Malheur NWR and points west - May 23 to May 25

IMPORTANT NOTE: hwy 205 is closed 1 mile south of the jct with hwy
20. The poorly mark (but excellent) detour road is Lottery Lane,
just north of the old mill in Hines.

Boy, we were tripping over WHITE-FACED IBICES!

There was no sign of the COMMON MOORHEN on any of the many attempts
we made to see this bird. An alleged BROWN THRASHER, listed on the
HQ board, was (as near as I can tell) not actually seen by anybody
at all, ever.

WILSON'S WARBLERS were dripping from the trees at headquarters Friday
morning. A female BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD is easily seen at the
feeder by the office.

Gusting winds, angry black skies spitting down hail and sleet,
thunder and lightning pretty much sum up Saturday. A FUNNEL CLOUD
appeared over Malheur Lake Saturday morning. The road to Benson
Ponds is closed for repair.

We used Saturday to drive to Fields where we just missed the TENNESSEE
WARBLER. No Grackles, Phenomenal numbers of WILSON'S WARBLERS and
WESTERN WOOD PEWEES.

A single WHITE-THROATED SWIFT was flying over Terrebone, Deschutes Co.
This is about 1 mile south of Ogden Wayside where they are regular in
summer.

Our trip was generally successful. We were able to see most of the
expected species and SE Oregon weather at its wildest.


--
*********************************** I got the blues so bad one time
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * it put my face in a permanent frown
* mpatters at orednet.org * but I am feelin' so much better
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters I could cake-walk into town