Sunday, May 10, 2015--Bend, OR to Walla Walla, WA!!!!!!!

This is Sofie's bed between my side of the bed and the wall in our sub-standard motel last night, which may explain why today she was tired of the whole thing! She is an amazingly good traveller and adapts to whatever configuration her fluffy bed takes or wherever we put it--just so she can be with us!

It was 46 degrees when we started driving home at 7:47 this morning. We did not have our eyes on birds today. In fact, I wondered if a Resplendent Quetzel were sitting by the road, would we notice it? We had our sights set on getting safely home!

Instead of 300 to 500 photos a day, today I took 9. Two were blurry!

The birds we saw were few and in strange circumstances. A Bald Eagle was sitting alongside a creek beside Hwy 97 north of Madras--no big trees in sight and scarcely any little trees. A bit later we saw a white-headed raptor perched precariously on a power WIRE. When we turned around to go back and look at it, I saw a woodpecker on a power pole--a quick look. It had a dark back and buffy breast. The raptor flew away our second time by it and did not return. No idea what the raptor or woodpecker were--and no idea what the Bald Eagle was doing in such a barren spot.

At one spot, it was curious to see lush green wheat fields growing surrounded by dry, bare land. How do they do that? Or, maybe why?

The picturesque road going down into Biggs, OR

and the sweet view of the Blue Mountains and home!

We got home at 2:30 this afternoon. We found home and garden in great shape. Sofie was thrilled to be home and raced around the house and yard, rolled in the grass and got out one of her toys before taking a nap!

Today we travelled 285 miles. Our total trip mileage was 2210 miles in 18 days. I took 3200 photos! 

We are in the midst of studying our bird list to see how many birds we saw and how many life birds! This information will be posted as soon as the checking and cross-checking is accomplished.

It doesn't take any analysis to know we had a wonderful trip and enjoyed it all thoroughly! And we are grateful to be safely home again!

P.S. Saturday, May 16th. Before the analysis took place, I reorganized my life list. Now the tabulations are complete. 

On our California trip we saw 150 species and 7 new life birds.  Life birds are:  

Tufted Puffin at Bandon, Oregon; 

Band-tailed Pigeon at New River Area of Environmental Concern, Oregon; 

White-tailed Kite at Arcata Marsh, California; 

California Towhee and Common Gallinule both at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California;  Yellow-billed Magpie, near Anderson River Park, California; and 

Northern Goshawk between Alturas and Lava Beds National Monument, California.

Chocolate was consumed in honor of the life birds!

Our trip species list follows:

Red-throated Loon 

Common Loon   

Eared Grebe   

Western Grebe   

Clark’s Grebe   

American White Pelican   

Brown Pelican   

Brandt’s Cormorant   

Double-crested Cormorant   

Pelagic Cormorant    

American Bittern (H)   

Great Blue Heron   

Great Egret   

Snowy Egret   

Black-crowned Night Heron   

Green  Heron   

White-faced Ibis   

Canada Goose   

Greater White-fronted Goose   

Snow Goose   

Wood Duck   

Mallard   

Gadwall   

Northern Pintail   

American Wigeon   

Northern Shoveler   

Cinnamon Teal   

Green-winged Teal   

Canvasback   

Redhead   

Ring-necked Duck   

Lesser Scaup   

Surf Scoter   

White-winged Scoter   

Bufflehead   

Ruddy Duck   

Turkey Vulture   

Northern Harrier   

Northern Goshawk   

Red-tailed hawk   

Golden Eagle   

Bald Eagle   

Osprey   

White-tailed Kite   

American Kestrel   

Peregrine Falcon   

California Quail   

Ring-necked Pheasant   

American Coot   

Sora (H)   

Common Gallinule   

Sandhill Crane   

Semi-palmated Plover   

Killdeer   

Black Oystercatcher   

American Avocet   

Black-necked Stilt   

Greater Yellowlegs   

Willet   

Whimbrel   

Long-billed Curlew   

Marbled Godwit   

Dunlin   

Western Sandpiper   

Least Sandpiper   

Long-billed Dowitcher   

Short-billed Dowitcher   

Wilson’s Phalarope   

Franklin’s Gull   

Ring-billed Gull   

California Gull   

Western Gull   

Caspian Tern   

Forster’s Tern   

Pigeon Guillemot   

Common Murre   

Tufted Puffin   

Mourning Dove   

Eurasian-collared Dove   

Rock Pigeon   

Band-tailed Pigeon   

Great Horned Owl   

Anna’s Hummingbird   

Rufous Hummingbird   

Belted Kingfisher   

Lewis’s Woodpecker   

Acorn Woodpecker   

Williamson’s Sapsucker   

Hairy Woodpecker   

Northern Flicker   

Pileated Woodpecker   

Western Wood-Pewee   

Say’s Phoebe   

Black Phoebe   

Western Kingbird   

Ash-throated Flycatcher   

Hutton’s Vireo   

Steller’s Jay   

Western Scrub Jay   

Clark’s Nutcracker (H)   

Black-billed Magpie   

Yellow-billed Magpie   

Common Raven   

American Crow   

Northern Rough-winged Swallow   

Bank Swallow   

Tree Swallow   

Cliff Swallow   

Barn Swallow   

Black-capped Chickadee   

Mountain Chickadee   

Chestnut-backed Chickadee   

Bushtit   

Red-breasted Nuthatch (H)   

White-breasted Nuthatch   

Winter Wren   

Marsh Wren   

American Dipper   

Golden-crowned Kinglet   

Western Bluebird   

American Robin   

Northern Mockingbird   

Dratted European Starling   

Orange-crowned Warbler   

Yellow Warbler   

Yellow-rumped Warbler   

Townsend’s Warbler   

Wilson’s Warbler   

Yellow-breasted Chat   

Western Tanager   

California Towhee   

Savannah Sparrow   

Golden-crowned Sparrow   

White-crowned Sparrow   

Song Sparrow   

Dark-eyed Junco   

Western Meadowlark   

Dratted Brown-headed Cowbird   

Yellow-headed Blackbird   

Red-winged Blackbird   

Brewer’s Blackbird   

Bullock’s Oriole   

Pine Grosbeak   

Cassin’s Finch   

House Finch   

Red Crossbill   

Pine Siskin   

American Goldfinch   

Lesser Goldfinch   

House Sparrow

Saturday, May 9, 2015--Klamath Falls to Bend, OR--Klamath Marsh NWR

The temperature this morning was a crisp 34 degrees and sunny. A meadowlark greeted us with his cheery song as we loaded up our car--and a Rough-winged Swallow posed as well.

We left at 7:30 am. The GPS said we would arrive at Bend at 10:30 am. That, along with Klamath Marsh, was our destination for the day, so we decided to squeeze in a couple extra stops. The first was Putnam Point Park at the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake. It was recommended as the most reliable spot in the Klamath Basin to observe dancing Western and Clark's Grebes. We saw many grebes resting in the water with their heads on their backs. A few pair were doing their head bobbing thing, and fewer still danced along the water but not long enough for photos. As the temperature was so cold, my guess is they were hunkered down waiting for warmer temperatures to begin their courting rituals.

We got a bit more color than yesterday with this Ruddy Duck, still not as much as we could see through our binos

There were more Eared Grebes, too

Our next stop was at Collier Memorial State Park where we searched in vain for woodpeckers and a dipper. The pine trees were beautiful and we enjoyed the scenery.

Tall pines

and the pristine Spring Creek

Next we visited the Klamath Marsh NWR. A state road goes through the refuge but there are no auto tours or walking trails. Instead there are numerous small pullouts where you can scope the marsh. 

A family of Canada Geese had homesteaded this area.

The elevation of the marsh is about 4700 feet. We heard soras whinnying about every 30 seconds but we could not find one. It was mid-day; evening is a better time to look for them according to the ranger at the visitor's center. But it was really cool to hear so many and so close!

You could visit the refuge for the views alone!

Again, we enjoyed watching the Forster's Terns hovering and diving into the water.

A Ring-necked Duck floated quietly by

followed by his lady

The ranger at the small Visitor's Center was both knowledgable and helpful. First, he opened the office so we could use the "flush" facilities! He also told us some of the history of the marsh.

The Klamath Marsh was home to the Klamath Indians for generations where they collected seeds of the lotus blossoms that still thrive in the marsh.  

When the settlers came, they took over much of the land from the Indians through trickery of one kind or another, and then the ranchers drained much of the marsh, put in railroads to take down the timber, and used the pine trees to make apple boxes. Once the timber was removed from an area, they moved the railroads to the next canyon so there is little old growth timber remaining. 

In 1958 the Federal government purchased 16,000 acres of the marsh from the Indians for the refuge. There was a lot of politicking of many tricky sorts that contributed to this sale, to convince the Indians to sell their homeland. There was a push to "assimilate" the Indians at this time.

We chose this gravel road to exit the refuge--17 miles of gravel. The roadbed was made of red volcanic rock, and the land itself is gray pumice as you can see on the sides of the road. This directly came from Mount Mazama (Crater Lake). You wonder how the trees could even grow in the ash/pumice mix, but they do quite well.

Our ranger friend had suggested we might find woodpeckers along this road. I did see a Williamson's Sapsucker flit from tree to tree. Alas, no photo.  

And even though we tried very hard, we did not see the Black-backed or White-headed Woodpeckers, or the Great Gray Owls that reside here. 

We did, however, see this cooperative Mountain Chickadee.

There was another small marshy area where we saw approximately 1 million Yellow-headed Blackbirds--too many and too flitty to even count or photograph. We had never seen nor heard so many before. It was almost overwhelming!

This Barn Swallow was easier to capture and very colorful, too

An unusual pair of Red-tailed Hawks attracted our attention and sat still just long enough

We arrived at our motel at 4:50 pm--not 10:30 like the GPS foretold.  We drove 172 miles today, 17 on the gravel road. New trip birds were the Soras we heard, a White-breasted Nuthatch, the Williamson's Sapsucker and a Western Tanager that flitted briefly through the pine trees.

We managed to wear ourselves out having fun again today! Fittingly, this is the worst motel of our trip, but we are too tired to care. This is the first time on the whole trip I called a reservation in advance--and it didn"t work as well as I hoped. But we are heading for home tomorrow and THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!!!!

Friday, May 8, 2015--Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges

Back on the road this morning at 7:40 am heading for the Lower Klamath NWR about 20 miles from our motel and back in California. It was sunny and 52 degrees with a nippy breeze. The scenery was beautiful

We arrived at the beginning of the 12 mile Auto Tour and were swarmed by Cliff Swallows

They were busy getting mud to build their nests. When I was growing up we called them "Mud Daubbers"

They are quite striking in their appearance close-up

Lovely habitat promising lots of water birds. The mosquitos were thick and huge so we did not linger outside, and could not keep the windows open for long.

We enjoyed this raucous Yellow-headed Blackbird

There were many pair of Gadwall

  and an equal number of Cinnamon Teal pairs, this lady giving her stoic gentlemen a few choice words.

This Willet almost slipped by unnoticed because he blended so well with the background

This is kind of a funny photo--the Forster's Tern was sitting on a sign far out in the water, with an ever-present Coot beyond and another Forster's Tern flew by in front. It is a curious sign he is studying, too!

We had lots of opportunities to study Black-crowned Night Heron. We must have seen thirty or more.

This one posed well so we could get a close-up with our zoom lens

We saw hundreds of Eared Grebes. Paul caught these especially great photos of 3 of them.

The entire refuge had only a handful of trees so we looked hard for a bird in each one. We found this Great-horned Owl

and this Red-tailed Hawk in another. We had witnessed a Red-tail mixing it up with and screeching at a Falcon right before this, so maybe he was catching his breath now and checking himself over. We did not see the falcon well enough to determine Prairie or Peregrine.

A bunch of American Avocets were on White Lake

We found 36 species of birds in Lower Klamath NWR and finished the Auto Tour at noon. We drove 14 miles to the Visitor's Center of the Klamath Basin NWR Complex and had lunch beside a reclaimed marshland. This is the marsh now.

And this is how the land looked in 1993 as farmland before the project to reclaim it.

At the Visitor's Center they have an elaborate set-up for feeding birds. It was a great place to sit and take photos

We got these photos of a California Towhee, which had previously evaded our cameras

A bright American Goldfinch 

A female Bullock's Oriole

and the Male Bullock's Oriole

After this brief respite, we started on the 10-mile Auto Tour of Tule Lake NWR. Pelicans were abundant.

Western Grebes were also in great numbers. We watched this pair bobbing their heads together and then they danced across the water--no photos of that wonderful sight. Sorry! It always happens so fast and is over so quickly.

We were excited to be able to identify several Clark's Grebes as well

A pair of Caspian Terns

A lot of the refuge is under agricultural use. 

A trio of American White Pelicans

A trio of Snow or Ross' Geese

We really enjoyed watching the Forster's Terns hovering over the water

Ruddy Ducks kept their distance and we were unable to get photos which showed the striking blue beaks and ruddy brown color, but this is a Ruddy Duck, nevertheless--and there were many

At 4 pm we finished the Auto Tour but we had one stop left for the day. On route we saw some of the cinder cones from yesterday's visit to the Lava Beds National Monument.

Our final destination was Captain Jack's Stronghold in the Lava Beds National Monument. When I was a kid a family friend told me the story of Captain Jack, a Modoc Indian who tried to stay on his homeland when the settlers and army were trying to move his tribe away. Captain Jack was able to outfox the Army for a long time by staying hidden with his whole tribe in the lava beds and caves where the army could not find or fight him. This all happened in the winter as well. It all ended as Indian wars do, but like Chief Joseph, Captain Jack put up a valiant fight. I wanted to see the site of this story I first heard about many years ago. It was a half-mile hiking trail through the lava twists and turns to the final summit. And I could understand from the beauty of the place why the Indians wanted to keep their home and how they were able to keep the army at bay for such a long time.

The summit of Captain Jack's Stronghold

We arrived back at our motel at 6:10 pm. It was a long but wonderful day. We drove 101 miles and saw over 60 species, including the following which I have not mentioned: Great and Snowy Egrets, Wilson's Phalaropes, Franklin Gull, Long-billed Dowichers, Canvasback, Redheads, Northern Shovelers, Mallards, Ring-necked Pheasants, Greater White-fronted Geese, Caspian Terns, Turkey Vultures, Song Sparrow, House Sparrow, Killdeer, Great Blue Herons, Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbirds, Golden Eagle, Lesser Scaup, White-faced Ibis, Dunlin, Bufflehead, California Quail, Double-crested Cormorants, Mourning and Eurasian Collared Doves, Western Meadowlark, Black-billed Magpie, Robin, Raven, Marsh Wrens, Canada Goose, Black-necked Stilts and Rock Doves! And Dratted Cowbirds and Dratted Starlings!

A full day of birding and more!