Bird Watching
There are two permanent bird blinds located within easy walking distance of the guard station. The blinds are located approximately 300 feet apart. They are 8 feet by 12 feet covered shelters with veiled window openings allowing observers to view and photograph birds from a distance of 15–20 feet. To attract birds, each blind has a small concrete basin called a guzzler that fills with water from a nearby storage tank that is fed by water collection aprons.
Because Cabin Lake Guard Station is located on the border between the eastern Cascade pine forests and the high desert eco-systems, the guzzler’s water attracts an unusually wide range of birds typical of both environments. Among the birds common to the site are Lewis's Woodpecker, White-headed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Gray Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Clark's Nutcracker, Morning Dove, Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller's Jay, Pinyon Jay, Gray Jay, Common Poorwill, Green-tailed Towhee, Mountain Chickadee, Brewer's Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Cassin's Finch, Red Crossbill, Mountain Bluebird, Western Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Townsend's Solitaire. Many bird photographs used in Wikipedia articles were taken at the Cabin Lake viewing blind.
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- Lewis’s Woodpecker
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- Red Crossbills
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- Mountain Bluebird
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- Morning Dove
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- Cassin's Finch
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- Green-tailed Towhee
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- Brewer's Sparrow
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- Least chipmunk
Thirsty mammals also use the guzzlers. During the day, the most common wildlife seen from the blinds are Least Chipmunk, Yellow-pine Chipmunk, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, and American Badger. In evening, mule deer, bushy-tailed woodrats, deer mice, and several species of bats coming to drink at the guzzlers.
Read more about this topic: Cabin Lake Guard Station
Famous quotes containing the words bird and/or watching:
“Then the little Hiawatha
Learned of every bird its language,
Learned their names and all their secrets,”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)
“To be shelterless and alone in the open country, hearing the wind moan and watching for day through the whole long weary night; to listen to the falling rain, and crouch for warmth beneath the lee of some old barn or rick, or in the hollow of a tree; are dismal things—but not so dismal as the wandering up and down where shelter is, and beds and sleepers are by thousands; a houseless rejected creature.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)