Subject: [Tweeters] Malheur NWR Trip - May 21-26, 2012 (long report)
Date: May 29 16:39:31 2012
From: Hugh Jennings - h2ouzel at comcast.net


Twelve birders were on an Eastside Audubon trip that birded the Malheur NWR area for four days, May 22-25. Some of the highlights were WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS and CASSIN?S FINCH at the Selah Rest Area on the drive down on the 21st. On the 22nd we birded our way to Malheur HQ. In Burns along Riverside Drive we saw an adult GREAT HORNED OWL with two young in a cottonwood tree. We saw hundreds of White-faced Ibis, numerous Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Wilson?s Phalaropes, Long-billed Curlews, Franklin?s Gulls, Forster?s Terns, Willets flying around and constantly doing there will-will-willet calls, White Pelicans, a few Black Swifts at the power station pond and many duck species on the drive south on hwy 205 to Wright?s Point. At the gravel pile area at the top of Wright?s Point a Rock Wren popped up from the rocks to greet us. Many Western & CLARK?S GREBES were seen from the pullout at the Narrows. The water was very high at Malheur, Mud & Harney Lakes. Black-crowned Night-Herons were also seen. The best bird at the HQ was an OVENBIRD. Teri Martine who was on our Malheur trip in 2011 liked it so much she decided to volunteer at the HQ visitor center. She gave us a lot of info on nesting birds to check on. We drove east thru the sage on a dusty road. Just after we got to the paved road we stopped to look at the BARN OWL?s nest with baby chicks in the cliffs that Teri mentioned. We then headed south to Barton Lake which had many ducks, including Ruddy Ducks in breeding plumage. The Round Barn area was dry, but the usual Say?s Phoebe was not seen or heard. We stopped at the Lava Pit crater in Diamond Craters area. The expected Great Horned Owls nesting and Canyon Wren were not seen, but a Rock Wren showed up. We ended the day at Buena Vista ponds & overlook. Species count for the day was 86.

On May 23rd we covered the same areas going down to the NWR. We stopped at the Ruh-Red road intersection and saw the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on the east side and the BURROWING OWL on the west side that Teri told us about. Further down the highway we saw the FERRUGINOUS HAWK on a nest in the only visible tree in the area between MP 16 & 17. Down at the Narrows we turned west on S. Harney Road and found the GOLDEN EAGLE nest with adults visible. We visited the Malheur Field Station area and then headed down the Center Patrol Road (CPR). This road was flooded last year and closed. Now they are covering the road with crushed rock which later will be pounded down and rolled smoother. But now it is very noisy and the loose rock makes driving interesting. There is a sign before you start that the road is in poor condition. Consequently, birding the CPR was not as good as in a normal year. We did hear Sora and Virginia Rail and as usual Yellow Warblers were everywhere. We had a nice lunch at the Buena Vista Overlook and then drove to Benson Pond. This was the lowest I have every seen it. About 50% of the pond(?) was mudflats. As we walked to cottonwoods area we saw the usual large number of swallows of five species. In the cottonwoods we could not find the Lewis?s Woodpecker, but we did see two more adult Great Horned Owls, WARBLING VIREO, DUSKY & WILLOW FLYCATCHERS and a beautiful BULLOCK?S ORIOLE. On the way to Krumbo Reservoir we heard CHUKAR calling from the cliffs. Nothing new at the pond going into or at the reservoir. That ended our 2nd day with 76 species of which 12 were new for trip.

On May 24th we drove Egan Road and Hotchkiss Lane to hwy 205. Two of our group had to go back home for a special event, so we were down to 10. We drove down to Benson Pond and started the south part of the CPR. We saw many of the same ducks and warblers. It took four stops in the BOBOLINK habitat before we found three as we neared the P Ranch. A little closer to the ranch we heard, and then saw, a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. We visited the P Ranch Long Barn and walked some to the river trail and then went on to Page Springs CG where we ate lunch. Just before entering the CG we saw another Yellow-breasted Chat. At a nearby trailer campsite there was a bird feeder that was being used by LESSER GOLDFINCHs. We walked the trail south along the river to the Yellow-breasted Chat site and did find one that gave us good viewing. On the way back we stopped at FrenchGlen and in the area behind the hotel a LAZULI BUNTING and OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER were added to our list. 88 species for the day with 13 being new.

On May 25th we were joined by Teri, she volunteers Monday-Thursday and had the day off. We started in Burns at the sewage treatment ponds from Hotchkiss Lane and saw many duck species and a couple of SPOTTED SANDPIPERs. We drove on to Malheur HQ. A Black & White Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak had been reported, but it was very windy and rainy and did not see either. We drove east on a now wet dirt road so didn?t have to contend with dust. We stopped to see the Barn Owl nest and young, and just past the intersection with hwy 78 we stopped at the gravel piles and saw the RED-TAILED HAWK nest with three young. Again thanks to Teri. The stretch we were in is known as ?raptor alley? and it didn?t disappoint us. We must have seen over 50 raptors including our only PRAIRIE FALCON and numerous SWAINSON?S HAWKS, Red-tailed Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks, NORTHERN HARRIER and AMERICAN KESTREL. We drove past Lawen about a mile and turned left on to Embree ?? Road for about 1/4 mile to a long white barn with straw covered field in front. Here we saw another Burrowing Owl. Then back to Lawen and turned right onto road that eventually becomes Ruh-Red Road and takes you back to hwy 205. There were no rest rooms stops along this road, so we made the best of sage brush around a power station. There are a number of ponds and wetlands along this road which goes along the north side of Malheur Lake. We saw large numbers of the same water birds we have been seeing. We found a nice wide spot in road where we ate lunch in the cars and could view water on either side. A little further along this road we came to a white gull standing in the middle of the road. Another car was stopped on the other side of the gull. We both watched it for a couple of minutes giving me enough time to get some photos. We agreed it had to be a ??GLAUCOUS GULL??. After the gull flew off, the other car with three women stopped beside us to ask what we thought. They agreed with Glaucous Gull and said they would post it on the HQ board. We proceeded back to Burns with a drive along Airport Road and Old Experimental Station Road. The Swainson?s Hawk nest at the intersection was not occupied. We ended up with 82 species, 8 new, for the day and 119 for the trip.

Saturday, May 26th, we left at 0700 and headed for home going up hwy 395. About 15 miles north of Burns we stopped at Idlewild CG. Here we only heard a WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER drumming. We usually get to see one. We also added to our trip list MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, WHITE & RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, DARK-EYED JUNCO, STELLER?S JAY and heard SWAINSON?S & HERMIT THRUSHES. A very profitable stop. We had lunch at the Ukiah-Dale State park along the beautiful John Day River. A few miles before Pendleton, OR is the McKay Creek NWR. It is just a short distance off hwy 395 and worth a drive along the shore for about a mile. We saw another Bullock?s Oriole, a lone White Pelican and our last new bird for the trip, an EASTERN KINGBIRD. We ended up with 128 species for the trip.

If anyone is interested I can send them an Excel spreadsheet that shows the birds seen on each of the six days of the trip.

The following link will take you to a Picasa album of the birds I photographed, including the Glaucous Gull.

https://picasaweb.google.com/111114933625830232706/MalheurMay21262012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Hugh Jennings
Bellevue, WA
h2ouzel AT comcast dot net