Tag Archives: floodlands

Freshet Flapping

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

The floodlands out from Tranquille invite paddlers an opportunity to paddle for about 10 km through channels, bays, and lagoon-like mazes of wetland vegetation.   Launching out of Tranquille, both sides of the river await exploration.

freshet

As the freshet approaches in June, the wildlife also moves in.   The earliest residents are ducks, geese, blackbirds, and other nesting waterfowl and wetland birds.   Under the water, fish and aquatic invertebrates proliferate and the larger birds like great blue herons and pelicans also move in.   With the abundance of life also come the predators.   Bald and golden eagles, ospreys, red-tailed hawks, and even kites and peregrines can be spotted.   Painted turtles sun themselves on logs.   All are best seen while drifting quietly.

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Paddling requires both hands and attention to balance, so calm conditions and a slow approach facilitate seeing and photographing wildlife.   When we paddle out into this area in June and July, we try to take our time and keep the focus on exploration.   On the last venture, a number of dead-end channels were found.   As the river recedes at the end of freshet, through channels start to disappear, but new surprises can still be found – wild asparagus, knotweed in flower, amphibians, and wading birds.

Framing all of this are the hills and skies of the Thompson River Valley, a favorite place.

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Tranquille Bay

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

As the rivers reach freshet, the floodlands near the mouth of the Thompson River can be paddled.   A small launch spot next to the Y in the road provides parking and a hand launch spot for one boat at a time, suitable for kayaks and canoes only.   From this spot, paddlers can paddle through the Tranquille Wildlife Management Area (Tranquille Bay) or out towards Cooney Bay, across the river to the wetlands, or up river along the shoreline.

Tranquille Bay

Paddling conditions inside the bay, in the wetlands and in Cooney Bay are protected.   Crossing the river is not too difficult, but has one kilometer of open water.   Paddling from Cooney Bay to Battle Bluff can follow the shoreline for protection, but winds around Battle Bluff are probable.   On a calm day, paddlers can go beyond or across the lake.   Wide views are available from the middle of the valley.

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On a day with no wind, the reflections in the water provide optical illusions which can only be seen from the water.

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Mount Mara provides a scenic backdrop to the calm waters of the bay.

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Ducks and geese use the wetland habitat from May to July.   Predators move in soon afterwards.   On this day, ospreys and eagles roamed the shorelines.   Painted turtles sunned themselves on logs.   Fish jumped with a fresh hatch on the water.   If you go to the wetlands, go quietly, bring your binoculars and your camera, glide unobtrusively among the “floating islands.”   This is place of peace.   Paddle in synch with the rhythm of the wetlands.

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Tranquille Wildlife Management Area

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

The area immediately east of Tranquille floods each year and becomes the home to wildlife in channels and riparian zone on both sides of the river.   The designated area is on the north side, but across the river 2 km away is another larger area.   The flood zone also extends up the shores of the river trail and west along to Cooney Bay.   To see all the channels of the floodlands is a 16 km route.   Inside the flooded channels is willow and cottonwoods, creating green “islands,” with birds and aquatic life.   Which wildlife will be seen depends on the month and the mating cycle of each species.   Families are born and predators feed.   Floodlands are inhabited by fish, amphibians, and reptiles.   Mammals swim into the channels or forage on the shores.   Each day brings more surprises.   Over 5 days in the channels, many species were seen:

great blue herons golden eagles bald eagles
western painted turtles beavers muskrats
Canada geese mergansers mallards
a great horned owl ospreys frogs
deer a black bear wild ducks
coyote orioles cedar waxwings
red-tailed hawk red-winged blackbird loons
cormorants (in 2011) flycatchers merlins
swallows and wrens gulls crows and ravens

and more….

Thompson River Channels

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

When the Thompson River is in flood, the flat lands near Kamloops Lake become part of the river.   The Wildlife Management area on the north side is part of Lac du Bois Provincial Park.   A parking area there can be used to do a hand launch at the end of the fence, just short of Tranquille on the Lake.

The flooded land is full of nesting birds and new families of ducks and geese.    Small islets of shrubs and debris dot the bay.    The river is at its widest here but the current is slow.   It is a 2 km crossing to the south shore.    A backwater channel starts at the west end of the green space and  continues upstream for 2.6 km.   The channel has lots of water for canoes or kayaks, but is not suitable for power boats.   On the paddle upstream, I spotted a beaver lodge, a deer on an island, numerous ducks and geese, and a muskrat crossing a side channel.   At a particularly narrow spot, a big black bear didn’t see my kayak  and started to swim across the channel just meters in front of me, but slowly backed up as I back-paddled too.   He watched me from the shoreline farther up, not quite sure what to make of the intrusion.

 

A full tour of both sides of the river is a 10 km journey.   It is best done at full flood, before the mosquitoes hatch.   There were no bugs now (mid-June), but they are due any day now.     You will likely be the only one there (except for the beavers, bears, deer, muskrats, ducks, and geese)….