South of Boise, where eagles soar: A spring outing on the spectacular Snake River - Day Trip - Brief Article

Sunset, March, 2002 by Diane Ronayne

Romance is in the air above Idaho's Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. Near Kuna, 15 miles southwest of Boise, the preserve was set aside to protect eagles, falcons, and hawks. For them, springtime means courtship and nesting. Take a hike here from mid-March through May, and you'll see these exhilarating creatures building nests, soaring, hunting, and wheeling overhead in intricate flights designed to woo.

Begin at the Kuna Visitor Center, where you can study a wall map outlining points of interest in the conservation area's 485,000 acres. Then drive south to Celebration Park in the Snake River Canyon. Along the way, roll down your window to inhale the scent of sage and watch for tiny speckled burrowing owls hopping about their ground nests. Look for the soaring rough-legged hawk and the hovering kestrel as each hunts for ground squirrels and other rodents.

At Celebration Park you can scan the 300-foot basalt cliffs (binoculars are a must; bring your own), where birds of prey nest. The birds are most active in early morning and late afternoon. The aggressive prairie falcon is a standout: It can fold its long, pointed wings and dive (for prey and for fun) at speeds up to 150 miles per hour. Watch for golden eagles, with their huge 6- to 8-foot wingspans, and look for their scraggly nests, built of sticks and up to 8 feet across--the largest nests you'll see.

Then walk east about 1/2 mile along the Snake River to the head of the Halverson Lake Loop Trail. The 2-mile trail is an easy, two-hour round-trip walk across sandy Halverson Bar to two small lakes that sit on the bar below the canyon cliffs. As you stroll along the Snake, look for stealthy great blue herons and colorful western tanagers wheeling in and out of the willows. At the lakes, away from the river, it's quiet, except for hoarse cries of hunting- and courting-raptors high overhead.

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WHERE: From Boise, take 1-84 west to Meridian, then take State 69 south.

HOURS: Kuna Visitor Center is open on Saturday and Sunday.

COST: Free.

CONTACT: Bureau of Land Management: (208) 384-3300 or www.id.blm.gov/bopnca.>

COPYRIGHT 2002 Sunset Publishing Corp.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group