I had intended to copy tweeters on the following note. I thought I
deleted it, but I just found a copy. So here it is, a week late....


From: Skip Russell at BEAVPOST 5/18/94 3:03PM (7302 bytes: 84 ln)
To: obol at mail.orst.edu at INTERNET
Subject: weekend birding
------------------------------- Message Contents -------------------------------
I took a vacation day yesterday (Monday 5/16) so I could use the 3-day
weekend to extend my leash a little bit. I made a big loop beginning at
Santiam Pass in the high Cascades and ending in the Columbia Gorge, while
checking out Summer Lake and the Blue Mountains along the way. Without
really trying for a big list, I wound up with a total of 150 species.
Here are some of the highlights:

At my first stop at Big Lake near Santiam Pass (Linn Co), Hermit
Warblers, Fox Sparrows and Oregon Juncos were on territory and singing
madly. On nearby Lost Lake (Jefferson Co), Barrow's Goldeneye were
displaying. A bit further down the road at Indian Ford campground
(Deschutes Co), the first bird to greet me was a White-headed
Woodpecker. The trees were full of song -- Cassin's Finches, Solitary
and Warbling Vireos, Townsend's, Yellow-rumped, Yellow and Wilson's
Warblers, Hammond's Flycatchers and Pygmy Nuthatches were among the most
conspicous voices.

Photography was my main goal for the trip, and I succeeded in getting
good opportunities to photograph a number of species there, including
Macgillivray's Warbler, Lincoln's and Fox Sparrows, a Green-tailed
Towhee, and a Solitary Vireo on a nest. A Mountain Chickadee was so
engrossed in collecting nesting material that it allowed me to approach
closer than the minimum focus of my lens. Upon later investigation, I
found that it was collecting fur from Owl pellets.

I spent Sunday morning at a burn on the east slope of Mt Bachelor (west
of Bend, Deschutes). I'll leave the details for another message. It's a
story in itself. Suffice it to say that it was an unusual birding
experience. Highlights were Pinyon Jays, Lewis' Woodpeckers,
Williamson's Sapsuckers, at least 6 Gray Flycatchers and an astonishing
number of Chipping Sparrows. The trees were literally dripping with
Townsend's Warblers -- a species which is normally hard to find in that
area.

I spent the afternoon at Summer Lake (Lake Co), where Snowy Plovers were
easy to find, in with flocks of other shorebirds. I counted at least 14
Snowys . Black-crowned Night-Herons, White-faced Ibis, White-Pelicans,
Wilson's Phalaropes, Avocets, Stilts, and many of the other eastside
marsh species were well represented. While exploring the talus slopes
north of Ana Reservoir, I heard 3 Black-throated Sparrows. The first of
several for the trip. They were accompanied by Brewer's, Lark, Vesper
and Savannah Sparrows, and ever present Rock Wrens.

Monday Morning, I headed up the canyon north of Burns (Harney Co) en
route to Logan Valley. Migrant warblers could be heard singing all the
way up the canyon. Among them were several Nashville and MacGillivray's
Warblers. Unexpected in that habitat were two more Black-throated
Sparrows. What an invasion of that species we are having this year!

I searched in vain for Upland Sandipers in Logan Valley (Grant Co). The
meadows seem to be wetter than in past years. Reflecting that fact were
large numbers of territorial Long-billed Curlews, a few Sandhill Cranes,
Willets, and even a few Wilson's Phalaropes. I hope the sandpipers have
found drier and more suitable habitat somewhere else nearby.

I spent some time playing tapes of Woodpeckers in the Lodgepole forests
of the Blue Mountains (in a snowstorm) without much success. There were
a few Red-naped Sapsuckers. At one point a Kestrel chased a Prairie
Falcon in one direction, and then a few moments later, they came by in
the other direction; this time with the Prairie Falcon chasing the
Kestrel!

The scenery is awesome in the John Day Fossil Beds NM. Loggerhead
Shrikes, Lazuli Buntings, Ash-throated Flycatchers, many Vaux's Swifts,
and a Lark Sparrow were a few of the more interesting birds I found
there. Just to the north of the parking lot in the Painted Hills unit
(Wheeler Co) is a small reservoir. It hosted a pair of Ruddy Ducks and
at least ten Tricolored Blackbirds, along with a few dozen Yellow-heads.
Surprisingly there was not a single Red-winged Blackbird.

The dam at Ochoco Reservoir (Crook Co) is under construction, and the
massive expanse of mud where the lake used to be was amazingly birdless.

On the way back home, I stopped briefly at Cyrus Horse Camp in the
National Grasslands southeast of Madras (Jefferson Co). Gray
Flycatchers, Sage Thrashers, Shrikes, and both Bluebirds, were all easy
to find. Brewer's Sparrows were especially abundant. After a short
time, a downpour forced me to give up and finally leave for home.

Skip

--
Skip_Russell at intersolv.com
Aloha, Oregon