Hi-

A brief summary of a Memorial Day get-away hike in NE Oregon:

We hiked down Cook Cr in the Wallowa-Whitman forest, just north of the
Zumwalt prairie, on the breaks of Hell's canyon. Elevations: 5350' at the
start, down to 1900' at the low end. We hiked out Five Points Cr. canyon.
The upper elevations were dense forest, soon giving way to an old (~8
years ago) burn that resulted in MANY downed logs to climb over. (Wallowa
Co. T4N R47E; OR DeLorme p88 A1)

Sightings:
Turkey vulture
Golden eagle
Sharp-shinned hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Osprey
Kestrel
Prairie falcon (on the Zumwalt prairie)
Ruffed grouse
Chukar
Black swift
Hummingbirds, fast and unidentified
Northern (red-shafted) Flicker
Lewis' Woodpecker (many, fly-catching, mating, soaring around)
Downy Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker (several, including entering nest? hole)
Pileated Woodpecker
Western Kingbird
Empidonax spp. (I confess, I don't even try)
Horned Lark
Violet-green Swallow
Steller's Jay
Clark's Nutcracker
Black-billed Magpie
Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
House Wren
Canyon Wren
Rock Wren
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
Robin
Gray Catbird
Solitary? Vireo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler (very many in mid-canyon; singing male
every ~40 yards around our campsite)
Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat (a life bird for me) several, making very wier
noises. Their throat feathers splayed out gorgeously when singing.
Lazuli Bunting (the most common singing lower canyon bird)
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrows
Chipping Sparrows
DE Junco
W. Meadowlark
W. Tanager
Goldfinch
Cassin's Finch

I think that there were other woodpecker species and I know there were
other sparrows, but I was wobbling too much under the backpack to identify
them. We also saw several elk (including a calf that was parked by its
mom when we blundered unto it) and several deer.

The bonus was an incredible crop of morel mushrooms in perfect condition
at the trailhead.

While the hike was quite a bit more than the easy season-opener we had
planned, I recommend this incredible area to anyone. Our friends from
Seattle who joined us were quite amazed to find no cars at either
trailhead, and of course, not a soul in the canyons.

Tom Besser
tbesser at vetmed.wsu.edu