Sherman and Gilliam Counties

Hi All,

I took off Thursday morning to work on my Sherman and Gilliam County lists, hoping to add wintering species to both, and also hoping to get them more within reach to cross the 100/county bar come spring migration next May/June.  The day before my wife and I had been to our accountant (yep, tis that time of year!) and on the way home I stopped at the local photography store in Dallas, where the owner sweet talked me into a certain camera which should be great for bird photography.  So since there were some $400 bucks in reward points only credit card awaiting to be cashed in, and the camera was $500, and since there would likely be much more coming from tax returns, and since my birthday was coming up, well, you get the “picture” as to what I told my wife when I came out of the store with a camera. By the way, it is a Nikon Cool Pix P900, and I suspect I will be a little liberal including pics in this blog. (Some of this was cooled when we got the mail with bills for my RN license and medical insurance renewals.)

I left about 0830 and stopped at BSNWR to try it out, and here is one of my better shots of a SHOVELER.  It was quite windy, so it was a challenge. 

Northern Shoveler at BSNWR

The weather was not in my favor much of this trip, so it was challenging at times.  I stopped at Government Cove in Hood River County where there were a few COMMON MERGANSERS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, AMERICAN COOTS, BUFFLEHEADS, and a GREAT-BLUE HERON, all in the cove.  There was nothing on the river.   Next stop was the water-front at Hood River, where I picked out one GREATER SCAUP among the raft of ducks on the river, adding one to my Hood River list.

Next stop was the Deschutes River State Park. There were recent posts by Bob Archer and another birder, whom I can’t remember, which certainly indicated some needed birds there.  Then it finally dawned on me, that I already had 85 in the county, so reaching 100 was probably in reach. It was still windy, but the birds were more or less cooperating. Before heading under the bridges to view the river, there were: LESSER and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, JUNCO, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, SONG SPARROW, BEWICK’S WREN, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER.  Between I-84 and the frontage road is a pond where there were: COMMON GOLDENEYE, BUFFLEHEAD, LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON.  There was a flock of CALIFORNIA GULLS in the shallows on the east side of the river mouth, and one GREATER SCAUP among the lessers on the river. 

I decided I’d walk the upper road and return on the trail along the river.  The view was really pretty good, but the sun could have been more cooperating.  Not far along the road I saw a BALD EAGLE soaring down the middle of the river.  I figured he could be counted in both Sherman and Wasco Counties, since he was so……spread eagle.  Other birds seen on the walk were: DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, PINE SISKIN, GOLDEN EAGLE, RED-TAILED HAWK, BUSHTIT, TREE SWALLOW, BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, MEADOWLARK, SCRUB JAY, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, CANYON WREN, HOUSE FINCH.  At one point there was a MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE in the sage brush.  I thought maybe, just maybe, it could be some sub-species I could call a “Sage Tit,” and so invent a new species, but the idea was quite fleeting.   Here are some shots along the way:

Looking north from a mile upstream from the Deschutes River State Park.  How would you like to zip line on those cables?

This is how preening is done

Common Goldeneyes

The state park is a nice place to both bird and hike around, and not so far from Portland that one could make a day trip out of it.  I headed east on the frontage road, and beyond Biggs found GREEN-WINGED TEAL, SHOVELER and PINTAIL, all new for Sherman County.  

It appeared that road construction was blocking the road up Scott Canyon, so I back-tracked to Biggs, and headed up Rt 97.  The Wasco Sewage Lagoons held a few ducks already seen, and beyond that it was the typical bird-less scenery I have come  to expect in the agricultural regions in Sherman and Gilliam Cos.  Someone recently used the phrase “Miles per raptor,” vs the usual “Raptors per mile, “ which is more descriptive here in the valley.  Such are the doldrums that even those wind turbines can’t relieve.  However, at Hay River there were some grain elevators where blackbirds were hanging around.  I noticed that Red-winged Blackbird was not on my Sherman list, which was in all likelihood and oversight.  This was a good mistake, or I would not have stopped.  They were all on the ground, and flushed when I drove by, and I could see when they flew that some were TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRDS, and according to Gate’s checklist, a hard to find species in Sherman.

Tri-colored  Blackbird

It was still pretty windy and this was the best pic I could muster.  The rest of the driving through Sherman was much the same, not very many birds.

I stopped at the John Day River and saw my first SAY’S PHOEBE.  Looking at the river resulted in further fostering an idea I have been mulling around for a few years - canoeing from Service Creek (Wheeler County) all the way to the Columbia River.  Except for a few rapids just below Clairno and a couple waterfalls I have heard of closer to the end of the river, “What could possibly go wrong?”  (I have not suggested the trip to my wife yet.  Guess I had better wait until she is in an adventurous mood.) Then it was in to Gilliam County.  I had 60 species to build on, and it was probably not realistic to expect to reach the 100 mark, but I held the door of hope open a little.  But at least I reached 108 in Sherman, so have 33/36 of Oregon’s counties down.

By this time the light was fading.  About a mile from Condon there was a GREAT-HORNED OWL on a power pole.  Not sure where he made his abode - there were no trees in sight except for those in Condon.  I stayed a the Condon Motel, I think the only lodging other than the Condon Hotel. It does not look like much, but the rooms were clean and comfy.  It was still windy after dark, and I needed to refine my strategy for tomorrow.  The sewage ponds would be first, after that I was not sure. Darrell Faxon had suggested I head south, and after looking at the map, I could see there was not that much left of Gilliam County before reaching Wheeler.  Plus, if it was going to be windy here, it would likely be the same along the Columbia River where I wanted to spend some quality time at the Willow Creek WMA.

Sure enough, it was windy in the morning.  I was at the Sewage Ponds before 0700 and as there were no staff there so early, I drove down the main dike.  There were a fair amount of ducks, and for once BARROW’S outnumbered COMMON GOLDENEYES, along with LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON MERGANSER, MALLARDS, and AMERICAN WIGEON. The lower pond was full of water this time, and so between all three ponds, this is a sizable area of water which must attract good numbers of waterfowl in the middle of an area where there is little open water.

After that, I headed south on Rt 19 to the Werhli Canyon loop road.  Along here I picked up SPOTTED TOWHEE, COOPER’S HAWK, SONG SPARROW, BUSHTIT, ROBIN, FLICKER, and back out on the prairie/farmland MEADOWLARK, HORNED LARK, RAVEN, MOURNING DOVE, ROUGH-LEGGED and RED-TAILED HAWK, HARRIER, MAGPIE, KESTREL.  At one farm there were three pheasants, and as I needed such for the county, such never looked so good.  I even snapped a few shots!  

Ring-necked Pheasant

But when going over my list later, I realized that I had seen one last year in Lone Rock, so it was mildly a let down.

Horned Lark.  Looks like I shave his head a little

It was still windy, and I decided to head up to the only forested part of the county.  Heck, I was already not that far from there, so, “why not?”  So I headed east on Trail Fork Road.  It sure looks to hold promise for birds in warm weather, so I am sure I will end up on that road in the future.  Even the wind started to die down, so I thought it gave me some hope that reaching 100 today might even be doable.  The road conditions were quite acceptable, and one has to swing into Wheeler County for a couple miles or so, before doubling back into Gilliam.

But by the time I got there, the wind picked up its efforts, and so gave me stiff competition for birding, and the only birds I came out with were RED CROSSBILL, MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, and ROBIN.  While birding along the road, local ranchers Jim and Georgia Van Winkle came by and introduced themselves.   In the course of the conversation, which was mostly about birds, Jim asked me if I knew Darrell Faxon.  So that broke the ice more, and I came away from there knowing Darrell had paved the way, so to say, for other birders to enjoy the area, and that there are some great people living in such secluded places.  Here is a pic of their place, the “Lost Valley Ranch.”

Lost Valley Ranch

Now began the long drive toward Willow Creek WMA, at the northernmost part of Gilliam, and the only real wetland in the county.  Resigning myself to more monotonous birding, I concluded birding would probably be even worse without the introduced species like House Sparrows, Starlings, Rock Pigeons and Eurasian Collared Doves.  North of Olex I headed east on Old Tree Road.  As an aside subject, in my spare time, I am reading through a book called the “Oregon Geographic Names,” which explains that the small community requested the name of the town (of Olex) to be “Alex” but because whoever wrote the petition did not have legible handwriting, the authority saw an O rather than an A, and so the town was christened Olex.  The book can be entertaining as such, and living some 100+ years after places were named we are pretty detached from life back then.  Along Old  Tree Road there were plenty of wind turbines, and one row was pretty close.  And as there were no “No Trespassing” signs around, I drove to the base of one.  Here is a pick of my “little” red Nissan Pick Up in front of one for size comparison. 

My truck looks rather dwarfed by this turbine

Rough-legged Hawk near Condon

Western Meadowlark near Olex

Just over into Morrow County I finally saw a shrike.  In early March I assumed any shrike I saw would be a northern, but this was definitely a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.  

I got a little disoriented and ended up coming out on I-84 via Rt 74, and so headed east a few miles to the next exit, and took the first right.  Good thing there are signs to the place or one could drive around in the agricultural field for quite some time.  About a mile west from the turn off a flock of TUNDRA SWANS were heading east, but they were in Morrow County.  Here is a shot coming down the hill to the area.

Aside from the water birds one can walk a trail along the east bank for passerines.  There must have been a few thousand COOTS there.  Otherwise, the list of water associated birds was: PIED-BILLED GREBE, AMERICAN WIGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, GADWALL, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, RING-NECKED DUCK, GREAT-BLUE HERON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, PINTAIL, SHOVELER.  A pair of REDHEADS and two COMMON LOONS were probably the best birds.  Some land birds here were YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BEWICK’S WREN, and a flock of about 75 CEDAR WAXWINGS, which I scoured for a Bohemian without success.  

Back on I-84 I was able to add BALD EAGLE, WESTERN GREBE and HORNED GREBE, and in Arlington a GREATER SCAUP.  I ended up reaching 90 in Gilliam, so getting to 100 should not be too hard come June.  My (5) hats are off to those of you who have over 200 in this county, quite the challenge.  Many visits to Willow Creek an the small pine forest at the southern end are required for such. 

The rest of the drive was better for scenery and birds than in the heart of Sherman and Gilliam Cos.  Occasional rain was not too bad.  I did see a few CANVASBACK on the river in Wasco Co, so that was an addition to that county.

As far as reaching 100 in the remaining 3 counties (Gilliam, Baker and Malhuer), I will need to make a trip in late May or early June for such.  I have been brainstorming what to do after that, and I lean toward the next realistic level of 125 in each county, so it seems I that when I go to these counties in a few months, I should put in a little more effort to reach 125.  That way, at least for Baker an Malhuer, I won’t have so far to go.