Lost Lake | My Everyday Photos

Tag Archives: Lost Lake

Loons

July 6, 2019 – 7:28 am
Posted in loons
Tagged birdwatching, Common Loons, Lost Lake, Okanogan Highlands
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These photos are from our recent camping trip. I love to watch and photograph birds from my kayak. Some birds, like Common Loons, will approach a boat if it is quiet and this family did just that. If I was close to the birds, I’d sit quietly in the boat and hope that they would come closer. They didn’t always. Early mornings and evenings were best. It was busier around the lake during the day and the birds tried to keep to themselves. The first day we saw the baby loons, they were not yet diving but by the time we left, they were diving and preening and acting like their parents. The youngsters have big feet, like a lab puppy and I imagine someone asking the parents, ‘do you think they will ever grow into those feet?’ Well, people still ask me that about Sky and she’s almost six years old, so no.

At another lake, I was able to look down at the loons and see them swimming underwater. They strictly used their feet for propulsion. I also observed this from my boat but they were too close for photos!

I know, this is a lot of photos but the birds are so beautiful.

Camping Scenes

July 2, 2019 – 7:14 am
Posted in camping
Tagged camping with dogs, fog, ground squirrel, Lost Lake, Okanogan Highlands, wildflowers
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We all went camping last week and had a nice time away from home in a beautiful and place and offline too. It rained some. There was one big thunderstorm that went on for an hour or more. We never got too hot. Or cold. Sky may have jumped in a lake or two. Or three.

First Campout of the Summer

June 7, 2018 – 8:59 am
Posted in camping
Tagged kayak, Lost Lake, Okanogan Highlands, wildflowers
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We spent last week at Lost Lake in the Okanogan Highlands in eastern Okanogan County. If you’ve followed this blog for long, you know we go there just about every year. What is it about this place that we find so inviting? Let’s see: old growth western larch forest, Common Loons, wildflowers, historic CCC structures, peace and quiet, wildflowers, perfect small lake for paddling and relaxing, brook trout in that lake, good birding and much, much more.

Weather was kind of chilly and we enjoyed our campfires each night. Fishing was off from other years but Ken was able to bring in enough for two meals. A friend joined us for a couple of days. We did some serious birding and she got to paddle Ken’s fishing kayak. The dogs were happy and busy and they slept like rocks each night. I think we all slept well with the frogs in the background. We woke to singing Swainson’s Thrushes and Ruby-crowned Kinglets each morning.

camp life

Good dogs on a walk

Calypso orchid

Luna waited patiently while I crawled around looking at the wildflowers.

Clematis

Snowberry

Western larch needles

Mountain ash

Watching us paddle back for breakfast

Lost Lake Birds

June 2, 2016 – 10:51 am
Posted in birding, birds
Tagged bald eagle, birding, birds, Common Loon, kayak, Lost Lake, Ring-necked Ducks, Swainson's Thrush
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I’ve been visiting Lost Lake for nearly twenty years now. From the first time, I remember the loons. It was news to me that there were Common Loons in Washington. And then I realized that they were nesting here too!

Lost Lake is a small lake so it only hosts one nesting pair. There are a few other lakes in eastern Okanogan County and also in Ferry County that support a small population of nesting loons. Loons face many obstacles to raising their babies. Both parents take turns on the nest so the eggs (often there are two) are never left exposed. Predators that could take them include Bald Eagles, Common Ravens and otters. After they hatch and the young birds are on the water, the parents are constantly wary of attacks from the air and the water. An eagle can easily take a young loon from the water’s surface.

Loons aren’t the only birds at Lost Lake but they might be the most charismatic. Lots of people fish there in non-motorized boats so the birds are accustomed to boats and will approach fairly close. They are especially interested in the anglers. I find that if I sit quietly in my kayak, the birds will come close and offer great looks. Not that close though. These photos were mostly made with a 600 mm lens. The forest bird photos were made with a much shorter lens.

Spotted Sandpipers are a real joy to watch. They trot along logs and sticks on the water, bobbing their tails up and down and issuing their calls when they fly to the next lot. There are lots of swallows around the lake, taking advantage of many of the cavities in the trees for nesting sites.

Spotted Sandpiper

Tree Swallow

Unkown Empidonax flycatcher. Any thoughts on its ID would be appreciated. It did not call or sing as I observed it.

A pair of Ring-necked Ducks

Swainson’s Thrush.

Williamson’s Sapsucker male

Sapsucker holes

nest

This Bald Eagle kept a close eye on the loon nest

Loon on the nest

Lost Lake Campout

June 2, 2016 – 7:30 am
Posted in camping
Tagged bald eagle, calypso orchids, campfire cooking, CCC, dogs, kayak, Lost Lake, Okanogan Highlands, western larch
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We got away with our camper for a week or so at the end of May. Last summer there was no time for camping between work and wildfires so we just decided to block out some time early and do it. With a little luck, maybe we can go again later in the summer.

The Lost Lake Campground was created by the CCC. Signs indicated the work was done in 1940 and ’41. There is a cabin and shops and also some buildings at the adjacent Kiwanis camp all built by the CCC workers. The cabin is badly in need of repair. I do hope the US Forest Service can find the resources to preserve this historic building.

Western larch is the predominant tree around the campground. These are tall stately conifers with needles that turn golden yellow in the fall before dropping. In the spring they grow vibrant green foliage. Apparently the area was logged in 1963, taking many of the big old trees. There are at least two remaining and a nature walk will guide you to them. The area was thinned/logged again around fifteen years ago, I think. This thinning has produced a healthy and attractive stand that is also more fire resistant than it was prior to that.

We were joined by Ken’s brother and the two of them enjoyed fishing for brook trout from the short kayaks. We had two good meals of fresh fish cooked over the fire. I enjoyed birding from my kayak. Ken and Carl saw a moose swim across the lake while they were fishing. Of course, I missed it! We all enjoyed listening to the loons calling to each other.

It was nice to get away from home and the ever-present electronic world.