The Wizard and the Phantom

Wizard Island is the largest visible structure in Crater Lake.  This view is from Discovery Point.  It is a classic cinder cone built some 7000 years ago.  Some trees on the island are thought to be approximately 800 years old.  The island rises 767 feet above the surface of the lake and covers one square mile of the lake.

The Phantom Ship is so name because first of its shape, resembling a sailing ship.  The Phantom part derives from its tendency to fade from view with various weather conditions on Crater Lake.  While it looks to be a very small structure it is actually 163 feet tall and 300 feet long.

Crater Lake and Clark's Nutcracker

 We’ve returned to Crater Lake in Oregon this June 14th. We found our arrival a bit too early. The park has been hit with 649 inches of snow this year, and there was plenty still on the ground. All the trails were snow covered. Only the south entrance to the park (Hwy 62) was open.


Why so much snow? Meteorologists are talking about “La Nina” a cooling of the waters about the equator. Such cooling pulls artic air further south, hence, more snowfall. Next year, the expectation is for a more mild winter—only 528 inches of snow. Mild, huh?

We did not waste the experience, though. We made our way to Discovery Point in order to gaze on the Phantom Ship, Wizard Island and the vast body of water that defines the lake. It is hard to imagine a lake as large (33 miles around), deep (1943 feet at its maximum), but still as pure and blue as any body of water you can find.

While there we took note of a few of the birds.  This, of course, is a Clark’s Nutcracker.

Great Binos for Young or Beginning Birders

We adults recognize we should be doing all that’s possible to foster the upcoming generation of birders and conservationists. Many Audubon Groups have stated this as a goal and mission for the next few years.


The Central Texas Audubon Society a couple of years ago purchased almost two dozen binoculars for their youth education programs. CTAS supplemented these with field guides in a one to one ratio. The San Antonio Audubon Society Education Outreach Committee has done similarly, purchasing new Vortex Raptor Binoculars in its efforts to grow young birders.



Vortex Raptor Binoculars

 The Vortex Raptor Binoculars are designed specifically with Young Birders in mind. The lightweight bins have sharp optics, and the eyepieces and binocular body are just right for smaller faces and hands. The field of view is great facilitating locating the bird. Focusing is pretty easy, too.


Yet, any small adult beginning birder wanting a lightweight alternative would find them perfectly serviceable as well.

These binoculars are great and well worth the price for your youth or beginning birder program.

Walk in the Woods

Saturday mornings we find ourselves walking the trails of Bastrop State Park. We have been doing so for over a year now. Consistently, we have seen groups of boy scouts and their leaders around the lake as well as families with children walking in the primitive camping area, exploring nature and testing their mettle in a setting beyond the normal creature comforts of home and hearth. And it is good.


Some of these have carried binoculars; some have spent time overturning rocks. Some have concentrated their gaze on the forest canopy; others have their attention drawn to the forest floor. Pine Warblers calling in early spring and Summer Tanagers in late spring are so noted. Rabbits and Copperheads rustle through the leaves and try to blend into the surroundings hoping that the youth around them will not notice.

It is on these outings that I find myself thinking of my youth when my father brought me my own first pair of binoculars. I do not think he had a clue as to how that would shape the rest of my life, nor did I.

I would encourage you to take your children and grandchildren to the woods. Provide them with binoculars and field guides and take the time to learn about the natural world around them. I find myself grinning when I see a young person staring in awe of a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak or dumbfounded because the male and female Painted Bunting look so different in coloration. Celebration comes at the moment that young person says to me, “There’s Peter, Peter, Peter”, and without ever seeing the bird knows it is a Tufted Titmouse.

A walk in the woods, a simple gift, time well spent, who knows what such might mean to our youth and the future.