Subject: Trip report: Oregon odyssey (long)
Date: Aug 25 12:29:55 1994
From: Greg Gillson - gregg at tdd.hbo.nec.com

Greg's tour of Oregon
10 August 1994 to 20 August 1994

Greg Gillson <gregg at tdd.hbo.nec.com>
311 Park Street
Banks, OR 97106
(503) 324-0508


It might seem strange that I would tour Oregon. After all, I've lived
here most of my life. And I've birded almost exclusively in Oregon from
1972-1979 and 1985-1994; 16 full years. But we all get into ruts, and
mine has been the places that I bird. It turns out that, except for
yearly pilgrimages to Malheur in southeast Oregon, all my birding has
been concentrated in the northwest 1/4 of the state. So this family
vacation was to visit Oregon - the parts we've missed. I used Evanich's
"The Birder's Guide to Oregon" as the primary guide of where to go to
search out birds.

We started by taking the Oregon Trail. Backwards. One-hundred-and-fifty
years late. I took 2 full weeks off from work, and by Wednesday we were
finally ready to leave - almost. We went through downtown Portland at
5:00 p.m.

Day one:
Wednesday, 10 August 1994

It wasn't long before we were enjoying the Columbia Gorge. Beautiful
Multnomah Falls fell about 300 feet over a cliff. We could only enjoy it
for a moment this time, as we whizzed by on the Interstate. One of the
conspicuous birds here, and indeed on the whole journey, was the Osprey.
Wherever we encountered water we saw Ospreys. Also, along the whole stretch
of the Columbia River we found Caspian Terns.

Soon we left the Willamette Valley and passed through the Cascades on the
cut made by the Columbia River. We came into the drier lands on the eastern
flank of the Cascades. Oaks from the west mixed with the ponderosa pines of
the 3000-5000 foot level of the eastern slope of the Cascades. In the town
of The Dalles, I glimpsed a Peregrine Falcon stooping on one of two Osprey
which were circling overhead. No place to stop on the freeway. Then we were
out on the grassland and sage steppe of the Columbia Plateua.

Our original plan was to spend the first night somewhere near Hermiston,
where the Columbia River turns north into eastern Washington, but with our
late start we stopped at the mouth of the Deschutes River at the Deschutes
River State Park in Sherman County. We camped in the grassy overflow area,
which was much nicer than the campground itself. In no time Marlene and the
girls (Leslie, age 13; Bonnie, age 11; and Cheryl, age 10) helped me set up
the two-room tent and disappeared into the cool waters of the river. I did
make it wading up to my knees, but not farther. So I and the new puppy
(Abigail the Basset Hound, age 14 weeks) sat on the bank watching. Dinner was
by lantern light and quite enjoyable.

Day two:
Thursday, 11 August 1994

Awoke to a beautiful day. In fact, each day was sunny and hot, reaching
97-100 degrees every day, but dipping down into the 40s or 50s typical of
the Great Basin nights. Evanich mentioned a trail along the river on the
east side. Actually it was the trailhead for a long trail system, maybe 100
miles. There was a little interpretive brochure about the plants of the first
1/4 mile of the trail, and I followed it.

My first surprise was Bewick's Wren, then Black-capped Chickadee! In most of
Oregon these species stay west of the Cascades, in the Willamette Valley, and
in lesser numbers along the Coast. But these two species follow the Columbia
quite a ways east. Shocker: a flock of 60 Bushtit! These were the gray-
crowned, brown-faced Great Basin race, only invaded into east-central Oregon
in the last 50 years. And I hadn't realized they made it all the way to the
Columbia. I discovered a juvenile Black-throated Gray Warbler, completely
washed with green above and yellow below, unlike any description I've seen,
but the bright yellow lore cinched the otherwise confusing identification.
It was perhaps a hybrid with a Townsend's Warbler. I'll have to reread my
notes later with that in mind.

We packed up and followed the Columbia east, I recorded House Sparrow, Barn
Swallow, and California Gull as my only species for my first visit to
Gilliam County. We reached Umatilla NWR in Morrow County before lunch.
McCormack Slough is the only accessable area. A vagrant Lark Bunting was seen
a couple of weeks earlier, which I couldn't chase (and wasn't reseen anyway).
I recorded Western and Eastern Kingbirds, Northern (Bullock's) Oriole, some
summering ducks, and migrant shorebirds: Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,
American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Least
and Western Sandpiper. And surprise: a Semipalmated Sandpiper! This species
is no longer considered a Rare Bird, but there are still very few records
away from the coast and a few shorebird flats in Western Oregon. A Black-
billed Magpie hiding in the willows over the stream and uttering strange
noises, gave me some moments of curious searching.

We stopped briefly at McNary Park below the dam, in Umatilla County, but it
was very dry (as was all of Oregon). Three Ospreys flew overhead and a
Caspian Tern or two winged by. After lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant,
we then drove through Cold Springs NWR. More kingbirds, kestrels, TVs,
magpies, Amercan Goldfinch, Western Wood-Pewee, and a Willow Flycatcher.
We saw a group of White Pelicans on a small lake, and a Forster's Tern was
in with the Caspian's. Ring-billed Gulls were here, but surprisingly not
California Gulls. Again, I was amazed to find Black-capped Chickadees. We
then left the northward turning Columbia to head east into the Blue
Mountains.

After leaving Pendleton, we climbed to Emigrant Pass and heard a Steller's
Jay at the rest stop at the summit (4193 feet elevation). It was good to
be up into the cooler pine forest.

Soon we were at Hilgard Junction State Park in Union County, just outside
La Grande. This park on the Grande Ronde River was very beautiful, not even
the busy trucking traffic on the hill on the Interstate nearby detracted
from it. After setting up camp and eating dinner, I explored along the river
banks while the girls swam. Pine and juniper made up the open forest, with
cottonwoods and willow clumps along the stream. My first Oregon Lewis'
Woodpecker in many years. Vaux's Swift and Cedar Waxwings catching insects
over the river. An immature Red-naped Sapsucker. And one of the "eastern"
target birds for Northeast Oregon: Red-eyed Vireo, along with Warbling Vireo.
I got to practive my Empid identifications with two Willow and a Dusky
Flycatcher. Osprey again. But the hummingbird was Rufous, and not Calliope.
Two Common Nighthawks winged over at dusk.

Day three:
Friday, 12 August 1994

It was quite cool at dawn making me want to sleep in. But the strange bird
noises and the sores I had on the hard ground (and finally, and urgently,
the call of nature) got me up. The "phew" and "veer" calls I heard while
inside the tent at dawn, could have been bluebird or solitaire; and the
"chwaaay" call might only have been the vireos. But it took me a couple
hours of searching all along the river to finally see my life Veery, and my
first state Gray Catbird. Back at camp I heard that "chwaaay" sound again,
and went and sat right in the middle of a thick clump of willows beside the
tent. After ten minutes an inquisitive Catbird finally crept through the
twigs and into view! They are as hard to see as Wrentits! Two more "eastern"
specialties!

We decided to spend another night at this lovely spot.

Bird list for the day at Hilgard Junction State Park, Union County, Oregon:

Common Merganser 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 immature male
Spotted Sandpiper 3 Belted Kingfisher 3
Lewis' Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2 Western Wood-Pewee 2
Willow Flycatcher 3 Cordilleran Flycatcher 3
Bank Swallow 2 Barn Swallow 35
Gray Jay 1 Steller's Jay 3
American Crow 20 Mountain Chickadee 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 House Wren 2
Veery 3 American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 2 Cedar Waxwing 40
Warbling Vireo 15 Red-eyed Vireo 10
Orange-crowned Warbler 3 Yellow Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 5 Western Tanager 1 female
Black-headed Grosbeak 1 heard only Rufous-sided Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1 Brewer's Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 5 Dark-eyed Junco 10
Red Crossbill 15 Pine Siskin 1
Evening Grosbeak 10

It was apparent that we didn't have time to visit the Wallowa Mountains,
still farther to the northeast, so after lunch we decided to take a trip
to the Anthony Lakes area of Baker County. I was hoping (long-shot) to
find Three-toed Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak, or White-winged Crossbill;
but Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler, Steller's Jay, Dark-eyed (Oregon)
Junco, Mountain Chickadee, Red Crossbill, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and
Clark's Nutcracker were the fare instead. We reached Elkhorn Summit at
7392 feet elevation and observed a forest fire raging about 12-15 miles
to the northwest. We saw many burned areas of forest and scrubland on our
trip, and some areas seemed to be smokey, but this was the only fire we saw.

Day four:
Saturday, 13 August 1994

We packed up and headed to Baker City to visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center. It was great. Films, diary entries, wax figures of trail life
complete with sounds and "emigrants" describing their life on the trail.

Leslie acted like a 13-year-old and refused to have a good time.

"Why should I care about a bunch of dead people?"

What if you took a trip for almost a year? What would it be like?

"That'd be stupid, I'd stay home."

[Insert mental picture here of parent strangling teenager]

(Actually, I remember visiting Disneyland when I was 13. I thought it was
dumb. All I saw were the mirrors, wires, and dopey music - I missed the
magic.)

At Baker City a Swainson's Hawk flew low over a field.

We next headed back west along the Powder River to what Evanich called the
"Philips Reservoir/Sumpter Area." This area looks like it might be good for
birds in spring, or a wetter summer. Osprey again. A yellow Warbler. Our
first Mountain Bluebirds. Solitary Vireo, Pied-billed Grebe, Blue-winged
Teal. We didn't stop long...it was too hot.

We climbed several mountain passes, using the air-conditioning when we went
downhill; and turning it off to go uphill. We spotted a Ferruginous Hawk at
Prairie City, and saw a group of Pronghorn somewhere in this area.

The destination for this day was Clyde Holliday State Park near John Day, in
Grant County. The object of our search was as much a campground with a shower
as it was for the only known Oregon nesting location of Least Flycatcher.
Saturday evening, even in the remote area we were in, crowded the little
campground. Several cars were ahead of us and several behind. We drove
through the loop slowly and spotted an open campsite. How could it be? The
only one. It could only have been vacated for seconds!

We headed for the pay booth. A robin flew over. A pair of Empids were calling
and chasing each other beside the road. Very hard, choppy call: "reeebek"
and a sharp "pwit." Big head with partial crest and thin, bold eyering.
Blackish tail and wings with bold wingbars. Tail shortish; with fairly long
primary extension. Bill medium-long, wide, basal 2/3 orange. Breast of one
bird with a dark olive vest, the white of the belly coming up sharply in an
inverted 'V'. The breast of the other bird was not as dark and more diffuse.
Could it be that easy? Only Hammond's is similar, and is distinctly different.
Yes! Least Flycatcher! My third new Oregon bird and second life bird of
the trip.

A few minutes later a familiar figure comes walking over. It's Tony Mendoza,
a workmate and birder! He is beside himself at the coincidence of us meeting
at a place neither one of us had been to before! He is finishing a two-week
backpacking vacation in the Wallowa Wilderness where he also coincidentally
met on-line birder Manuela Huso keying out flowers! After I show Tony the
flycatchers he and I exchanged trip highlights, and Marlene invited him for
a stew dinner. This is not the first time we have encountered Tony in a
campground over 150 miles from home!

Twenty-five nighthawks winged over. 15 Western Wood-Pewees called and flew
about. Lots of birds of grasslands: swallows, goldfinch, magpies, Brewer's
and Red-winged Blackbirds. We decided against setting up our tent and layed
our sleepingbags out on the groundcloth and fell asleep watching the
Perseids meteor showers.

Day five:
Sunday, 14 August 1994

Tony cleared out early in the morning, while we took a bit longer. A Great
Horned Owl called during the night, and before Tony left we found 3 Least
Flycatchers together.

We then headed over to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument - long on
my list of areas to visit. We stopped at the Cant Ranch Visitor's Center in
the Sheep Rock Unit. There we briefly again saw Tony. In the yard were
several California Quail and a female Black-throated Gray Warbler. Tony
recommended Blue Basin for geologic interest, as he had just come from there.
We said good-bye again and headed over there. It was well above 100 degrees
and the half-mile in, then back out trail was interesting. The only birds
were several Rock Wrens, a Western Meadowlark, and a Say's Phoebe. I did
find a tooth and bone eroding into view along a footbridge. I followed the
rules: Stay on the path! No Collecting! I left a note for Monument personnel
about the fossil.

It was so hot, when we went into the Ochoco Mountains of Crook County we
started looking for campgrounds at the summit. The first had no water, and
no room to pitch our large tent. We went on to Walton Lake where I had camped
once with my grandparents a few months before Marlene and I were married.
The campground was without water temporarily, but the cool mountain air,
green pines, and inviting lake made us decide to stay. We had made
arrangements to camp with Marlene's folks, so after we set up the tent, we
drove on down to Prineville to call them. We also bought a couple gallons
of water and stopped at Pizza Hut. The deer were thick on the way back to
camp at dusk.

Day six:
Monday, 15 August 1994

A Great Horned Owl called from across the lake, and Northern Pygmy-Owls were
tooting nearby. I woke about 4:00 a.m. and whistled a couple of times from
my sleeping bag in the tent, bringing several Pygmy owls closer. In the
morning a kettle of 23 Turkey Vultures soared over the lake, and 20 Common
Nighthawks and 50 Vaux's Swifts skimmed insects over the lake until about
10:00 a.m. Hairy and White-headed Woodpeckers called. Gray and Steller's
Jays patroled the camps, while Red Crossbills and Yellow-rumped Warblers
flew among the pines. A pair of very dark-phased Red-tailed Hawks flew over
the lake. They had black bodies and underwing coverts, big white "windows"
and gray trailing wings, with a deep brick-red tail.

Marlene's folks arrived about noon, and we all went down to the lake for a
swim - even me. Now I have that out of the way for this summer! In the
evening the birding picked up again. I spotted Pileated Woodpecker and a
Cooper's Hawk. There is a patch of alders on the east shore where a spring
feeds into the lake. I checked that out, just in case it might have some
migrants or unusual birds. Wow! Dusky Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler,
House Wren, MacGillivray's Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow,
Pine Siskin, and Warbling Vireo! At dusk an Osprey flew in to dive for fish
on the lake. A sight I had never seen was the Osprey skimming the surface
of the water with its talons for a distance of about 35-50 feet.

Day seven:
Tuesday, 16 August 1994

I spent the morning at Walton Lake checking out those alder thickets again.
Called a Pygmy Owl out of the top of the pines and down into the thicket.
This caused the birds in the thicket to come out and be a little more
active! 2 Hammond's Flycatchers, 5 Dusky Flycatchers, and a tail-bobbing
out-of-place Gray Flycatcher! Three Lesser Scaup had found the lake during
the night. Other birds not seen the previous night were a Solitary Vireo and
a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I really concentrated on following the soft
scratching and tapping of woodpeckers this day, which led to great looks of
Hairy and White-headed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Red-naped Sapsucker,
and a female Williamson's Sapsucker.

We all went back 15 miles to catch the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day
Fossil Beds. We walked around an 80-foot mound where one scientist about 50
years ago found over 20,000 fossil plants! It is phenomonal. The fossil beds
are clays that were once ash from nearby volcanos. The whole history of
mammals is recorded there. At first the region was a tropical swampland,
then later it became a deciduous forest, then a hardwood forest. Eventually
the Cascade Mountains formed turning the region into grassland savannah
with horses, camels, rhinos, and sabertooth cats. We found Tony's name in
the register from the day before, and found a couple of Oregon's only
cactus - a prickly pear type. As you can tell, it was one of the highlights
of the trip for me.

There were some irrigated fields here, and a female Lazuli Bunting was along
a small stream. But noticeable were 9 Loggerhead Shrikes along only 6 miles
of roads. They were the first for the trip.

Back at camp at Walton Lake, I added Cassin's Finch, 2 Western Tanagers,
a Cooper's Hawk, a female Townsend's Warbler, and 5 Western Bluebirds to
my list. By this time the yellow-jackets had found our camp and Cheryl got
stung once, and Leslie twice. The rest of us were harrassed from our dinners.

Day eight:
Wednesday, 17 August 1994

We had made our way from northeast Oregon back to near the center of the
state. Now we were heading to the southwest corner via the Klamath marsh
area. It was a longer day of driving with few detours for birds. We found
27 Sandhill Cranes, a couple Vesper Sparrows, and some summering waterbirds
at Klamath Forest NWR. After 3 days at dusty Walton Lake we were ready for
a motel with a shower. We also needed to do laundry. We found a motel at the
small town of Chiloquin. Would you believe it was only $39 for the night?!
An Anna's Hummingbird wrestled with Rufous Hummingbirds at the feeder there.

We rested, read some books laying around the room, took showers, cooked a
small meal, and forgot about going into town to do laundry.


Day nine:
Thursday, 18 August 1994

Did some birding in the morning before packing up. Outside I found Steller's,
Gray, and Scrub Jays all together in the lodgepole forest along the river.
Also present was a Hutton's Vireo and a Hermit Thrush, and other typical
species of the forest, including the ever-present Red Crossbills. The mix
of species here was unusual. The Scrub Jays here are of the California race,
rare east of the Cascades except in the Klamath basin.

The Klamath marshes were quite dry. I had a hard time envisioning the scene
as it would appear in fall and winter with tens-of-thousands of ducks, geese,
and swans. I drove past the fields where some lucky souls hear Yellow Rails
tick away at night. But I only flushed a couple of Soras from roadside
ditches. It was mostly well-grazed, dry fieldsi, full of cattle. Typical
birds were: Western and Mountain Bluebird, Mourning Dove, Black-billed
Magpie, Barn Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Killdeer, American Kestrel. Many
Violet-green Swallows were building up numbers preparing for their large
September and October flights. A Great Egret was in one field, and an adult
Bald Eagle landed in another.

We passed over the Cascades about 30 miles south of Crater Lake - no time
to stop on this trip. We stopped for lunch, but the woods were pretty quiet
in the Dougfir and hemlock forest. We did pick up a Pileated Woodpecker and
Common Raven.

Near Medford an Acorn Woodpecker flew into a grove of oaks.

Then we hit Interstate 5 and were over the Siskiyou Mountain passes and
into California. And I thought Oregon was dry! Burned hills everywhere. The
trees had shed most of their yellow-brown shrivelled leaves. The sage
lacked any grass or rabbitbrush between them. And it was hot - over 100
degrees.

My dad is a member/owner of the 'R' Ranch there about 6 miles south of the
Oregon border. We thought about pitching the tent. But we were sore from
sleeping on the ground. We were hot. We were tired. He got us into the
"bunk house" which is a dormitory-like motel. Two nights for $18. A small
room with two set of bunk-beds. Laundry facilities (I probably shouldn't
tell you that I flooded the laundry room by washing my dirty sleeping-bag.
Marlene couldn't see the humor in it through her embarrassment).

In the dried up creek bed behind my dad's trailer I found the 3
"California specialties" I was hoping for in Oregon: Plain Titmouse,
California Towhee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Lesser Goldfinches, Western
Bluebirds, and Lewis' Woodpeckers were about the only other birds.

Day ten:
Friday, 19 August 1994

I visited Colestin Canyon - a low canyon leading from California into Oregon.
Rumors of possible California Thrashers, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Phainopepla,
and Yellow-billed Magpies fueled my imagination. The dry reality was that I
couldn't call up any birds, even in the morning. The valley climbed rapidly
in elevation, and after five miles I was quite high in the Siskiyous at a
Buddhist monastery.

Birds in the area were typical of dry western grasslands and oak savannahs:
Lesser Goldfinch, Rufous-sided Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Western Bluebird,
Lark Sparrow, Western Wood-Pewee, American Robin, MacGillivray's and
Nashville Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Willow
Flycatcher, Solitary Vireo, House Wren, Scrub Jay, Northern Flicker,
Bushtit, Black-throated Gray and Wilson's Warbler, Mourning Dove, Red-
tailed Hawk, and American Kestrel. Five magpies were all Black-billed.
In the oaks I added another state bird: Plain Titmouse.

The kids swam at the pool, and we had an otherwise relaxing day, visiting
with my dad and his wife.

Day eleven:
Saturday, 20 August 1994

Homeward bound (well, after the free horseback riding for the grandkids).
Said our goodbyes and headed north. We drove through Tou Velle State Park
at Medford, It is very beautiful. Also very busy, and a day use fee area.
An Osprey sat in a tree above the river. We swung by the Kirtland Road sewage
ponds, but these were all dry as viewed from the road. Perhaps there are
more back in behind. Those interesting shorebirds they pick up in the fall
have to come from somewhere wet!

We stopped at Lower Table Rock in Medford. It is owned by the Nature
Conservancy. Medford, at the bottom of the Rogue Valley is always very hot
in summer, and today was no exception. Only Cheryl wanted to come on the
walk with me. We walked about 1/8th mile through a grassy field, under some
high voltage power lines, and into some scrub oaks at the bottom of the hill,
to where the trail "really" began. We then turned south and walked slowly
uphill another 1/8th mile through the oaks until the ceanothus scrub
underbrush (and poison oak!) became quite thick. I heard a Titmouse calling
softly, so I began pishing and tooting. Three big, brown, California Towhees
(new state bird for me!) flew up into the lower branches of the oaks, along
with several Rufous-sided Towhees - including several big, brown, juvenals.
Soon we had Scrub Jays, Plain Titmouse, many White-breasted Nuthatches,
Downy Woodpecker, House Wren, and Bewick's Wrens flitting about. Then a soft,
buzzy "speeee" came from a shy, beautiful little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
My sixth new state bird for the trip. Very satisfying. And we only really
started the 1-3/4 mile long trail. Someday I'd like to finish it.

We stopped at the rest area at the Valley of the Rogue State Park, then
zoomed. The last bird written down on the list was Osprey in Douglas County.
At this point Marlene took over driving, while I received the job of
finishing reading out loud the last 100 pages of Muriel of Redwall, which
the girls had been reading out loud during the entire trip. The book was
for younger readers, although the several hundred pages might be daunting
to some. It was a fantasy adventure - like the Hobbit, but with mice, otters,
badgers, hares, and searats, rather than elves, trolls, and goblins.

All-in-all a very satisfying trip which will be fondly remembered
for many years.

-greg-

--
Greg Gillson <gregg at tdd.hbo.nec.com>