Second Klamath Trip

Lillian was quite impressed with the hotel; I do like it a good bit.

We had to wake quite early to make it to the fly-out breakfast. Since we were heading south to the refuges afterward, we opted not to take the buses and just followed. The breakfast was a buffet with a good selection of food; there were a few eagles that passed overhead, but not many. The falconry exhibition was more exciting, with a juvenile goshawk and two peregrine falcons.

We went south into the refuges, where we did get to see a few more bald eagles, as well as some of the native waterfowl. The numbers were lower than previous years. By about 10:30 we were at the visitors' center, where Kevin Karlson was setting up in a blind.

We continued around Tule Lake and saw our prairie falcon at the Petroglyphs. Then up through the town of Tulelake, past the Bates Motel to Klamath Falls -- This was the tour of the right wing political signs.

After a quick lunch we went to Miller Island and then down 97. Highlight was a mixed kettle of bald eagles and rough legged hawks. We probably saw more rough legged hawks than any previous trip.

Dinner was a banquet followed by a slide presentation with Kevin Karlson as the guest speaker. We were invited to sit with Kevin at the meal, where we discussed some birding, photography, and the like. In Kevin's talk about birding and birders, there was a slide of my father "instructing" Ken Kaufman on hawk identification at the Cape May Hawkwatch.

Lillian wanted to sleep in, so we decided we'd get an extra 30 minutes sleep and just drive to the fly-out site. Overnight, it started to snow, and by 6AM there was 3-inches of wet snow on the roads. It took nearly 45 minutes to drive to the fly-out, so we were arriving just as it ended...

After the fly-out, we learned a bit about the blinds, and decided with the light and weather disagreeable, we'd instead find a sports bar for the Duke at Maryland game. Last year, when Duke played at Cole, I was in Klamath Falls, and enjoyed the result. The less said about the game this year, the better...

By noon, the snow had stopped, and the roads were relatively clear. Once out of the Siskiyous, the drive was fast and we were home in time for dinner.