Have been traveling in the Idaho Panhandle. The area has been affected by some bad weather recently. At Heyburn State Park, south of Coeur d’Alene, the water level at the lake had risen. The boardwalk to a marsh area was destroyed and some trails covered with water.

Above, an osprey and a yellow warbler (with a moth) seen at Heyburn.

Stayed along the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway for a few days. It’s a beautiful area. The lake, with its’ forest covered islands, reminded me of Skagit Bay and Anacortes in Washington.

Above, a pileated woodpecker seen along Lake Pend Oreille. The first one I’ve seen. One of the largest woodpeckers in North America, they have a very distinct call and sound like a jackhammer when drumming. The holes they drill are huge. Hope to see more of them and get a better picture.

The campground I stayed at along Lake Pend Oreille
had recently lost around 30 trees in a severe wind and rain storm. This was nothing compared to nearby Priest Lake State Park, who lost more than 100 trees, along with sustaining severe damage to one of their campgrounds. I stayed one night at the campground, in one of the less damaged campsites. The site had it’s own creek that appeared after the storm (seen above). The park is having to call some people who reserved sites for the Memorial Day weekend to tell them they cannot come. A cold front is coming through the area, so some may be relieved to not have to camp in cold wet weather.

A deer in the Lake Pend Oreille area.

Below, Lake Pend Oreille.

Headed north into Idaho. This year, took a different route, through western Idaho. From Boise, took highway 55, then highway 95, through mountain valley’s, usually along streams or rivers. Unseasonably cold weather in Boise followed me part of the way. It’s a beautiful drive, with lots of places to stay and explore.

Above, a view above White Bird, Idaho, where the initial battle that started the Nez Perce War took place.

Stayed at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston for a few days. Above shows the Clearwater River (on the left)  as it joins the Snake River. The State Park is along the Snake River in the middle of the picture. There are lots of beautiful trees in the area that look like pictures from a plant catalog. Lewiston is just 738 feet above sea level and has mild winters. Think it gets pretty warm in the summer though. The weather in northwest Idaho lets a lot of the State Parks and National Forest Campgrounds open in May, rather than after Memorial Day.  Hells Gate State Park has one camping loop open year around.

Above, an osprey, with what appears to be a small bird in it’s talons, returns to it’s nest near the Visitor Center at the park.

Also, a wood duck near the shoreline by my campsite.

On my drive through western Idaho, all the rivers were running high and swift. This was the case in Lewiston as well. The Snake River was really muddy and swift. Wondered if that played a part in the osprey going after a bird rather than a fish.

Found that Walmarts in both Lewiston and nearby Moscow had been closed. The one in Lewiston is now a community center and the one in Moscow has a Goodwill store. Both towns are strong farming communities. That may have played a part in the Walmarts’ closing.

A young swallow let me take it’s picture.

After leaving Utah, stopped one night at a campground in the Curlew National Grasslands. On leaving, the young  hawk below let me take it’s picture.

Stopped at El Vado State Park near Chama, New Mexico to let some spring weather systems pass. Had snow, hail, and rain. The snow melted as soon as it hit the ground. On the distant mountains, it just lasted a few hours. I have been in drought areas so long, I enjoyed the rain. Left my trailer cleaner than it’s been for a while.

Bluebird with a worm.

Have started seeing osprey nests. The osprey below looks to be a young one.

Love watching brown pelicans dive for fish.

Osprey hunting. One of a pair. Caracara were also in the area.

Tern with a small fish.

Ruby-crowned kinglet. Such big eyes for such a small bird.

Had a few more visits from the kingfisher. First, and probably last time, a kingfisher will sit still long enough for me take their picture.

Wild turkey’s fluffed up and on the fence.

Have not seen many vermilion flycatchers or scissor-tailed flycatchers, perhaps due to the caracara’s and the young red-tailed hawk that patrol the area around my campsite. Have never seen so many caracaras. You usually see them in pairs, they mate for life.

Osprey coming up empty, without a fish, after diving for one.

Gold-fronted woodpecker

Scissor-tailed flycatcher

After three or four days of warm weather, started seeing lots of butterflies. The ash-throated flycatcher above caught and ate one amazingly fast, in one gulp..

Visited the Tri-Cities area of south-central Washington (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco) in order to visit some wildlife refuges in the area. Stayed a few days at an Army Corps of Engineers campground along the Snake River. Part of the McNary Wildlife Refuge is right next to the campground. Saw the Kingfisher above in a marsh area there.

It is the season to start seeing osprey nests.

Below, a coyote in the refuge.

Next drove through Hanford Reach National Monument. The Hanford Site is where Plutonium reactors were built in 1943 to make the atom bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. The reactors are now inactive and being dismantled. The Site is on the Columbia River and a wide area of land around it that served as a security buffer is now the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.

There was a severe wind alert throughout Washington and parts of Oregon and Idaho. I drove on to Toppenish to stay till they passed. The winds really shook my trailer and blew open the heavy cover on the bed of my truck. Luckily, the farmland I was parked next to had a crop growing on it, so I didn’t get a lot of topsoil blown my way.

Above, a California quail at the Toppenish Wildlife Refuge.

Below, northeast Oregon farmland along I-84. It snowed a little past where this picture was taken. Enjoyed the drive along the I-84, with all it’s rest stops.

Red tailed hawk (top) over a farm field. An osprey and a brown pelican near where I’m staying.

At Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge saw an osprey eating a fish on the beach. A ruddy turnstone was walking in figure-eights in front of him and occasionally getting a bite. There was also a seagull around 15 feet away waiting for the osprey to finish and leave him the leftovers. Last year when I was here I saw the same configuration of three birds and thought the turnstone had a  lot of nerve. The osprey could easily kill him. Don’t know if the trio this year are the exact same birds, just thought it was interesting to see it again.

Above, a loggerhead shrike with some kind of sea creature. The shrike was acting cat like, letting the creature crawl a short distance before bringing him back. The loggerhead shrike is a small bird of prey. The only other one I’ve seen has also been here at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge.

Ferral hogs at Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge. Had never seen them before. The refuge considers them a problem and holds special hunts for them intermittently.

One day leaving the park where I’m staying, saw a kingfisher slapping a fish back and forth against the railing. It’s throwing it up in the air in the picture above.

When I was Falcon State Park last year heard about a mascot roadrunner who, when given a hotdog, would slap it back and forth on the ground like it was a snake.

I enjoy feeding the green jays by my rv. Recently saw a Harris’s hawk perched near me (below). Have to be careful that I don’t provide him with a meal.

Yesterday kept intermittently hearing a strange sound that didn’t sound like birds. Finally stepped out of my rv to investigate and saw a bobcat in the brush. It looked at me briefly and then went about it’s business of looking for prey.

When I arrived at my campsite, there was a resident vermilion flycatcher hunting there.

Scissor-tailed flycatcher. First one I’ve seen.

Osprey diving into the water. Didn’t get the fish.

A kingbird, either a tropical or Cassin’s, both uncommon.

Crested caracara

Have been in Heyburn State Park in Idaho for close to a week. Had a hard time finding an rv spot. They are doing a lot of construction work here and visitor’s are kind of on their own. After about an hour, I did find a nice spot. It has been warm, but being surrounded by trees cools things off. Have not had to use my air conditioner.

One thing the park has going for it is the 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes paved trail that passes through it. Above you see the path crossing Chalcolet Lake. There are three osprey nesting near this crossing. The one in the top picture is right over the path. It was not happy with my walking under it’s nest.

An osprey doing some redecorating with a long branch.

Cedar waxwing with a berry it subsequently swallows whole.

Western tanager with fledgling.

Pretty dragonfly and a beaver in a marsh area.

Parent, on right, the same osprey as in the top picture, with a soon-to-be fledgling on the left.

Below, campsite at Heyburn.

I am visiting Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, around 20 miles from the Canadian Border. The cedar waxwing, above, has some fledglings in the berry bush. The leaves were so dense, I couldn’t get a good picture of them.

On reading about Bonners Ferry on Wikipedia, found that it is near where the Ruby Ridge incident occurred. The write up on Wikipedia about this is like a novel. There are lots of places in the woods around here to try and escape society.

It is really crowded here with rv’s and motorcycles. I stopped by Glacier National Park on the way, but it was also jammed. Hope to get back there. A Canadian radio station made the comment that they just have two seasons: winter and July. This may have something to do with the crowds. It’s the best weather of the year.

Have seen this moose and calf three times. The adult always detects when people stop to watch her with the calf and she heads back into the tall grass.

Osprey. An adult was two posts down from it eating a fish.

On leaving the refuge one day, I noticed the silhouette of the back of an owl on a utility pole. I slowing walked towards it, not wanting it to fly away. Came to find it was a fake owl! Read where they were put on utility poles to keep osprey from nesting, but the osprey ended up using the fake owls in their nests.

Young deer going out into a wheat field where an adult was grazing.