I took another three-day birding weekend. This time I did the OR tour
clockwise for a change. I don't have time to do justice to a complete
trip report, but here is a summary:

First stop -- Spring Creek Road (Union County). The Great Gray Owls
aren't using the same nesting platform they used last year. I never did
find them this time. Six species of woodpeckers included a very active
Williamson's Sapsucker nest in a large Ponderosa Pine.

Catbirds, Veerys, Chats were all vocal and easy to find at Rhinehart
Bridge near Elgin (Union). Another Veery, a few Calliope Hummingbirds
and cooperative Red-naped Sapsuckers were at the campground next to the
shooting range, 6 miles south of I-84, along the Grande Ronde River.

High in the Wallowas above Cove, near Moss Springs guard station (Union),
the woods were mostly silent except for the blowing-over-the-bottle
booming of a distant Spruce Grouse. It's amazing how deep pitched that
sound is. I was hoping to actually see one. No luck. Half the
population being on eggs probably didn't help.

As expected the hummingbird feeders at Dale (Grant) hosted plenty of
Hummingbirds. I conservatively estimated 45 Calliopes. There may be
many more than that. Female and immature Hummingbirds are tough. I
could have spent an entire day here studying them. There was tremendous
variation in the color of the underparts, face, throat, and back. Some
had "vests" ranging from buff to green, others were almost white below,
still others had a gray wash throughout the breast and belly; but from
the tail and bill size, all were Calliope. That fact was confirmed when
a Black-chinned/Anna's type finally did show up. Large size, gray
auriculars, gray underside, and lack of tail fanning behavior made me
think Anna's, though it had an unmarked throat more typical of
Black-chinned, so I'm not entirely sure which of the two it was.

Also there was an obvious adult and subadult male Rufous, and another
that may have been either immature Rufous or Broad-tailed. The tail
didn't seem quite large enough for broad-tailed, but it was greener
backed and less suffused with buff than Rufous Hummers usually are.
Another ID challenge. Maybe the photos will tell for sure. The books
emphazize the amount of rufous in the tail. From my experience, it is
almost impossible to see in the field. Especially when there is a lot
of competition at the feeder.

A single Least Flycatcher was singing at Clyde Holliday Wayside, near Mt
Verson (Grant). Where have the others gone? There were at least four
pairs there last year. A new enlarged trail through the middle of prime
habitat probably didn't help.

Three of five stops between John Day and Seneca (Grant) in the middle of
the night yielded calling Flammulated Owls. There were at least three
different birds hooting all night at Starr Campground. One was doing the
two note "wuHoop" call that I'd heard described, but had never heard for
myself.

A new spot for me for Bobolinks was in a field south of Prairie City
(Grant).

South of Prairie City, at about 5000 feet in the Blue Mountains at
Summit Prairie, there was a hybrid Red-naped X Red-breasted Sapsucker.
At Logan Valley, I failed again in my attempt to find Upland Sandpipers.
Has anyone seen one this year?

At least one Great-tailed Grackle stayed surprising well hidden in the
Russian Olives at Malheur Headquarters (Harney). It made its presence
known with its loud squawking and chat-like calls. A few minutes after
it flew way out across the lake, it or another (?) starting calling from
the same spot! Then, way out over the marsh, I saw what appeared to be
a male chasing a female Great-tailed! Is there a whole colony out
there?

The whole east shore of Abert Lake (Lake Co) was covered with Avocets,
Stilts and Gulls. Swainson's and Ferruginous Hawks were plentiful in
that county.

A new mercury vapor lamp in the middle of the cemetery at Fort Klamath
(Klamath Co) doesn't help the owling at all. A Great-horned called from
across the road, but I didn't find the Great-gray this time. It took
some time, but I eventually located several Yellow-rails "tick-ticking"
out in the fields along Weed and Sevenmile roads.

At dawn, a bird that for all the world sounded like a Chimney Swift flew
around over Kimball State Park (Fort Klamath). I tried to record it, but
it disappeared before I got the tape recorder ready. My microphone
probably wouldn't have been good enough to pick it up anyhow. So it
remains a mystery. (There are no OR records.)

Around the log pond at Gilchrist (Klamath), at least three territorial
Northern Waterthrushes sang away. Another was singing at the bridge on
Hwy 58 over the Little Deschutes River (Klamath). At the same spot were
Wilson's, Orange-crowned, Yellow, MacGillivray's, and Audubon's Warblers
for ready comparison. A Daggetti race Red-breasted Sapsucker worked its
way along the trees. I photographed an active Dusky Flycatcher nest
there also.

The Black Swifts at Salt Creek Falls (Lane) were way up high overhead.
No chance for photography.

Finally, I made a last stop in Eugene (Lane) on Sunday evening to try for
the Indigo Bunting. Barbara Combs described a fir tree near the entrance
that the Bunting likes to sing from. Within 2 seconds of shutting off
the engine, I heard it, and then spotted it in the very tree she
described. I'd always hoped I'd get the chance to hear both Indigo and
Lazuli singing together, and for the next hour, I enjoyed the
opportunity. There were also American and Lesser Goldfinches for handy
comparison at well. A nice conclusion to a rather eventful birding
weekend.

Skip

--
Skip_Russell at intersolv.com
Aloha, Oregon