Tag Archives: pelicans

Paddling Campbell Lake

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

Campbell Lake is at the end of a long, bumpy road and it can be a busy spot in prime times so I try to paddle it off season.    Over the last few years, there have been pelicans on the lake in late August and much of September so I schedule my time to coincide with their time on the lake.   On a windy September morning I got an early start.

The pelicans are usually in shallow water.   Campbell Lake has a few large shallow bays which boats can’t get through.    A kayak can slowly cross the shallow, aquatic weed-thick water to approach the pelicans, but a long telephoto lens is still needed.

I watched the pelicans then paddled around the lake, spotting a heron, an eagle, some geese, and many ducks.   A paddle around the lake is about 8 km.

It was a windy day with difficult light for photography and videography, but I took some video clips, then flew the drone to put together a video:

The highlight of paddling the lake is to see the pelicans.    I hope to paddle out to them on Kamloops Lake again soon.

A Campbell Lake page will be developed over the winter with detailed information.

On Nicola Lake

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

We launched our kayaks in April from a boat launch on the east side of Nicola Lake close to the southwest end.   The lake was low and almost all of the water was quite shallow, but there was a channel of deeper water heading west toward Upper Nicola.

On a sandbar across the lake were 3 American white pelicans (only one of the 8 species to have a bump on its bill).

By drifting in slowly and remaining still, I was able to get close enough to get a few good photos

The pelicans kept an eye on me and started to walk away when I got too close.

After leaving the pelicans, we worked our way into the narrowing part of the lake which we found to be very shallow.   We spotted a great blue heron, eagles, an osprey, and many ducks along the waterway.

We had hoped to have done a loop, but this is probably only possible in high water so we returned up the main channel to our launch.   We have paddled all parts of Nicola Lake on separate days, all from different launch points.   The main body of the lake can be a very windy spot so we always try for a morning launch, avoiding a lake crossing at the end of the paddle (cross first at either end of the lake).   We will back next year to paddle another shoreline in spring.

Back to Campbell Lake

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

We paddle Scuitto and Campbell Lake each and every year, but we try to schedule Campbell Lake for late August or September to paddle with the pelicans and sandhill cranes.   Campbell Lake is at the end of the Scuitto Forest Service Road, a 14 km bumpy backroad.   There is a BC Recreation Site on the south shore of the lake and a good boat launch there for fishermen and paddlers.

 

 

No wind is always a blessing for both paddling and photography.   An early start on a sunny day with no one else on the lake made this outing perfect, but I couldn’t see any pelicans from the boat lunch.

 

When the pelicans come to Campbell Lake, they usually roost in shallow bays on the south side of the lake.   There are some private properties on the north side of the lake.  They fly to other areas of the lake to fish, but they congregate in one of two bays, not very accessible by land, but fine for a kayak.   A kayak can skim over very shallow water to get closer to the pelicans.

 

 

Rafts of ducks filled all the shallow bays and a few perched on logs by the shoreline.

 

 

In the largest shallow bay there were 16 pelicans clustered together.    Some were sleeping with heads buried in their feathers, but most were preening or resting.   A few aired their wings, standing apart from the pod.

 

I used a telephoto lens to try to get a close up of the birds, but it is only an intermediate lens.   Its too hard to use a heavy, long lens in a kayak.   I floated in without making any noise and kept my movement to a minimum.  The pelicans kept an eye on me, but did not disperse.

 

 

I took lots of photos, then I continued around the lake.   There were also two sedges of sandhill cranes on the lake.   They are much more skittish than pelicans,  so I got whatever shots I could from the water.

The second group wheeled over the lake making a racket,  then settled into a small bay across the lake.

 

 

We spotted all sorts of birds on the lake, but the pelicans were the stars of nature’s show on this day.

 

 

 

Campbell Lake is a very nice paddle on any day, but it is a special place when there are blue skies, no wind, a quiet lake, and lots of birds to see.