Delta Naturalists Society

Seven Delta Nats had gorgeous weather for an outing to Washington’s Mount Baker – Lidia, Joe, Terry, Stephanie, Colin, Lorna, Jim.

After buying day passes for the vehicles at the Glacier Public Service Center, our first stop was Picture Lake. This is a great spot for reflections of Mount Shuksan and its glaciers. A short half mile trail circles the lake. There were three female or young Hooded Mergansers in the water. In the trees were Canada Jays and Robins. A small raptor circled high above us. We managed to find a few remaining blueberries as we walked around the lake.

Our next stop was at the Austin Pass Picnic Area where we walked down to Bagley Lakes. This is a reliable spot for American Dippers – and sure enough, two of them were busily dipping in the creek. A Spotted Sandpiper flew across the lake. On our way back up the hillside we spotted three Sooty Grouse – but they soon disappeared into the foliage. We then walked along the short Fire and Ice trail for more great views before having our picnic lunch here – under the watchful eyes of a chipmunk.

Our last stop was at the end of the road at the Artist Point parking area. We were surprised that this large parking lot was completely full on a Thursday afternoon. We managed to find parking as some other cars left. Here we had our first views of Mount Baker (10,781 feet / 3,286 metres). Although it is a volcano, the most recent eruption of new lava from Mount Baker occurred 6,700 years ago. We walked partway along the Ptarmigan Ridge/ Chain Lakes trail with views in every direction – Mount Baker ahead and Mount Shuksan behind. At the beginning of this trail, a Pika ran under a large boulder with a mouth full of grass. On our way back to the parking area we spotted the Pika sheltering beside the same boulder, nibbling on grass.

This was a lovely outing even though we saw only ten bird species – Canada Jay, American Robin, Hooded Merganser, American Crow, Spotted Sandpiper, American Dipper, Sooty Grouse, Cedar Waxwing, Junco, and Red-tailed Hawk. A few alpine flowers were still blooming and we found some insects to photograph. Once again iNaturalist later identified the insects from the photographs.

It is well worth a day trip to Mount Baker in September for views and fall colours. It takes an hour to drive from the Peace Arch border crossing to the Glacier Public Service Center near the town of Glacier. After buying your five dollar vehicle day pass here, it is a half hour drive to Picture Lake. After admiring the reflections here you should drive to the end of the road at Artist Ridge for views of Mount Baker. The views are spectacular even from the parking lots. (Do not go on Sunday September 17 because the road will be closed for a cycle race).

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, September 19 & 20, the outings are to Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen. Meet at 8am at the concession parking lot.

Terry Carr

Photos on Flickr