At 04:09 PM 2/25/98 PST, Jane Westervelt wrote:
>Oh, I remember my first trip to Malheur!! I went at the end of May,
>and even while travelling with two non-birders(!) I saw ~75 different
>species the first day. At least 50% were life birds. My favorite
>that day was probably the Black-necked Stilts. And (just shoot me
>now) we saw a Red-shouldered Hawk and I'm very sorry but I had no
>idea that it was a rare bird there at the time, so it was never
>reported. (sorry!) (it was several years ago, if that makes it any
>better. . )

BANG!!!! OK, now that you've been shot, it's a VERY rare bird not only
there, but throughout Oregon, passing through on migration. There have
been, I believe, four records in the "greater Malheur area". A trip I
led a few years ago has one of them, at Roaring Springs in the Catlow
Valley (just southwest of Frenchglen, over the hill).

But, those kind of unexpected and very pleasant surprises are what one
comes to expect of the area after a couple of visits.


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net