Spring makes Lake County come alive. This is especially true on Clear Lake.
There is much more to the county?s No. 1 attraction than just fishing. The lake is literally bursting with wildlife. Water birds of all types can be seen nesting and feeding; otters are often observed playing on shore and even an occasional mink can be seen; deer frequent the more remote areas of the lake and recently a fisherman reported seeing a mountain lion taking a drink of water.
A reader wanted to know why the lake has such an abundance of birds and other wildlife. The answer is simple … food. In the wild, food drives the train so to speak. Where there is plenty of food, birds and other wildlife will be found in abundance. When the food disappears, so will the wildlife.
Presently the lake is awash with threadfin shad, hitch, crayfish and other tasty morsels for the fish and wildlife. As one scientist remarked a few years ago, ?Clear Lake is equal to the richest rain forest in the world.?
All this activity provides an unprecedented opportunity to view this spectacle. It?s surprising the number of county residents who have never been out on the lake in a boat or who know very little about this treasure.
A boat is needed to access most of the areas where the birds congregate. Be sure to take a good pair of binoculars, a camera and sunscreen. Since this journey will take most of the day, a good lunch, bottle of wine or other cold drinks are recommended. A bird identification book (my favorite is the Audubon Handbook of Western Birds), and a map of Clear Lake will also be helpful.
Start your journey at Rodman Slough. A trip up the slough is like entering the backwaters of the Everglades. The area is alive with wildlife, including the great blue heron, night herons, white egrets, western grebes, osprey, pelicans, various species of wild ducks, otters and muskrats. On occasion you will see bald eagles and golden eagles.
Leaving Rodman Slough, pass the Lakeport area and head for Long Tule Point (located south of Lakeport). This where the bulk of the western grebes nest. It is estimated than more than 50,000 grebes can be seen in this small area ? it is the largest concentration of western grebes in the world.
You will see the grebes doing their mating dance, which is called ?rushing.? Baby grebes can be seen riding on their mother?s back.
Along with the grebes you will see other water birds such as the mudhen or coot. The adult coot is totally black but the babies on the nest have red heads. There are also a good number of great blue herons in this area.
Near the entrance of Holiday Cove is a large rookery of cormorants.
As you venture south you will pass Corinthian Bay. At the edge of the bay near the Lakeside County Park is an osprey nest where the parents can be seen tending to their young. It?s a great photo opportunity.
Your next stop as you cruise south is Clear Lake State Park. The park is bustling with wildlife and there is a boat dock where you can tie up. There are several hiking trails in the park as well as the visitor?s center. A suggestion: Make the park your lunch stop.
The final stop on your wildlife tour is Anderson Marsh, located in the south end of the lake just south of Redbud Park on Cache Creek. This area offers a number of trails where you can hike and have great wildlife viewing.
Here is another suggestion: Launch your boat in Lakeport and then have a friend drive your trailer to Redbud Park in Clearlake, where you can take the boat out. It will save you from running the 20 miles back to your original launching spot.
This is a trip I have made dozens of times and I?ve always been amazed with the number of birds and other creatures I see. It makes one appreciate just how lucky we are to live in Lake County.
There is a reason that tourists travel thousands of miles just to spend a few days and enjoy what we are lucky enough to have all year long.
