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| March 25 - April 7, 1999 |
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Now is the time to see thousands of sandhill cranes in central Washington.
These huge, pre-historic-looking birds make a month-long seasonal stopover in the Columbia Basin on their way from southwestern wintering grounds to Canadian and Alaskan breeding areas. Up to four feet tall with wing spans up to seven feet, these long-legged, long-necked wading birds are easy to see without binoculars. They're even easier to hear because of their shrill rolling, cackling bugle.
Observers can distinguish visiting sandhill cranes from Washington's common resident great blue herons by head color and profile: sandhill cranes are gray to rust-colored with a distinctive bald red crown while great blue herons are bluish-gray with white and black head plumage; cranes are also bigger-bodied birds that fly with outstretched necks while herons fly with necks drawn back in a loop.
Sandhill cranes didn't always stop over in Washington since they are not desert or shrub-steppe habitat birds. But the irrigation projects in the basin have created the shallow water, wetlands and grain fields that cranes use to feed on both plants and animals. Now 5,000 to 10,000 cranes stop in the area to rest and feed before continuing north. Large groups of them can be spotted in grain fields during the day and in shallow open water, where they spend nights, at dusk and dawn.
Portions of Grant and Adams counties are the center of sandhill crane concentrations through mid-April. The town of Othello in Adams County, due south of Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake, is hosting its second annual Sandhill Crane Festival this weekend, March 27 and 28. The Columbia National Wildlife Refuge just northwest of Othello is a good place to view cranes. For more information about festival events, call the Othello Chamber of Commerce at 509-488-2683 or 1-800-684-2556.
Peregrine falcons are back to nest in several places around the state, including highly visible urban areas like Seattle and Spokane.
These birds of prey, listed as an endangered species, were down to just one known nesting pair in Washington 25 years ago. Today there are at least 40 nesting pairs across the state (most on the coast and in the Puget Sound area). The recovery of this species is due to a ban on certain pesticides in the food chain that led to eggshell thinning and to captive breeding and releasing programs.
In natural settings the birds often choose nest sites on cliffs where they have a commanding view of water or other habitat that provides their food – waterfowl and other birds. Some have adapted to cities, however, and are known to nest on top of skyscrapers where urban park ducks, pigeons, starlings and sparrows are plentiful. The Peregrine falcon's aerial acrobatics when chasing prey, including dives of up to 200 miles per hour, are a sight to see.
Adult Peregrines recently have been spotted back in familiar places in Washington, checking out nest sites and mates. Watch for these crow-sized birds with slate-blue backs, cream-colored bellies and distinctive dark "mustaches" near the eyes, in these areas:
- Downtown Seattle, particularly near the grain elevators on the waterfront, Highway 520 bridge on Lake Washington, and Interstate 5 Ship Canal Bridge on Lake Union in King County; (peregrines have nested and reared young on the Washington Mutual Tower for the past several years, using the One Union Building for perching, breeding and plucking prey)
- Skagit River Flats in Skagit County
- Beacon Rock State Park in Skamania County
- Columbia River Gorge in Klickitat County
- Highbridge Park on Latah Creek, just west of downtown Spokane in Spokane County
Fishing continues to be good and getting better in many spots, but be sure to buy a license first.
Washington's new fishing and hunting license system goes into effect April 1, shifting from a calendar to an April-through-March licensing year to better coincide with seasons. The licenses also are packaged differently this year, with all enhancement fees, surcharges, catch record cards and other documents rolled into one simple fee.
The new freshwater fishing license, for example, lets an angler fish for anything in freshwater – bass, walleye, steelhead, salmon and sturgeon. The price for all that opportunity this year is just $20, compared to last year's $48 ($17 for license, $5 for warmwater surcharge, $18 for steelhead catch card, and $6 for food fish license).
One more change anglers will find with this year's fishing license is a free "Access Stewardship Decal" or parking permit to use Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) water access sites and wildlife areas. The decal is free to fishing and hunting license buyers, but $10 to those who don't fish or hunt but use those sites for waterskiing, bird-watching or other activities.
Recreationists can buy their new fishing licenses and access decals at WDFW offices and hundreds of sporting goods and department stores across the state.
Here's where to go with that new fishing license:
In Puget Sound, the blackmouth (hatchery chinook salmon) season continues through April 10. "When the weather cooperates, many anglers are catching their one-fish limit in a short period of time," said Tony Floor, WDFW's coordinator of the Puget Sound sport fish enhancement program. "I wish I could say that fishing for these hatchery chinook salmon is always this good! But it's not too late to get on the saltwater and enjoy this great fishing." Floor suggests anglers take advantage of upcoming good tides, noting that there really isn't a bad tide between now and the end of the season. Best bets for success are Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Point No Point, Possession Bar, the San Juan Islands, Fidalgo Head at Anacortes and central Puget Sound.
Recent additional trout plants in southwest Washington have improved the action at several waters, according to WDFW fish biologist Joe Hymer. Those include browns at Swofford Pond, rainbows at Klineline Pond and Battleground Lake (including 50-75 large trout at each), and browns at Lake Sacajawea and South Lewis County Pond. Sturgeon fishing also has picked up off the Washington shore of the Columbia River, just downstream from Bonneville Dam, although boat angling is slow in the Kalama area. Boat anglers are having good success in the Bonneville Pool between Hood River and Cascade Locks. Walleye fishing on the Dalles Pool has been good recently.
In south-central Washington, WDFW fish biologist Geoff McMichael reports that smallmouth bass are starting to move from the Columbia River into the Yakima River and will provide good catches of fish up to four pounds through April. McMichael advises using quarter-ounce tube jigs (gitzits) in a smoke with red flake color, bounced on the bottom of the river in rocky areas with deep, slow water that is close to fast water. Don't mind muddy water because the bass still find a way to eat the jigs, he says. Look for tags on these smallmouths, too. WDFW and the Yakama Indian Nation have been tagging bass for the past two years to learn more about their movements and growth. Some 3,000 bass have been tagged between the Tri-Cities and Prosser. Persons catching a tagged bass should call the toll-free number (1-888-604-8568) on the tag to report the date and location. WDFW will get back with information on when and where the fish was tagged. Starting April 1, additional stocking of hatchery rainbow trout in the small lowland lakes and ponds in and around the Yakima/Ellensburg area should boost fishing success. WDFW fish biologist Eric Anderson says some of the most consistent producers are Myron Lake, Interstate-82 Ponds # 4 & 6, Rotary Lake, and Wenas Lake in Yakima County and Mattoon Lake and the Fio Rito Lakes in Kittitas County. "This is also the time of year when we start hearing about anglers hanging into larger brown trout at Wenas Lake," Anderson said. "The browns are cruising the shorelines looking for something to eat," Anderson said. "Rapalas cast from the shoreline or trolled slowly near the bank, or trolling at the base of the dam with nightcrawlers, will occasionally entice these bruisers."
In southeast Washington, Lyons Ferry Hatchery manager Butch Harty reports that Columbia County's Tucannon River lakes – Beaver, Big Four, Blue, Deer, Rainbow, Spring and Watson – were just re-stocked with more 10 to 12-inch hatchery rainbow trout. Bennington Lake in Walla Walla County also is slated to get 2,000 1-1/2-pound triploid rainbows about April 1; this extra release of these sterile, fast- growing trout is courtesy of the cooperative efforts of the Tri-State Steelheaders and WDFW.
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