We just returned from a 4 night camping trip to the "West". There was definitely a taste of spring. After leaving Kaslo in midafternoon on a Thursday, we travelled as far as Greenwood to spend the night. I found the trailhead for the ride to Midway from Greenwood (13 km) and was rather excited to see it - it is one section of the trail that we have not completed. Alas, it was -3 when we woke up in the morning, but it was clear. Travelling on to Osoyoos, we readily found a campsite at swiws provincial park, formerly known as Haynes Point. It's a very nice park, actually, but is one of the most popular in the province and difficult to get into. However, no reservations are accepted before mid-May so April was our opportunity.
It was excellent for bird-watching - there were hundreds of red-wing blackbirds who were busy showing off their red epaulettes in the marsh. I picked out our campsite from the male wood duck who happened to be swimming by. There were great globs of coots on the lake, and the next most popular birds were the buffleheads. Mergansers were a close second. My prize sighting was 2 red-necked grebes hanging out with the coots. Saturday morning, we observed a very large and fierce looking bald eagle high in a tree and one of the early morning runners said this particular eagle lives a couple of "blocks" away on the lakeshore.
I'd definitely go back to swiws in the spring. It was quiet - and we even had one full day without wind. We did learn that wind can be a big factor in one's enjoyment of the park. The park is located on that very narrow stretch of land that juts out into Osoyoos Lake.
