with anglers catching lots of 8- to 9-inch crappie, 9- to 10-inch yellow perch, and 18- to 19-inch walleye. Sprague's ice is about six to eight inches thick in most places, says WDFW fish biologist Bob Peck, but he warns that there are some extremely dangerous spring holes out near the middle of the lake that anglers should avoid. Fourth of July Lake's six-inch-thick ice is more consistently solid, the access road is in good shape, and catches of 16-to-20-inch rainbow trout are common. Rainbows are also biting at Lake Roosevelt for boat fishers prepared for the wind chill on the big water. Steelhead fishing is slow on the Snake and Grande Ronde rivers in the southeast.

North Central Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: Learn about wintering wildlife in Okanogan County through the Methow Valley's "The Nature of Winter" program which offers free guided cross-country ski and snowshoe tours with a trained naturalist. WDFW wildlife biologist Scott Fitkin reports that the tours focus on winter ecology and track identification. The most commonly observed tracks include deer, marten, snowshoe hare, cougar, red squirrel, bobcat, and coyote. Tours are on the Methow Valley Sports Trail Association (MVSTA) groomed trail system, which requires a $14 day trail pass, available from several local businesses. Tours will continue to run on Saturdays through March 3, and all three days of the Presidents' Day weekend (Feb 17-19). Ski tours start at 11:00 a.m. from the Chickadee trailhead near Sun Mountain Lodge. Snowshoe tours start at 11:00 a.m. from the Mazama Snowshoe Yurt. Tours are limited to 10 people, eight years of age and older. The program is supported through a challenge cost-share grant between the U.S. Forest Service, MVSTA, and local businesses. For more information, call (509) 996-4036. Buck deer throughout the region are shedding their antlers now; if you're a shed antler collector, make notes about where you see deer so you can search the area later this spring or summer when you won't be disturbing them during already-stressful winter.

• Fishing: Although lake ice is very "iffy" and anglers need to literally "watch their step," fishing through the ice on Columbia Basin lakes can be very good now, says WDFW fish biologist Jeff Korth. Moses Lake is great for yellow perch and Alkali Lake has been pretty consistent for rainbow trout. Lind Coulee (off Potholes Reservoir) and Corral Lake (just southwest of Potholes) are also good traditional ice fishing holes for rainbows, If the ice is good; call Mar Don Resort (509-765-5061) for Potholes area ice conditions. "I advise folks to fish in pairs or only around other people, in case they need help," Korth says. Rocky Ford Creek, for fly fishing only, is good all winter, and not as crowded as it will be in another couple months. Sprague Lake has somewhat small but abundant perch and crappie; Korth suggests that anglers only take what they can reasonably eat this winter, and save some for bigger catches later and future broodstock. Fishing has been great at the Green Lakes outside Omak and Little Twin in the Methow Valley, reports WDFW Fish Biologist Heather Bartlett. In the early part of the season rainbow trout were in the 16-inch range from Little Twin. Now they are running about 12 inches, she says, but that shouldn't deter anglers. Fish from the Green Lakes are about 12-to-13 inches. It's been a pretty mild winter in Okanogan County, Bartlett reports, which should mean some good whitefish angling opportunity come February and March.

South Central Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: Elk watching is at its zenith and WDFW's Oak Creek Wildlife Area winter feeding station is the place. Feeding time is 1:30 p.m. daily near the area headquarters and visitor interpretive center just off Highway 12 west of Naches. Bald eagle watching is also at a high now in the Little Naches River area, Yakima River Canyon, and all along the Yakima Greenway Trail. In fact WDFW staffers say it's difficult to get out and about without seeing eagles these days. WDFW habitat biologist Ken Bevis reports that robins are in great numbers, too. The Christmas bird count in the Yakima area showed the highest count of robins ever for that event. A relatively mild winter and a large number of unpicked apples hanging in orchards have probably kept them around, Bevis says. The apples are largely red delicious, which were left unpicked due to low prices. Bevis also reports hearing courtship or mating calls of both Great horned and screech owls at dusk in the Yakima area. Listen for the descending "toot toot toot toot-toot-toot" of the screech and the deep "ooohahoo hooo hooo" of the Great horned, he says, then try to find the calling owls with a flashlight. Buck deer throughout the region are shedding their antlers now; if you're a shed antler collector, make notes about where you see deer so you can search the area later this spring or summer when you won't be disturbing them during already-stressful winter.

• Fishing: "Our lakes are mostly frozen, with very little open water, but they're not safe to fish on," reports WDFW Fish Biologist Jim Cummins. There are still good numbers of rainbow trout broodstock in the FioRito and other year-round lakes, but getting to them is difficult. There are some diehard fishers seeking whitefish on the Yakima and Naches rivers and checks last weekend showed several with three to five fish each -- not great, but about the only fishing going on now until the lakes thaw. Be prepared for the cold if you go. This may be the time of year to catch a couple of outdoor sportsmen shows (Puyallup, Jan. 24-28; Portland, Feb. 6-11; Seattle, Feb. 7-11; Yakima, Feb. 23-25) and make plans for better fishing this spring.