Bob's Gone Birding: Birding in the Footsteps of Sacajawea

The view toward the Salmon River Valley from the Lewis and Clark Birding Loop

While planning this trip, I seriously considered not making the drive to Salmon, Idaho, for one day's birding. The drive was over five hours from Columbia Falls over the twisting curves of Chief Joseph Pass. Would it be worth the effort to drive in late at night, bird the hills above Salmon the next day, and then make another drive over the pass to Missoula that same evening? As it turned out, the answer was a resounding YES! By far, this was the best birding day of the trip.

Willow Flycatcher

The Idaho Birding Trail Guidebook has a really impressive bird list for two driving loops near Salmon. One is the Lemhi Backcountry Road Loop, and the other is called the Lewis and Clark Loop. I knew I wouldn't have time to do both, so I did about half of each. The loops take you through agricultural fields dotted with streams, marshes and brushy areas that are bird magnets. I birded the area for about seven hours, stopping every time I saw interesting habitat, which was often. And everywhere I stopped, I saw birds.

The first stop was a really active spot near the beginning of the route. Tall brush lined the western side of the road, and a swampy area covered the east side. Yellow Warblers seemed to be everywhere. A couple of Black-capped Chickadees joined in the fun as well. In the snags above me, a Downy Woodpecker worked its way up the trunk. A Song Sparrow barked at me from the marshy side, a Kestrel darted past and a Common Nighthawk glided by a few moments later. This was awesome!

Sage Thrasher

A little farther up the road I found Cliff and Bank Swallows, Rock Pigeons and Mourning Doves, and Red-winged Blackbirds. There was a small branch of the Salmon River below me on the west side of the road. Along it, the brush teemed with birds. A persistent "fitzbew .... fitzbew" announced the presence of a Willow Flycatcher. A gorgeous male Lazuli Bunting popped up a little bit down the road and Barn Swallows swooped above the fields. Then I saw another bird on a fence rail. I didn't recognize it at first, so I took a bunch of photos and pulled out my phone with its field guide app. No doubt! It was a Sage Thrasher and a life bird for me.

At another spot a California Quail sat in a dead tree and generally ignored me while I tried unsuccessfully to get a good angle for a photograph. Meanwhile, a few Collared-Doves zipped past me followed a few seconds later by a Red-tailed Hawk.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Just then a pickup truck coming in the opposite direction stopped. The driver rolled down his window and asked, "You bird watching?" I said yes and he said, "There's two Golden Eagles on the rocks just around that corner. I thought you might want to take a look at them." I certainly did! I hopped in the car and quickly reached the place where two eagles perched above me, no more than 50 feet away. As slowly as I could, I walked toward them, snapping photos along the way. They certainly looked like Golden Eagles, but I wanted to see the golden hackles on the back of the neck. Then one took flight. I saw the tail pattern that suggested Golden ... but the rest? It's a species I've only seen once (in Alaska) so I was on uncertain ground. I circled the one that remained perched and took some more photos ... golden feathers on the wings, but I couldn't pick out any on the neck. Then the bird called out. Funny, I didn't know Goldens sound so much like Bald Eagles. But the local guy was standing there, so sure of what he was saying, being really nice and enthusiastic about showing off a treasure to a visitor. Then he added, "They're about a month early this year." Yikes. I said nothing and later I studied the field guide. They were juvenile Bald Eagles.

Black-billed Magpie

Eventually I turned up the mountain, leaving the Lemhi Backcountry Road and heading toward the Continental Divide. Near here, Lewis and Clark met the Lemhi Shoshone and a historical plaque marks the location. We have all heard of Sacajawea, the Indian woman who acted as a guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition. She was born near Salmon but taken hostage at about 12 by the Hidatsa. She wound up in North Dakota where she was either purchased by a French trader or given to him to fulfill a gambling debt. Eventually she was taken on by the Expedition and, as they crossed the Continental Divide, she recognized her homeland, reunited with her people and learned that her brother was now chief. That reunion had a long-lasting and positive impact on the success of the mission. And now, 210 years later, I was walking this same ground, seeing the same hills, and I like to imagine I was seeking the descendents of the same birds that witnessed that historic occasion. Interestingly, one accepted interpretation of Sacajawea's name in the Hidatsa language is "Bird Woman." And this birder felt a real connection to her and those events.

Brewer's Sparrow

As I drove higher, the terrain changed into a sagebrush habitat and the bird population seemed to thin out for a while. Still, I saw a Northern Harrier hunting over the brush and some Vesper Sparrows in the dirt along the road's edge. Higher up I entered an area of towering pines. I stopped in one spot and was fortunate to find a Red Crossbill foraging in one tree, and a Clark's Nutcracker in another - two great birds!

That was when I saw approaching storm clouds and a light drizzle began to fall. I looked at the time and realized I really needed to get on the road to Missoula where I was to spend the night. It was already mid-afternoon, the drive ahead was just over three hours, and I had no desire to cross Chief Joseph Pass in the dark again. I turned around and headed down the mountain.

On the way, I came to a very small park that I had barely noticed earlier. The entire park was about the size of a school parking lot back home. There was a parking area for maybe a half-dozen cars, a little circular courtyard, a picnic table, a tiny bathroom, a small changing room and two little pools. The pools were just a bit bigger than a family-sized hot tub - and just as hot! Fed by natural springs, hot water bubbled into the pools from below and ran out through an opening at the top and into a small stream nearby. I stooped to feel the water when I heard a chip from just behind me. A sparrow was perched there in the sagebrush. I grabbed my camera, took one shot and then reached for my binoculars. The bird was gone. I had to get moving, so I forgot the incident until later when I looked at my photos. It was a Brewer's Sparrow - the second life bird of the day!

Even in my hurry to get back to the highway, I still had time to see a few more birds - Mountain Bluebirds, Western Meadowlarks, Eastern Kingbirds, Chipping Sparrows and Canada Geese. Finally I reached Salmon where I bought gas and stopped for just a moment to soak in this little town that was so charming and friendly. I especially liked the fountain in the center of town (see the photo at the bottom). It depicts a Grizzly standing in the Salmon River about to snag one of the tasty fish for his next meal. That fountain and the surrounding flowers sum up my feelings for the town, the broader area, and the day I had had thus far. It was wonderful, and I wished I had more time to stay there. God willing, someday I'll go back.

Western Meadowlark

Perhaps it was karma, or the birding gods acknowledging my appreciation for a terrific day, but Salmon had one more surprise in store for me. Just as I left town, I saw two small gray figures crossing the road ahead of me. I swerved a little to miss them, and looked directly down on a Dusky Grouse! I had searched all over three states for this species, failing miserably, and here were two of them standing in the middle of US 93. I hit the brakes, did a u-turn and, feeling certain they would be gone, drove back to the spot. They were still there, casually strolling across the road. I snatched up my bins and got another look at my third lifer of the day!

It was a fitting end to a memorable birding day. The drive to Missoula passed quickly, and the pass wasn't as daunting in the light of day as it had been the night before. The next day was to be another long day behind the wheel, so I turned in early. The day had ended, but its memories will stay with me forever.