The goal of this trip was to see the many Bald Eagles that winter in the Tule Lake / Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges (NWF). We are always trying to cover as much ground as possible in a trip. So true to form, we left after work to get a few hours’ drive time in. We have found Laufman campground, about an hour north of Reno on HWY 395, to be a good overnight spot when we do this. Laufman is fairly primitive, with just a few spaces and basic vault toilet, it is just a few miles off the highway. Close enough to be convenient but far enough to not hear any road noise.
The next day we planned on meeting fellow WTW’er MarkBC at Klamath Lake. Along the way we drove through Tule Lake NWR. Most of the lake was frozen over and we soon saw eagles out on the ice. There were also thousands of geese, ducks, and swans. Ocassionally one of the Bald Eagles would fly into the midst of the other birds, causing a massive number of them to take off. It was amazing how loud the sound of so many birds taking off at once was when you considered how far away we were.
We met Mark at a Klamath County Park on a peninsula of Klamath Lake just as the sun was setting. The lake surrounding us was completely frozen.
It was already below freezing so I started to build a fire while Mark and my wife set up our campers and took some photos. I thought I heard some strange noise but attributed it to truck traffic even though the road was four miles away. Soon we settled down to some dinner and chit chat getting to know each other. But then the sound returned. Over and over. Mark recognized it as something he experienced recently on his previous trip and described in this trip report. His description of it being similar to a whale song isn’t far off. I would say some type of mix between a jet afterburner and the wa-wa sound of a piece of steel reverberating when you shake it. The amazing thing is you could hear it travel several miles across the lake and back again in a matter of a few seconds. It was loud enough to interrupt conversation. I found the whole phenomenon completely fascinating.
The next day we left camp early to see the “flyout”. The Bald Eagles tend to roost in the Bear Valley NWR and fly to the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake NWR to hunt during the day. The idea is that you can park along a road below the Bear Valley NWR and watch the eagles fly out en mass at dawn. So we set the alarms for Oh Dark Hundred and drove out to this dirt road and waited for the flyout. The temps were in the low 20’s.
We counted a total of 12 eagles. We talked to a regular who said he had never seen so few in all his visits. In short, the flyout was a washout.
The next day we planned on meeting fellow WTW’er MarkBC at Klamath Lake. Along the way we drove through Tule Lake NWR. Most of the lake was frozen over and we soon saw eagles out on the ice. There were also thousands of geese, ducks, and swans. Ocassionally one of the Bald Eagles would fly into the midst of the other birds, causing a massive number of them to take off. It was amazing how loud the sound of so many birds taking off at once was when you considered how far away we were.
We met Mark at a Klamath County Park on a peninsula of Klamath Lake just as the sun was setting. The lake surrounding us was completely frozen.
It was already below freezing so I started to build a fire while Mark and my wife set up our campers and took some photos. I thought I heard some strange noise but attributed it to truck traffic even though the road was four miles away. Soon we settled down to some dinner and chit chat getting to know each other. But then the sound returned. Over and over. Mark recognized it as something he experienced recently on his previous trip and described in this trip report. His description of it being similar to a whale song isn’t far off. I would say some type of mix between a jet afterburner and the wa-wa sound of a piece of steel reverberating when you shake it. The amazing thing is you could hear it travel several miles across the lake and back again in a matter of a few seconds. It was loud enough to interrupt conversation. I found the whole phenomenon completely fascinating.
The next day we left camp early to see the “flyout”. The Bald Eagles tend to roost in the Bear Valley NWR and fly to the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake NWR to hunt during the day. The idea is that you can park along a road below the Bear Valley NWR and watch the eagles fly out en mass at dawn. So we set the alarms for Oh Dark Hundred and drove out to this dirt road and waited for the flyout. The temps were in the low 20’s.
We counted a total of 12 eagles. We talked to a regular who said he had never seen so few in all his visits. In short, the flyout was a washout.
