![]() ![]() A ranger I spoke to said that in the morning he had seen a northern pintail (type of duck) that came out of some reeds and couldn’t get its wings to extend – they had frozen to its body during the night! That’s cold (it eventually did free its wings). I braved some cold temperatures, especially the first day – it was near 0 deg F. Those in addition to golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, assorted falcons, many owls and more can be seen here. outside of Alaska! I have been there previously and seen around 50 eagles in one 360 degree view! Not only that, there are a lot of northern migrants such as rough-legged hawks and ferruginous hawks, species not often seen this far west or south. Here during the winter can be found the highest density population of bald eagles in the continental U.S. ![]() Klamath Basin area – dikes, levies and canals define much of the mostly treeless landscape outside of the National Wildlife areas During the winter months, there is a very high population of raptors that migrate here to wait out the winter due to the availability of prey (and it should be noted that agriculture fields that are dormant often provide a home to many rodents, thereby attracting more raptors). Recently it has become even more exciting as there are now two small wolf packs that call the Cascades just west of the Basin home (one of which is the famous OR-7 wolf, who at one point traveled to California and became the first confirmed wolf in CA since the 1930’s)! The Basin sits in view of several volcanoes that are part of the Cascade range, and the area is of volcanic origins. It is also host to a lot of agriculture, using waters diverted from the Klamath River to irrigate fields. This flat high desert area (around 4000 feet elevation) straddles the border of Oregon and California and is just east of the Cascade mountain range. Klamath Basin area with view of Mt McLoughlin in the distant background, a volcano which lies in the Cascade mountain range to the northwest The Klamath Basin area is home to multiple National Wildlife Refuges (six of them!), and is a major stop-off for migrating water fowl along the Pacific Flyway during the autumn and spring. Nor did the coyote seemed surprised or concerned – despite them being well within striking distance of each other!!!!! The coyote paused near the eagle, and the eagle sliced (almost on top of the coyote), then the canine came out into the roadway, shot me a glance, smelled a fresh coyote scat (confirmed once I drove up there after the encounter), then disappeared back into the tule reeds by the eagle. The eagle did not seem the least bit surprised to see the coyote, even as it passed directly by it not five feet away. Suddenly, I caught sight of the coyote again, briefly, and then it disappeared into the reeds on the other side of the eagle – then re-appeared right next to the eagle!! I couldn’t believe it. I slowed to a stop to watch the hunt, and not long after, the eagle landed on another short road sign just ahead of me. In just a hundred yards or so, I stopped because I saw the golden eagle again, hunting about 20 feet off the ground over the wetlands, almost like a Northern harrier. ![]() Larger tracks in background are coyote, small tracks in foreground are from a bounding mouse (or mice) Eventually the coyote disappeared, so I started driving down the snow-covered road again. ![]() The prolific amount of prey there in the Klamath Basin attracts more than flying predators. There are coyote trails all over the place out there. Or, it was following another coyote trail and marking its territory. It appeared to be hunting, possibly trying to flush prey or looking to scavenge a meal. Eventually it stopped running, being sure to look back at me as if to say “I see you and don’t think for a second I am not watching you, two-legged.” It started to move at a fast trot along and through the reeds on both sides of the road, often crossing it. Once my eyes locked onto it, it sensed it and increased its speed, changing from a trot to a full-on bounding gait as if I were in pursuit! I am willing to bet there are hunters out there that take shots at them. Most of the water is frozen though, and what I saw was a coyote moving away from me parallel to the road. The roads are raised on levies to allow navigation through the wetlands. Golden eagle takes flight / Lower Klamath NWRĪfter it took off, a quick movement caught my eye on the other side of the reeds along the snowy dirt road on which I was positioned. ![]()
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