Malheur NWR: Day 2

The rainy and cloudy days of late this fall season have us reminiscing of the sunny days of late spring/early summer. After a full first day at Malheur NWR, we were rested and ready to hit the country roads again in search of what other awesome things we could find. 

Brewer's Blackbird

Female Yellow-Headed Blackbird

We awoke to the haunting, mechanical sounds of the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds. And as we stepped out of our teepee to enjoy our cold, quick breakfast before heading out, we noticed some movement in the hot springs pond behind us. There were two lovely American Avocets lurking in the foggy mist blanketing the pond. We gazed upon them as they elegantly swished there slender up-turned bills to and fro in search of food.

We were already off to a great start and couldn’t wait to get out and really get our marathon birding in. Once again, Highway 205 gave us some cool birds on our drive to the refuge headquarters. Using our car as a moving blind, we were able to get some nice up close views of Willets and a Long-Billed Curlew out in the fields along the road. I never cease to be impressed by their long, curved bills that could seem so cumbersome, but yet is wielded with such poise. 

Willet

Long-Billed Curlew

As we continued to drive, we halted suddenly and kicked it in reverse when we came upon quite a sight. Not only did we see two statuesque Sandhill Cranes, but they were in the middle of a confrontation with a nearby coyote! One of the cranes lifted and stretched out his wings, making himself appear larger and quite intimidating as he approached the coyote head on. The coyote didn’t appear to be afraid, but did seem to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to be worth the fight to take on these large birds. He casually kept walking in the direction of the cranes – the two parties agreeing to go on about their business. Amazing.

The confrontation. The coyote contemplates his next move with his tongue sticking out.

The Sandhill Crane's wings widen.

The negotiation.

The final resolution as they part ways.

When we go to Malheur NWR headquarters, we were greeted by a number of sunny little Yellow Warblers. The feeders again hosted lovely male Black-headed Grosbeaks. 

Watch out for swallows on the bridge!

Yellow Warbler

Black-headed Grosbeak

Red-winged Blackbird

We headed back to the water to see what we could see. Before we got to the blind, a handsome Lark Sparrow stopped us in our tracks as he hopped just feet away from us on the ground, allowing for nice views of his stunning plumage. Once back at the water, the Black Terns again dazzled us with their dapperness and smooth, gliding flight.

Lark Sparrow

Black Tern - under

Black Tern - over

Two Black Terns hanging out on a log

As we walked around the grounds of the headquarters a bit more, we heard and caught sight of a couple of Cassin’s and quite a number of Warbling Vireos. However, what stole the show were a couple of stealthy birds that were actually quite visible. A Common Nighthawk perched on a branch, sleeping the day away and only casually opening his eyes every once in a while as crowds were gathering to gawk at him. (And I do mean crowds. This place was like birder Disneyland!) 

Warbling Vireo

Cabbage White on Lilacs

Common Nighthawk

We moved on just a little bit farther down the path to find another crowd forming to view a Great Horned Owl that was nesting in a tower on top of a hill. Even one of the fuzzball babies made an appearance later on taking a look at all the fuss of birders.

Great-horned Owl

Mountain Cottontail

We continued on our way to check out some new spots around the refuge, including P Ranch where we saw a very uncommon Least Flycatcher that had previously been spotted. It did its distinctive “che-bek” call. We also picked up our first state Bobolinks there! 

Mourning Cloak

Black-tailed or Mule Deer

Abandoned Swallow nest under a low foot bridge

We then moved on to Page Springs Campground and were inundated with half a dozen Yellow-breasted Chats! This was quite unusual, for us anyway, as we usually only see (or hear) one, maybe two, in one place. It was otherwise pretty quiet there, so we started making our way back to our home base, making what we thought might be some quick pit stops.

Yellow-Breasted Chat

House Wren

Likely a Montane Vole? Or maybe Long-Tailed Vole?

We had heard that there were sightings for Short-Eared Owls in a field just off what was called “The Narrows.” We staked out the area for quite some time, enjoying the sights of some Say’s Phoebe. We were close to giving up after about 30 minutes of scanning the large open fields with no luck. But then, we saw our target bird! A Short-Eared Owl glided like a Northern Harrier over the grassland in search of prey as dusk was coming upon us. Whenever it would land, it seemed to just disappear in the tall grass. But for a few heavenly moments, it landed on a perch just above the grass line. It was a glorious 5 minutes or so as we looked so intently on this beautiful owl that we had only previously seen in the dead of night with a flashlight.

Say's Phoebe

We just couldn’t tear ourselves away watching this gorgeous owl through our scope. And just as we were feeling so fulfilled by this sighting, a Long-Eared Owl decided to join in the game… Incredible! This was also a lifer for us, so we lingered even longer as the light faded because this was just too amazing to step away from. They seemed to be content circling in their own patches of the grassland, but at one point, they did come face-to-face in a little, very short-lived tussle.

Short-Eared Owl

White Pelican flock

It was getting darker by the minute, so we decided it was finally time to jet to get back to our teepee to revel in another amazing day at the refuge. Malheur had other plans for us, though. We stopped at a tiny little pond in front of a large group of very loud cattle to find 36 Wilson’s Phalaropes swirling and whirling away! They not only fed upon whatever was in the water, but they would also look up and snap their bills at the bugs flying around them, catching them like Mr. Miyagi with flies. These gorgeous birds were in their full breeding plumage that we could barely appreciate as darkness was coming upon us and we were pushing the light-gathering capabilities of our optics to the max. Finally, it was time to go, but what a way to end the day!

Wilson's Phalarope

Into the Mountains, Part 2

Let us return now to the Labor Day camping excursion we took in the mountains (see Part 1 here). The great birds we had in passing through Sisters each way were but the appetizer and dessert for an epic trip. While we would have more great birds throughout the long weekend, it was the unforgettable scenery that made for some truly mind-blowing moments. Among our destinations would be two of the Seven Wonders of Oregon. Among our oft-repeated refrains would be “I can’t believe this is in Oregon.”

We made camp at Prineville Reservoir State Park in the early evening, with enough sunlight left for us to do a bit of exploring. It was around the reservoir that we picked up a lifer lagomorph: about a dozen Black-tailed Jackrabbits spread out along the edge of a clearing. Huge animals, compared with their cuddly cousins the cottontails. And fast. Later, a group of them would pass in an instant through the campground, at but a fraction of the top speed (30-35 mph).

Black-tailed Jackrabbit

The next morning we slipped out early to start on the long drive to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. John Day has three units, spread far apart from one another, and each with its own unique natural attractions. It was to see the Painted Hills that we planned our holiday around this region of the state, checking off one of the 7 Wonders in the process. Although we’d seen a whole lot of landscape this year during our roadtrip across the country, there’s just nothing that compares to the bizarre beauty of the Painted Hills. 

Red and gold clays layered on top of one another, with flecks of black thrown in for good measure. It’s an extraterrestrial-looking sight. “I can’t believe this is in Oregon,” we’d say for the hundredth time. We could barely keep in mind that it was on Planet Earth. It was here, too, that we found a striking female Snakeweed Grasshopper, one of the coolest, most boldly patterned grasshoppers we’ve seen anywhere.

Snakeweed Grasshopper

From here we passed on to another of John Day’s units: Sheep Rock. While there wasn’t much birding to do at the Painted Hills, we set ourselves a couple of target species at Sheep Rock, being in range for both Rock and Canyon Wrens. The view here wasn’t colorful like at the Painted Hills, but it was extraordinary nonetheless, and decidedly eerie. The hike through the steep greenish-blue claystone gave the impression of wandering through the Forbidden Zone, stranded on the Planet of the Apes.

Along the Blue Basin trail was some tricky uphill climbing. To get as high up as we managed was worth it just for the views, although it was pretty quiet by that time in the afternoon. After unsuccessfully straining to identify a distant eagle we climbed back down to try a more level path, right through the claystone formations. A hyperactive Rock Wren bobbed and fed and jumped around near a burrow entrance, dug or molded into the clay. It seemed such a desolate place to make a living, but there are much worse, to be sure.

On the drive back to Prineville, just a few miles outside of the campsite, a flash of sky blue alongside the road convinced me to pull over. We found ourselves at the entrance to an RV park of all places, where had had some of the best birds of the day. A flurry of Mountain Bluebirds mixed in with equal numbers of Cassin’s Finches represented some damn fine mountain birding, which is precisely what we'd wanted. 

Mountain Bluebird

Common Ravens were much more common in the mountains than they are west of the Cascades

These Ravens were not on speaking terms

We left nice and early the next morning, but not before we spotted another Rock Wren on the way out of the campground. This one was much more cooperative than the one at John Day, but like the one a day earlier, mostly kept near the entrance to a little hideaway in the rocks. 

Rock Wren

Lark Sparrow

And in keeping with the rock theme of the post, we made one last stop before returning to Sisters, where we began and ended our adventure. Smith Rock State Park was the second of the great Wonders of Oregon this trip. Renowned as a rock-climbing playground for adrenaline junkies, it also turns up White-throated Swifts (as it did for us), Black-billed Magpies, and some of the most acrobatic Canada Geese we've ever seen -- the place inspires daredevilry in the even most unlikely creatures. 

Black-billed Magpie

Magpies

Smith Rock State Park

Wherever we looked we would find people dotted along the tops of all these massive rock formations, having pulled themselves up by means entirely beyond my understanding. Our understanding was further stretched when we encountered our first lizard since moving here ("I can't believe this is in Oregon"). West of the Cascades, where we live, it's a very, very different place from the desert country we found ourselves in now, and lizards were just not on our radar. 

Western Fence Lizard?

One final critter I'll mention is a would-be hitchhiker that tried to abscond in Maureen's hat. She had it in her hands for a minute and a tiger moth flew in. Tiger moths are a beautiful group, and I've been wanting to see one since I started my moth kick last year. What I didn't realize is how difficult the group can be to identify: I posted this one on BugGuide.net for ID help three different species were suggested.

Grammia sp.

This trip gave us a sense for how much bigger Oregon is than you might suspect from looking at a map. There's more to see and do here than we even guessed than when we first moved out here, and this adventure over the mountains has got us wondering what we'll find the next time we go exploring!