Oh deer, caught in a wire fence
It was a blood-curdling scream late at night. Not a bleat, not a moo, not a whinny. Constant Companion Carmen, in bed at the time, would later say she thought it was the sound of an alien, an extra-terrestrial, on a TV show.
The Sheriff was turning off sprinklers in the horse pasture on Tuesday night when he heard it for the first time.
A goat in distress at the neighbours up the hill? As he returned to the yard, the screaming became louder and as he passed the chicken coop, he could hear the wiremesh and three-rail fence rattling.
His headlight revealed nothing by the garden waste bin. Further down the boundary with neighbour Paul was a large derriere that the Sheriff initially thought was our large dog Sadie with her paws on the upper rail. The short golden brown and blond hair could have been the golden retriever/yellow lab/standard poodle.
That body was writhing as if it was fighting something on the other side of the fence. The bear that tore into the goat food up the hill?
The Sheriff grabbed its two rear legs, immediately recognizing their long, thin structure was that of a deer.
Its front legs and head were possibly stuck in the wire mesh strung between the fence rails, the deer not recognizing the barrier when it attempted to jump between the middle and top rails in the dark.
The Sheriff gently tugged at its rear legs to try to back the front legs and head out of the wire. The rear legs pulled back as the body shivered. Another tug and the front legs dropped to the ground, its head lowered.
There didn’t appear to be any blood or physical damage so the Sheriff dropped the back legs.
The dazed doe again attempted to jump between the middle and top rails further down but was thwarted again, the fence rattling back and forth.
A leap over the top rail and it disappeared in the dark. Sadie then appeared, not at all excited about this unusual encounter with wildlife.
CCC isn’t going to believe this, the Sheriff thought as they walked back to the house. CCC was now up, curious about the screaming. His adrenalin flowing, the Sheriff recounted the details.
The frantic deer must have realized this human was trying to free it. In hindsight, no pun intended, it might not have been wise to grab the rear legs so quickly in a rescue attempt since a few kicks could have caused injury.
On Wednesday morning, we examined the fence, discovering tuffs of deer hair and the top of the wire mesh completely bent over. No blood. A good sign.
It was only the second time that we had seen a deer in our fenced yard. And only once saw a coyote. Never a bear. And once a porcupine romping down our sideroad. But it was a reminder that wildlife is often found in rural areas and encounters are not always a pleasant experience for them. Or humans. planning an outing in this region which is a relatively short drive from the Okanagan.
We were specifically interested in No. 17 – the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Trail since we had kayaked in the bay on Friday morning before the festival began.
The distance is 0.2 kilometres up to four kilometres, which can take from 30 minutes to two hours.
You can start with the bird blind and osprey nest viewing trail on the west side of the downtown boat launch in front of the Prestige Harbourfront Resort.
We spotted three osprey sitting on pilings and a Western grebe diving for lunch in the boat launch channel.
The highlight, though, is the East Walkway, which starts at the end of Harbour Front Drive NE (on the south side of the Wharf parking lot).
It follows the shoreline with viewing platforms over the soggy mud flats and a loop trail that goes around Christmas Island. The shallow water between the island and shoreline had dozens of waterfowl digging for treats. Offshore, there were five large white pelicans that we had spotted from our kayaks.
You can also stop by the SABNES (Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society) Nature Centre next to the Wharf parking lot during the summer as well as check out its bulletin boards yearround for local bird counts and sighting updates (sabnes.org).
The mandate of SABNES, formed in 1986, is to:
— Assist the wildlife branch of the provincial government with the development and operation of their management plan for the Salmon Arm foreshore as a nature conservancy and viewing area.
— Develop, operate and promote a system of walkways, viewing areas and interpretive facilities for scientific, educational, environmental protection and public viewing purposes.
— And promote environmental awareness and assist in projects meeting that goal in the Salmon Arm area.
A walking map with the locations of commonly seen birds is available on the website for printing.
No pets are allowed since this is a sensitive riparian habitat. Visitors should stick to designated trails and respect seasonal closures due to nesting and flooding.
That was only one of the 103 trails listed in the trail book with directions to outstanding views of Shuswap Lake, as well as numerous smaller lakes, waterfalls and rivers. The terrain varies from mossy forest floors to alpine meadows to wetlands.
It’s a whole new area for Okanagan outdoors lovers to explore and the Shuswap Tourism brochures make it easy.
————— There is no indication or discussion at this point on the Regional District of the Central Okanagan reopening closed parks due to the ongoing extreme fire hazard and little prospect for significant precipitation or change for the next week.
The closed parks are: Trepanier Creek Greenway; Coldham; Glen Canyon; Kalamoir; Rose Valley, including the Rose Valley trail access on McDougall Road; Stephens Coyote; Scenic Canyon; Mission Creek Greenway phase two; Mount Boucherie trails, including Boucherie Rush and Boucherie Grind; Eain Lamont Park; Lakeview Cove Road; Casa Palmero Park and Walkway; Davidson Creek; Shannon Way; Rock Ridge; Griffiths Place, and Wild Horse Park.
“While many of these parks that are closed have had fuel modification work done, they are in forested areas with challenging terrain in close proximity to subdivisions and neighbourhoods,” said regional district spokesman Bruce Smith.
“With the extreme fire danger, the risk of any serious interface fire is high,” .
Residents are asked to stay out of closed parks and obey any signage.
Anyone found inside a closed regional park could fined $500.
The public is reminded open burning, including campfires and in backyard fire pits, is not allowed. Smoking is also not allowed in public parks.
The Kalamoir Breakfast set for 9 a.m. on Sept. 9 has been moved to the Lakeview Heights Community Hall, 860 Anders Road due to the park’s closure.
The annual pancake breakfast is a fundraiser for the Friends of Kalamoir Park. Get a breakfast of pancakes, sausages and a beverage from the Westbank Lions Club for a $3 donation.
The free Wild Walks outing that was to be part of the festivities has been moved to Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park, 2375 Whitworth Rd., starting at 10 a.m. Register by contacting the EECO staff at 250-4696139 or email eeco@cord.bc.ca..
————— This past Monday, Manning Park Resort officially opened its new 3,500-square-foot banquet and meeting space, the Alpine Room.
After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, guests were invited to view the dramatic high-ceiling room and sit down to a lunch buffet.
Kevin and Donna Demers purchased the resort in 2013, saving it from being permanently closed.
The Alpine Room grand opening highlighted the significant upgrades and investment being poured into the property since its purchase.
With the new function room, five new cabins and a major paving project completed just this year, many accolades were handed out by Hope Mayor Wilfried Vicktor, one of the dignitaries in attendance.
He acknowledged the role that Manning Park Resort plays to support tourism in the community as well as being a major employer and economic player.
Armitage treated the attendees to a short history lesson on the opening date of E.C. Manning Provincial Park as well as the opening of the Hope Princeton Highway.
J.P. Squire, aka the Hiking, Biking, Kayaking and Horseback Riding Sheriff, is a retired reporter and avid outdoors enthusiast. His column appears weekly. Contact him with your outdoor news at jp.squire@telus.net.