WHITE LAKE, SOUTH OKANAGAN
The Brewer’s Sparrow might be the definition of an “LBJ” (Little Brown Job), but its boisterous song and limited Canadian breeding range make it a top target for birders visiting the sagebrush grasslands of White Lake. Photo by Liron Gertsman.
When visiting the Okanagan you may hear people talk about how it’s a “semi-desert” or that it’s the northern end of the Sonoran Desert, hence the abundance of rattlesnakes, prickly-pear cactus, and sweaty birders. From a habitat perspective, the South Okanagan is technically shrub-steppe and not a desert, meaning that annual rainfall is comparable to a desert’s (Osoyoos gets less precipitation than Tombstone, Arizona!) but cooler winters allow the ground to retain more moisture, thus the abundance of grasses, sagebrush, rabbit brush, and antelope brush instead of saguaro cactus and barren earth.
The South Okanagan’s unique climate and habitats support flora and fauna found nowhere else in Canada, including a number of threatened and endangered species. Since the majority of these rare species occur in the native grasslands and dry shrub-steppe country, I had to include at least one representative site in this book. Picking just one was a challenge, but I settled on White Lake due to its convenient accessibility, as well as my intimate knowledge of the place from my childhood spent chasing salamanders and searching out rare insects, to my first paid birding job studying bluebirds and swallows, then later as a member of a Canadian Wildlife Service team researching Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrashers.
GETTING THERE
White Lake is located near the north end of the Fairview–White Lake Rd. From the main intersection in downtown Oliver, head southwest from the 7-Eleven past the high school along Fairview Rd., then turn right to head north on the Fairview–White Lake Rd. and follow it all the way until you get into the obvious sagebrush basin of White Lake.
Anywhere in the area can produce Gray Partridge, but sometimes they take many hours of trudging around before one is lucky enough to flush them. They can sometimes be seen along the roadside in the early morning. For one of the more reliable areas, drive down the hill and park at the pull-off on the right side where the road bends just west of the lake. Here there’s a cattle-gate and an old driving track heading up the hill to the southwest. On the opposite side of the road, note the thick patches of weeds along the roadside. These can be great for migrating sparrows, including American Tree Sparrow. Go through the gate and zigzag along the old track until it fizzles out. There’s plenty of room to explore in search of partridges and other grassland birds. This area west of the road is usually the best zone for Grasshopper Sparrows. Look and listen for them in more extensive areas of bunchgrass to the west of the rounded hills and toward the White Lake Ranch buildings. Also note that there’s a small basin to the north of here that sometimes fills up with water. This can be a good spot for a few shorebirds in migration, though more often it’s a great spot for migrating American Pipits that feed in the wet mud. More unusual but still annual, Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs, and Horned Larks can all be encountered in this area—especially if you know their calls.
Diversity is highest in April–September. Winter is a very quiet time at White Lake but it’s still a pleasant place to visit and Gray Partridge are often easier to find when snow is on the ground. In winter, White Lake is usually one of the more reliable sites to find Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Shrike.
Excerpted from Best Places to Bird in British Columbia by Russell Cannings and Richard Cannings. Published by Greystone Books, April 2017. Condensed and reproduced with permission of the publisher.