8-31 What’s Happening

NWTF organizational meeting set tonight

A new Yakima Valley chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will debut this evening with an organizational meeting at the Selah Civic Center.

Anyone with an interest in wild turkey hunting and conservation issues is invited to attend the 6:30 p.m. meeting at the civic center, 216 S. First St.

The NWTF’s regional director, Barnabas Koka, is expected to come over from Idaho for the meeting, and Washington state chapter president Kurt Beckley is also scheduled to attend.

For more information about the meeting or NWTF goals, call Ross Huffman at 509-961-8093.

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Tickets available for DU’s Sept. 9 banquet

Tickets are on sale for the Yakima Ducks Unlimited banquet set for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Apple Tree Golf Resort.

The event will feature the silent and live auctions members have come to expect, with plenty of guns, outfitter trips (hunting, fishing and golf) and other outdoor-related items available to win or purchase. A variety of “date night” packages to numerous destinations will also be up for grabs.

Tickets are $75 each (or $300 for sponsor or $1,000 per table of eight, including one sponsor), and will remain on sale through Sept. 8. Dinner options will be prime rib or salmon.

For more information, call Nate Rothrock at 509-630-3319, or e-mail nate.rothrock@gmail.com. Tickets can also be purchased online by going to www.ducks.org/state/68 and then clicking on the Yakima DU Dinner link.

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AROUND AND ABOUT

PCT STRETCH REOPENED: A 6.5-mile segment of the Pacific Crest Trail inside the Alpine Lakes Wilderness — between Mineral Creek Trail 1331 to Lemah Meadows Trail 1323.2, closed since last summer for safety reasons related to fire and burnt trees — was reopened to the public last week. Two detour routes to the trails — popular with hikers, Scouts and horse riders — were in place during the closure.

DELAYS AT RAINIER: Visitors can expect occasional delays of up to 20 minutes when accessing Mount Rainier National Park’s southwest entrance because of a construction project on Nisqually Road, six miles east of the entrance. The work schedule will be primarily Monday through Thursday, with some work on Fridays if necessary, and nothing on weekends.

FIRE NEAR ENCHANTMENTS: Hikers heading up to Chelan County to hike in or near the Enchantments can expect some smoke from the Eightmile Lake Fire, which has been burning on as much as 190 acres above Eightmile Lake west of the Enchantments. Two trails (Eightmile 1552, and Eightmile/Trout Lake 1554) remain closed, but nearby trails to Stuart and Colchuck lakes are unaffected.

LAKE WENATCHEE CLOSURE: The state parks commission closed Lake Wenatchee State Park last Thursday because of safety problems associated with tree root rot that led to two trees falling in the south campground. On Monday, the commission announced it was reopening the day-use area of the park and that campsites 101 through 148 would be reopened by this Thursday in time for the Labor Day camping crowds.

DEER POACHING CHARGE: An 18-year-old Walla Walla man was charged last week with poaching four deer in the Woodward Canyon area of western Walla Walla County on Aug. 2. Charges included seven gross misdemeanor counts, four related to closed-season hunting and wastage, and one each for spotlighting big game, shooting from a road and having a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle.

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BIRD ALERT

The fall migration of Vaux’s swift through the Yakima Valley is picking up. The swifts spend the night roosting in large chimneys, typically gathering near their selected chimney in the 20 minutes before sunset and dropping into the chimney shortly after sunset — earlier in poorer weather.

The chimney must be brick-lined, which gives the birds a rougher surface to cling to.  Swifts have such weak feet they can’t perch on the branch of a tree or a power line like swallows do. They use their stiff tails to help them roost in the chimney, similar to the way woodpeckers use their tails when they climb a tree.

Two birders counted 810 Vaux’s swifts flying into the large chimney at the Herald-Republic building on Friday evening, then counted 830 on Saturday. A slow-motion video recount of Saturday’s chimney drop showed that 1,041 birds had actually flown into the chimney that evening. Sunday’s total was 850. The fall migration should continue for another 10 days.

Are there any volunteers to show up to the Herald-Republic building in the morning and see what time the swifts fly out?

Another birder spotted swifts circling around the chimney Sunday evening at the old Parker Heights School on Yakima Valley Highway. The flock was around 40 at 7:25 p.m., grew to 300 just after sunset, flew away at 8:03, then came back with a vengeance two minutes later.

At 8:06 p.m. a continuous drop of 490 Swifts entered the chimney; one early bird and six late ones brought the total to 497.

A visit to Wenas Lake Sunday morning found a lower water level and more exposed mud, and therefore more shorebirds searching for tasty morsels in the mud. Highlights included one greater yellowlegs, two Baird’s sandpipers and 24 Wilson’s snipe, plus the spectacle of 250 violet-green swallows flying low over the lake.

Please call you bird sightings in to the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 509-248-1963.

— Denny Granstrand

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ON THE CALENDAR

TODAY: The Cascadians’ “Tuesdays” hiking group will head up to Chelan County for a 9-mile hike to Colchuck Lake, a trek that will include 2,200 feet of elevation gain. Participants should meet at 7:30 a.m. at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart, bringing along a lunch, plenty of water, sturdy boots and clothing for potential changes in the weather.

WEDNESDAY: The Mount Adams Cycling Club’s weekly 24-mile Naches Loop begins at 6 p.m. at the Fred Meyer/Key Bank parking lot. For more online info, go to www.mountadamscycling.org.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians’ Pokies will hike up to Edgar Rock overlooking Highway 410 near Cliffdel. For information on meeting time and place, call Ramona Banning at 509-965-9304.

MONDAY: The Mount Adams Cycling Club will hold a members-and-guests bike ride starting at 5:45 p.m. from YAC Fitness in Terrace Heights, with the ride to be somewhere between 23 and 30 miles.