Hi Ilene,

I just returned from a whirlwind trip through E. Oregon on my way to N. Nevada (looking for wild horses and donkeys, found both) and I spent a day at Malheur NWR. They have not yet released water onto the northern portion of the preserve, and much of what was there is still frozen over. When I arrived at 6:30 am or so, it was just 18 degrees! It wasn't very birdy yet. The cranes are just beginning to arrive (I saw a few hundred, but mostly scattered around the fields near the town of Burns). My target species was Ross's Goose, and I did locate a mixed flock of Snow and Ross's Geese that must have exceeded 20,000 birds of both species at the sewage ponds (I believe they were) just south of Burns off of Hwy. 202. There were several blue and intermediate blue Snow Geese mixed in. One of the best birding spots at Malheur was right at the Visitor Center, where I spotted some Brewer's Sparrows in the bushes and A. White Pelicans among the mix of birds in the nearby pond. I!
was to
ld that the G. Sage Grouses were just beginning to arrive at their leks, but I did not have time to go look (plus I didn't want to take my poor car down any other gravel roads, which haven't been graded yet). There were lots of raptors about, including a few Golden Eagles. At one location, I saw a juvenile soaring above a tree in which a Bald Eagle was roosting. On the plus side, I drove over 40 miles in and adjacent to the refuge and only saw one other car. My advice would be to contact the refuge and find out when the water will be released into the northern portion of the refuge.

I did see several wading birds (Black-necked Stilts, Avocets, Black-crowned Night Herons, etc.) at some of the ponds in Sheldon NWR in Nevada, so they are on their way north. Good luck!

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net