Canoe Birding On The Luckiamute River

4/2/16

Hi All,

After driving around locally in Polk County on Thursday, and seeing the Luckiamute River nice and full, I hatched a plan to canoe it Friday since the weatherman was promising great weather.  My wife was even agreeable, so was looking forward to another nice time on the river.

I have canoed down this river from Helmick Park to Buena Vista, which is on the Willamette River, every spring for at least the last 10 years, sometimes 2 or 3 times, usually with my wife, and twice we have been accompanied by friends in another canoe.   As the crow flies, it is only about 6 miles, but by river it is 15.   One needs to go in the spring when the water is high as if you go in summer it is generally going to be too low and hence there will be more fallen trees to deal with which are submerged when the water is higher. 

This is one of my favorite activities as it is always so peaceful on the river.   A 200 yard straight stretch is the exception from the constant bends along the way.  Once you are in the boat away from Hwy 99, the only thing you hear are birds and water lapping against the boat,  which are occasionally disturbed by an airplane, car or motorized boat.  I knew it would be a little early for most migrants, but it would be worth it - just plain therapeutic!   I usually try to make the trip in early May when migrants are much in evidence but the water is usually lower then.  I have never found any rare birds on this trip, but one of these day I suspect I will.  As far as animals go, we have seen deer crossing the river in front of us, beaver, mink, otters and raccoons. 

Well, my wife Rosie woke up with a headache so it was going to be a solo trip after all.  She does not like me going alone, so ends up begrudgingly going anyway, but not today.  She asked me if I had the “invasive species permit.”  I have to admit this is one of my pet peeves.  Just to take a canoe on the river I now need a permit.  If I understand the name of the permit, I assume the cost is supposed to defray dealing with or preventing “invasive species.”  What a joke.  Anyway, I dug out last year’s permit, wondering if I paid for 2 years.   It said, “Good for the year of 2015.”   I figure it was not too much trouble to change the 5 into a 6, and wha-la!   I was now ready to go. 

One great benefit of having my wife along is that it is easier to take the canoe off of the truck.  I would have to muscle it myself now.  At least it is only 70 pounds, so there are ways to handle the awkward thing.  I have found the best place to put in is on the south side of the bridge going over the Luckiamute right on Hwy 99.  Then you can leave your vehicle just north on the corner of Old Fort Road.  

I was glad to be off, alone on the river.  Most of you probably know that going quietly down a river is a great way to see wildlife, as you can sneak up on something without them noticing you.  If you have read my last 2 posts, you may remember my buying a new camera, and so I had some grandiose ideas about a fabulous photography trip, coming back with proof of what birds and animals one can find along the riverbanks. 

No sooner had I rounded the first bend when there before me was a large log jam.  Hmm.  The last few years the river has been free of such, so this is probably just a fluke (or so I thought).  And the father along you proceed down river, the less likely you will find a log jam because the river widens, making it less likely for one to develop. Usually there is a way around these, or, through them, and I was lucky that there was a narrow channel on the right side of it.  

THE FIRST LOG JAM.  ON THE EXTREME RIGHT SIDE WAS A NARROW CHANNEL

Shortly afterward I spied a Turkey Vulture sunning himself on the top of a tree.  

LOOKS LIKE HE IS WAVING ME ON

Ah, a good photo opportunity.  It was then that I realized taking pictures in a moving boat was not as easy as I imagined it would be.  Once you were in focus you had better snap the shutter, for one second later it was out of focus.  This was also when I realized steering the boat was going to be more of a challenge without my wife along.  More than once while taking pics I ended up going backwards when I was done.  Needless to say, not too many bird pics were taken, and of those most are not good enough to include here.  There was some nice scenery though.  This next shot is where the river narrows and, depending on how high the water is, there can be rapids.  If the water is low there are none, and if it is high, there are none.  Somewhere in between low and high, there can be a few 2-3 foot high swells.   Last year this trip was one of those in-between times and as we bounded over the first wave, the bow dove into the next one, sending a flood of water all over my wife.  She was drenched from the neck down, and the canoe was literally half full of water.  Luckily there was a place to pull over just after, and fortunately my wife had packed extra clothes in the dry sack.  But today the water was high, and there was nothing but smooth (and fast) sailing.

A NARROW CHANNEL WHERE RAPIDS CAN FORM

As this was a birding trip, I should mention there were plenty of birds around.  ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were singing everywhere, and a close second were BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and BEWICK’S WRENS.  Other birds in evidence were CROWS, STELLAR’S JAYS, RED-TAILED HAWKS, SONG SPARROWS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, SPOTTED TOWHEES, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, MALLARDS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, BELTED KINGFISHERS,ROBINS, and HOODED MERGANSERS. At one point, I flushed a female Mallard who was perched on a large limb some 30 feet above the water.  Now that was a first! Later along on the trip I flushed a pair of SNIPE, a first for this jaunt.

About 1/3 of the way, there is a railroad trestle going over the river.  I always remember it because the first trip down there was a log jam there, and we had to portage around it.  Since there is one piling right in the middle of the river, a log jam would seem likely to be encountered here all the time, but since that first trip, we have not had to deal with such again…….until today that is.  

LOG JAM AT RAILROAD TRESTLE

THIS IS HOW IT IS DONE!

This was no little one either.  It must have been 40 feet from the front of it to the back, and there were no small passages through.  I had to sit there in front of it for a while trying to figure out how I was going to get past it.  I have to admit here that there were 2 reasons I was glad my wife was not along now.  She simply hates having to deal with such, and the other is that since she was not along, my weight in the back of the canoe lifted the front up just enough to that I could get a running start and propel the boat onto most anything that was only 3-4 inches high.  That way, once you are half way over something, you can go to the front of the boat and are that much father along.  This enabled me to get the first jump on the jam. I decided it was going to be the easiest simply going over it in the middle section, so pulled and pushed it until I reached the other side. One benefit (if there is such) of a log jam is that it is easier to take a leak on one rather than standing up in a canoe…

With the jam behind me, I figured it could not get any worse.  But about a mile down river, I ran into another.  This time it was due to a large fir tree which had recently fallen across.  In some ways it was worse than the last one, because it was more of a jungle to get through due to all the limbs sticking every which way.  Once on it, I could see the work of a beaver who had been eating away at the bark. At least it seemed at the time to be the work of a beaver, but my wife was wondering if it may have been a porcupine.  I doubted such, but I guess it is not too far out of the question for one to cross a fallen log.  And I thought beavers did not eat conifer trees.  Seems like the bark would get rather caked in your mouth with all that sap. With two jams out of the way, I sure hoped there would be no more.  

THE NEXT LOG JAM, CAUSED BY A LARGE FIR TREE

SUSPENSE OR SUSPENDED?  AM I SERIOUS OR DELIRIOUS?  PRECARIOUS? 

EVIDENCE OF BEAVERS

One pleasant thing I have always run into on this trip was flushing GREAT-HORNED OWLS from some of the larger trees along the banks.  I have dislodged as many as 6 on one trip in the past.  Today was no exception.  Not long after the last log jam one flushed on my right, and flew across the river, Stellar’s Jays in hot pursuit.  They always seem to perch where you can’t see them very well, so I did not even ready the camera.   Too bad, for this one perched right out in the open and, even though I was scanning for him, I did not see him until it flushed again, this time flying right over my head.  I ended up flushing one more a few more miles down river. 

HOODED MERGANSER AND MALLARD

Around that time I scared a raccoon who must have been scrounging for food in the thickets to my right.  They seem so cute with that black mask, but I hear they can be quite feisty when confronted.  In the vicinity I also flushed a beaver, who let me know he was unhappy with my intrusion by flapping his tail on the water.   I would flush two more later in the trip.

Eventually I made it to the bridge where the Corvallis Road crosses the river.  There were a few Cliff Swallow nests on the underside of it, but I did not see any today.  Matter of fact, I did not encounter any swallows until I reached the Willamette River where there were a few NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, probably the same ones Joel Geier saw the previous day.   The next bridge is not very far away, the one where the Buena Vista Road crosses the river.  Immediately before the bridge an eddy takes off to the south and is about 100 yards long.  This is where I have eaten lunch on past trips, and was planning on doing so today.  As I entered it, looking for a shady place, a pair of COMMON MERGANSERS at the far end saw me.  Now if they were Mallards, they would have simply been able to raise up off the water, flying almost straight up.  But Common Mergansers cannot do such, and need a long unobstructed path to gain altitude, and since the banks were lined with tall trees, they had no choice but to fly my way and were only about 30 feet above me when they flew over.  

After lunch I got caught up on communications.  When I started this trip down the Luckiamute, I had texted a few people who I thought would be interested in knowing about it.  A certain friend who we had canoed with in the past was one, and she had replied as follows: “Lucki - am- u.  I am envious!”  I decided to send her a picture of the log jam and figured she would be a few shades less green with envy  than the fir bows I had to deal with.  I also told my wife where I was who by now would probably be starting to worry some.

Going under the bridge of the Buena Vista Road lets me know I am on the home stretch.  I used to flush a Barn Owl from here, but have not seen him in a few years now.  Lodged in the support beams of the bridge are debris from the flood of ’94, and that was some 20 feet over my head now, so I could only imagine how the area looked back then. You also paddle by the Luckiamute Landing area, so you know you are getting close to the Willamette River.  I got to see where the river washed out the area much too close to the road going in to the parking area.  

BRIDGE FOR THE BUENA VISTA ROAD

DEBRIS FROM THE '94 FLOOD, AND OLD CLIFF SWALLOW NESTS

About a half mile from the Willamette River a landowner has some peacocks which I always hear, and today they piped up as if on cue. When the big river comes into view, there is also an eddy off to the south of the Luckiamute where bass fishermen patronize, but there were none today.  A small flock of cormorants were at the far end, who took off when they saw me, most, like the mergansers, needing a long runway to get airborne, flew quite close.

ONE OF MANY STELLAR'S JAYS

WHERE THE LUCKIAMUTE MEETS THE WILLAMETTE RIVER

Once on the Willamette, you can look up-river and see the Santiam River entering from the east.  My wife does not particularly like this part of the trip either, because the turbulence of the river tosses you around a little bit, making  you feel like you don’t have control of the boat.  

From the confluence of those rivers, it is only 2 miles to the park in Buena Vista, and is easy.  At this time of year you can just drift along, letting the current take you all the way. I had texted my wife to head over to Buena Vista, as planned.  A couple of motor boats and a jet ski awakened me to the reality that I was back in civilization.  I sure hoped one of the boats was not the river patrol, or I might have to show him my “permit,” and neither was, so I was relieved.  My wife showed up shortly after I docked, so it was nice to have two people to load the canoe on the truck.

Birds - here is a list of what I saw.

Double-crested Cormorant ~25

Great Blue Heron 1

Canada Goose one large flock, plus 2 pairs

Mallard 5 

Hooded Merganser 2

Common Merganser 2

Turkey Vulture - many

Osprey 1

Bald Eagle 4

Northern Harrier 1

Red-tailed Hawk ~10

Wilson’s Snipe 2

Killdeer 1

Rock Dove 1

Mourning Dove 4

Great-horned Owl 2

Rufous Hummingbird 1

Red-breasted Sapsucker 3

Downy Woodpecker 6

Hairy Woodpecker 2

Northern Flicker ~8

Tree Swallow 1

N Rough-winged Swallow 4

Stellar’s Jay - many

Scrub Jay 6

Crow 4

Raven 1

Black-capped Chickadee - many

Bushtit a few

White-breasted Nuthatch 1

Brown Creeper a few

Bewick’s Wren - many

Pacific Wren 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet a few

Robin a fair amount

Starling not too many

OC Warbler many

Yellow-Rumped Warbler 1

Spotted Towhee a few

Song Sparrow - many

White-crowned Sparrow a few

Red-winged Blackbird a few

Purple Finch 1

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Hi All,

I made a trip to Douglas county last Thursday and Friday, teaming up with Jimmy Billistine who lives there and was able to guide me around on Thursday.  While I am not needing to reach 100 there, I do have hopes to reach 200 eventually, and I was at 134 for Douglas prior to those two days.  Sometimes when I know I am going to be birding the next day, I am too keyed up to sleep well, or at least for very long, so found myself awake around 4:00 am, so got up and left, figuring I could so some owling along the way.  I made a few local stops for Barred Owls, but only heard one Great-horned Owl.  A little later, in Benton County I heard a SCREECH OWL at EE Wilson, which was a county bird for me.

After that I headed to I-5 and south.  I stopped at Ford’s Pond in Sutherlin and was able to add VIRGINIA RAIL, NORTHERN ROUGH WINGED SWALLOW and LINCOLN’S SPARROW to my Douglas list, and then headed farther south to Roseburg and met Jimmy at Stewart’s Pond next to Fred Meyer’s.  The place had a lot of ducks, but none which I needed.  After walking around a little, we headed south a few miles to Dole Road for CALIFORNIA TOWHEE, which we were able to both hear and see.  Jimmy told me these were the northern-most breeders in the U.S - World - Universe, so I felt privileged to realize such.  On the way there we nailed a COWBIRD and SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, both which I needed for the county. 

GADWALL - STEWARTS POND

AMERICAN WIGEON - STEWART POND

After that we headed north on I-5 to Sutherlin and Plat I Reservoir.  Along the entrance road was a BLACK PHOEBE which I needed for the county.  There were plenty of waterfowl there, along with swallows, but no martins as yet.  Great place, and I realized this was the place where I had been many years ago, adding my first waterfowl to the county list. We then headed back to Ford’s Pond.  Across the road on the north is a house where TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRDS have been hanging out, and we were able to see a few.  They patronize a feeder there, and also appear to now nest at Ford’s Pond.  For those who have not been there, it is a great place for waterfowl and other associated birds.  We dipped on the Bittern which was reported there not very long ago. Some of the birds there were: MALLARD, PINTAIL, SHOVELER, CANVASBACK, RING-NECKED DUCK, LESSER SCAUP, RUDDY DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CANADA GOOSE,BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON MERGANSER, WESTERN and PIED-BILLED GREBES, and a few other common birds.  I’m pretty sure I heard Bernie’s HOUSE FINCH as well.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD - FORD'S POND

After that we headed north, driving through various fields, and in the process found out that  Mildred Kanipe Park which was closed. The scenery was great, but there were simply NO Savannah Sparrows!   Do they only winter in the area?  One stop yielded our first COMMON YELLOWTHROAT of the year, as well as a pair of PURPLE FINCHES.  At this point, I might add that sometimes it is good to know what was NOT being seen today.  We dipped on Harrier, Pheasant, California Quail, any shorebird except Killdeer, Band-Tailed Pigeon, Pipits, Chipping Sparrow, Siskin or Evening Grosbeak, some of which can be more or less common.  We admit that it is an in between time, too early for most migrants with wintering species getting sparse.   

We eventually came to the North Bank Habitat Management Area            where we walked for maybe and hour and a half, finding HERMIT THRUSH, PACIFIC WREN, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, WRENTIT, GOLDEN and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, and other common passerines. 

From there we drove along the scenic Umpqua River stopping here and there and finding another COMMON YELLOWTHROAT.  Eventually we made it to  Whistler's Bend where we finally found 3 WILD TURKEYS.  We began to wonder if these were going to evade us after looking in appropriate habitat for so long.  From there we made it back to Fred Meyer’s where Jimmy dropped me off, and also gave me directions to birding locales in Reedsport.  

SCRUB JAY- ELKTON

The drive there along the Umpqua River continued to be quite scenic, making me think about taking a canoe down it some day.  I stopped at a few places, mainly looking for Savannah Sparrow without success.  Eventually I stopped at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing area, and sure enough, there were plenty of elk to be seen there.  Guess they are accustomed to observers watching them, but kept their distance.   Jimmy said there might be Cackling Geese, Bald Eagles, Harriers or a Kite here, but I saw none.  

BULL ELK - DEAN CREEK

When I got to Reedsport, I first stopped at the Holly Tree where a Mockingbird was found on the CBC, and refound later on, but he was a no show then, and did not show the next morning either, so maybe he moved on.  I checked out the marina and found HERRING GULL, and on the estuary RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and just beyond the jetties COMMON MURRES, all of which were new for the county.   There was a COMMON GOLDENEYE hanging loosely with a small flock of COMMON LOONS.  I decided to stay in the Salmon Harbor Motel (or some such name) along Rt 101 in Winchester Bay for the night, a nice quaint little place.

The next morning I headed out to the south jetty, hoping for any number of birds which might be new for me in the county, but after spending an hour, the only addition was a BALD EAGLE.  I next drove south so I could check out the ocean for Marbled Murrelet, but none were to be found.  I next headed to Reedsport to check a brushy area where a Palm Warbler was found on the count, but the only land birds I found were one each of FOX SPARROW, SONG SPARROW and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.  On the slough I finally found GREATER SCAUP, all females in a small flock.  There were some WOOD DUCKS there as well. 

I next went to the north side of the river where there were extensive mudflats, but no shorebirds at all.  So I headed a little north to Five Mile Road to look for a Swamp Sparrow which was found on the count, but dipped.  The lake in the area was gorgeous and I took a few pics.  While doing so a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD perched close by, long enough for a few pics.  By the time I was heading out of Douglas County I had reached 148.   It is quite likely that I will be back in a month as my wife wants to head to the south coast for our anniversary next month.  Jimmy and I talked about a trek upon Mt Thielson to try for Rosy Finches and other high elevation birds next August, so that is something I hope works out. 

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD - FIVE MILE ROAD

The main place I went in Lane County was the south jetty where I saw 4-5 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES off the end of the jetties.  These were an addition to my Lane list, much harder since it is over 200 now.  I next went to look for the BULLOCK’S ORIOLE which has been wintering at the MSC, but did not find it.  I have to admit I did not give it a lot of time either as I was wanting to get home.  I did go out along the south jetty road and took a few pics.  By now the weather was great - blue sky and not too windy.  There were even a lot of people around for a Friday.  

COMMON LOON - YAQUINA BAY

All in all it was a good trip.  I would have like to added more to Douglas, but guess I can’t complain.  With one end of the county in the mountains and the other reaching the coast, reaching 200 is pretty doable, maybe even 300 some day.

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.