February 2011
Beaks and Bills
Cama Beach Revisited
by Joe Meche
Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years. He has written more than 100 articles for Whatcom Watch.
Our traditional celebration of the arrival of the New Year usually involves spending the annual hullabaloo someplace other than home — it’s a noise thing, you know. Last year, if you recall, we discovered a new place for our three-day getaway at the newest of Washington’s state parks – Cama Beach State Park, on the west side of Camano Island. We had such a wonderful time in 2010 that we decided to return to this unique park to ring in 2011.
Cama Beach began its life as a fishing resort in 1934 and operated as such until 1989. In 1990, daughters of the original owners began discussing the concept of turning the resort into a park. The Washington State Department of Parks and Recreation began acquiring land to that end in 1994, and the old, venerable resort is now part of the state park system. There is no tent camping at the park, but the cabins from the old days are quite accommodating and available on a reservations-only basis. The park also has a gift shop/general store, a library and a wooden boat center.
Another reason that Cama Beach is unique is the fact that you cannot drive your personal vehicle to your cabin. You must park in the designated loading area up the hill and wait for the shuttle to take you and your gear down to your cabin. This concept not only keeps the park free of traffic noises and internal combustion-related odors and oil leaks, but also provides a high degree of safety for pedestrians of all ages.
The Great Blue Heron
This year’s three-day weekend at the park was one of the best getaways we can remember, and that’s saying a lot! We were in a different cabin this time, not 30 feet away from the high tide line. Last year was superbly stormy with blustery winds that shook the cabin walls and kept waves crashing against the concrete bulkhead that protects the park. Last year’s stormy, yet mild, weather turned into calm days with crystal-clear blue skies and very cold temperatures this year. The cabins are old and are not insulated, so the nighttime low of 16 degrees was noticeable, to say the least — but we were prepared.
Saratoga Passage, which separates Camano and Whidbey islands, was right outside our front door and the water was flat calm for our entire stay. With the relative warmth of the cabin, we could watch loons, grebes, gulls and goldeneyes feeding right out front. The best bird of the weekend for me was what appeared to be the resident great blue heron. It was waiting in the same spot when I first looked outside in the morning, and came floating in every evening just before sunset.
Ahh, the Sunsets …
The snow-covered Olympic Mountains provided the perfect backdrop for sunsets that can hardly be described with mere words. No matter how cold it was as the sun went down, I found a good place to sit near the thermal mass of the bulkhead to watch the sunset and wait for the heron. They were both reliable and seemed to work together to paint the perfect picture for me. Despite the daytime cold, you could always find a sunny spot to sit and soak in the passive solar energy.
Cold but sunny and calm days beckoned that we leave the cozy confines of our cabin to explore the grounds and hike to Camano Island State Park on New Year’s Day. The initial climb up to the main road and trail from the sea-level park was quite the pulse-quickening start to a three-mile walk. The walk along the path through the woods with occasional forays next to the road was punctuated with the variety of birds you might expect when traversing wooded habitats and open fields. Black-capped chickadees and winter wrens were active along the trail and hermit thrushes and kinglets foraged along forest edges with song sparrows, Steller’s jays, and spotted towhees — the usual suspects.
When we started downhill to the beach, we first heard and then found a bald eagle perched in a madrona tree and right at eye level. Along the shoreline and south of Cama Beach is the more typical Camano Island State Park, with all the amenities you might expect when you think of a campground. This isn’t a place we would contemplate or even recommend for a winter layover but good for future reference for the rest of the year.
Ready for Next Year
We returned to Cama Beach by way of the same trail to find that the air temperature had warmed noticeably. It might have had more to do with the fact that we had been out and about than a massive warming trend, but it still felt good to stay outside for the rest of the day. Cindy found her little sunny corner to read and write while I chased birds all over the grounds — typical behavior for us.
You’ve probably gathered by now that we like this new place we discovered last year. We like it so much that we’re already making plans for next New Year’s Eve, unless of course it’s overwhelmed by all the new reservations from people who might have read this unsolicited testimonial. Oops. §
In Retrospect
OK, the truth is out. I have now written more than 100 columns for Whatcom Watch, the majority of which have flown under the banner of Beaks and Bills. The first column I wrote, “Rediscovering Birds in Whatcom County” in the April 2002 edition, was in response to the tightened security at the Canadian border due to the 9/11 tragedy and how it affected simple things like bird watching. Since crossing the border became a bit of a hassle, I encouraged people to stay closer to home and rediscover all the good places to see birds in Whatcom County. After that initial column and talking with then-editor Sally Hewitt, we decided to release the writer within and try out a monthly column about birds.
At the time I had been having a discussion with someone about the differences in birds’ beaks and bills, as in why one bird has a beak and another has a bill (sounds like a coffee-shop semantics conversation if ever I’ve heard one). So, the column known as Beaks and Bills was born. The focus on birds and things relating to birds took on a new twist as I started sharing my chronicles of road trips that Cindy and I took during the year. Faithful readers will recall everything from day trips and bike rides to the big three-week trek at the end of 2010. But there was always a bird or 20 mentioned in those columns, too.
So, as I begin the next one hundred columns, I’d like to thank all the readers and especially those whose feedback and support always kept me coming back for more. And I should also take this opportunity to thank … the birds. Stay tuned for the book!
