Tweets,

Debbie and I are in the middle of a Thanksgiving road trip to Truckee and return, choosing a late fall birding route through Malheur NWR, Hart Mountain NWR, the Warner Valley, Sheldon NWR, Pyramid Lake and Klamath Basin NWR.

With temperatures in the mid-20s, Malheur's ponds and canals were nearly all frozen, making them somewhat inhospitable for waterfowl. Raptors, however, are in abundance on and near the refuge. Raptor Alley (Narrows-Princeton Road) lived up to its name last Saturday, with Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks and American Kestrels in abundance. Overall, the refuge was quiet; we found Mallards, American Wigeons, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots and a Great Blue Heron on the pond near headquarters, and a Loggerhead Shrike, California Quail, American Robins, Dark-eyed Juncos, a Northern Flicker and a Black-billed Magpie rounded out our list for that location. Malheur Lake was almost completely frozen over, and there was just a narrow stretch of open water near the Narrows, where we found Western and Clark's Grebes, Redheads and American Coots. Harney Lake and Krumbo Reservoir were frozen, and much of the Donner und Blitzen River is covered with ice. We were blessed with a flight of Tundra Swans at the end of the day near the P Ranch, and finished the day with a raptor count of 32 Red-tailed Hawks, 8 Rough-legged Hawks, 8 American Kestrels, 4 Northern Harriers and 1 Prairie Falcon.

After overnighting at Fields Station, we drove through the Catlow Valley and over Hart Mountain, finding Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwalls, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, American Wigeons, Buffleheads, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, and a surprise Western Grebe in ponds along the route. More raptors, including Northern Harriers, Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, American Kestrels and two Prairie Falcons were seen, as were several Loggerhead Shrikes. An American Badger surprised us as we crossed Hart Lake, and we found a large herd of Pronghorns on agricultural fields outside of Adel.

The Warner Wetlands were quiet, but the fields near Adel hosted more raptors, including Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks and Prairie Falcons. The best part of the day came when we came across two Golden Eagles in the Sheldon NWR, followed by 11 more Golden Eagles sitting on power transmission lines alongside Hwy 140 south of Denio Junction. Thirteen Golden Eagles in less than an hour!
Pyramid Lake lived up to our expectations, with waterfowl in abundance. We found a small gaggle of Snow Geese, including a Ross's Goose, near the mouth of the Truckee River, along with five White Pelicans, a Cackling Goose, several Tundra Swans, Common Loon, over 100 Least Sandpipers and a small number of Sanderlings. A Surf Scoter was present near Sutcliffe Marina, and all along the western shore of the lake we found Eared Grebes, Western Grebes, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Ducks, Greater Scaup, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers and hundreds of Ruddy Ducks. Other species seen were: Northern Harriers, Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcons, American Coot, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gulls, California Gulls, Herring Gulls, , Loggerhead Shrikes, Common Ravens, Black-billed Magpies and several Song Sparrows.

We're looking forward to our drive through the Klamath Basin NWR next weekend, where reports indicate nearly a million waterfowl are present.

Jim Owens
Mercer Island