Out & About: Eagle cruise for veterans, military

OUTSOAR – Veterans and active military are being honored with a special eagle-watching cruise set for Nov. 26 on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The free two-hour partyboat cruise to view the annual congregation of bald eagles is organized by the U.S Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Fish and Game.

Participants are invited along with their immediate families and must make reservations by calling (208) 769-5043. Seating is limited to 160.

Migrating eagles visit the Coeur d’Alene area in winter to take advantage of the kokanee spawning in Wolf Lodge Bay. 

The eagles already are starting to show up and numbers will build to a peak in December before the birds start moving on the spawning ends in January.

Last winter, a record 254 eagles were counted in the bay by BLM biologists on Dec. 21.

Where’s the place to see a moose?

OUTFIELD – A reader asked the S-R Outdoors Department last week where he could bring an out-of-state friend to see a moose. Obviously, he wants to impress her.

Locals tend to take moose for granted.  We see them regularly, if not predictably.

But where should we send this couple for a guaranteed sighting?

Outdoors editor Rich Landers had a moose in his yard near Hangman Valley a few weeks ago, but since then he hasn’t seen hide nor hair of it, not even scats or tracks.

Mike Miller of Spokane sent in a photo of a bull moose he met Wednesday while dayhiking along the Little Spokane River.

Last year at this time, moose were reported chasing dogs accompanying hikers in the Dishman Hills.

Fish and Wildlife officials couldn’t peg any sure-fire spots, although they said moose have been poached near Cataldo and one was hit and killed by a motorist off Highway 2 just north of Spokane while another was killed by a vehicle two weeks ago off Highway 195.

Moose are all around Spokane and North Idaho, up logging roads throughout the region.

Here are a few of the tips from readers who responded to our Outdoors Blog post on where they would send someone to see a moose:

• “In my backyard,” five people said.

• Browne’s-Tower mountain area.

• Bead Lake.

• Big Meadow Lake and the marsh between Thomas and Heritage lakes west of Colville.

• Along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes by Bull Run.

• Rainy Hill boat ramp.

• Up any logging road off the St. Joe River.

• Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge in Boundary County, Idaho. “Virtually guaranteed and often multiples around the wildlife drive or along the West Side Road,” said birdwatcher Charles Swift.