by John Neville
This article first appeared in the summer edition of BC Nature 2017
We plan to explore parts of British Columbia in the Springtime.
Our route will start at the Washington border, and use highway 97 as a rough guideline,
rather like the needle on a compass, always guiding us north.
As an introduction I would like to tell you about a day in the sagebrush several years ago.
After ascending Old Ricter Pass, near Osoyoos, we entered a protected area. We followed the parallel tire ruts and crossed several cattle guards. It was a beautiful early morning over the sagebrush with Western Meadowlarks and Brewer's Sparrows declaring their property rights. 
I was soon out amongst the lonesome sage with my microphone.
Brushing against twigs the aroma of sage filled my nostrils.
The land began to rise steeply and about that time I heard a thin, slightly hoarse song with very little pitch change.
It was not a Lark Sparrow but a rare Sagebrush Sparrow. Their territories only just enter into Canada.
As I followed him, he of course began to move further away, up the slope.
This browny-gray bird ran between the sage and rocks ahead of me.
He allowed me to record his song from a distance. Without much thought I continued to ascend,
after the bird, till the slope became a cliff! One hand, and two feet climed while I held the microphone.
At the top I sat down on a rock to catch my breath and a Coyote began to bark at me. It seemed very agressive but there was no way I could quickly retreit down the cliff, so simply stayed still and turned on the recorder. Later I learnt from experience that this was the alarm barking of the male Coyote. In the afternoon sun heat waves cause the wind to blow. I used a camp seat among the sage to try and record Brewer's Sparrow. The wind was a problema, so I kept my earphones on to record between gusts of wind. In the distance I could hear cows mooing. I was suddenly aroused by loud bellowing! taking off my earphones I realised a herd of animals were stampeding towards me! I quickly gathered up my equipment and ran down to the track, and along to our Jeep. About ten seconds after slamming the door a large bull passed on either side of the vercle. Heather had been quietly writing letters and was surprised when I arived out of breath. She quickly understood why I was out of breath, as the Bulls were followed by 50 cows, and 5 cowboys, complete with chaps, whips, ten gallon hats, and dogs! It was a real cattle drive. 
Sometime later I was out on the trail, but not straying far from the vercle, when a single rider aproached.
He was herding one bull and was curious what I was doing on his ranch?
I explained my equipment and our belief that we were in a Protected area. There were certainly no signs.
He quickly became very friendly and welcomed me, as long As I didn't damage the lland.
He also explained to me about the Coyote den on top of the cliff. He had been up there that morning to, and handled the cubs.
It was enlightening to meet a rancher who cared about wildlife.
Two weeks later we stopped in the same area: and from about 10 meters away, two young coyote peered at us from the sagebrush. We hope you will join us next time, heading North in the Spring. References. Birdsongs of the Okanagan tracks. |