Trout Creek ER # 7 Warden’s Report April 11, 2013

I just had to celebrate my birthday with a hike in the reserve!

• I lucked out with the weather as it was 8c at 7.3am with some warm sun at times and periodically windy at the top.
• I saw/heard 11 species of birds including all 3 species of nuthatches,a hooting Dusky Grouse and my first Cassin’s Finchs of the year.Unfortunately the Vesper Sparrows that I anticipated did not materialize and meadowlarks have been a no show for years.
• 11 plants were in leaf,3 in flower and 1 in bud. I dug out a lone knapweed rosette and found no Sulphur Cinqefoil.
• I saw one Mule Deer doe as she gracefully jumped over the fence into the reserve.I found several piles of old coyote scat.
• I found 2 large white boundary stakes with the letters OB” just inside the fence at the 12th green of the golf course.Some minor fence repairs are still needed at this site,right at the ER sign on a fence post.
• a rotted out fence post at the top of the reserve needs replacing.
• I moved the ER boundary sign at the talus slope, that I put up in March, to where a trail intersects with the fence to make it more visible.

Cheers…….Laurie Rockwell