Birding Oregon with GGBA
By John Tysell
I met our guide, Harry Fuller, in Ashland, Oregon where he lives. I had done a previous Golden Gate Bird Alliance trip with him in 2013 in the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon. It had been a great birding experience, so I was looking forward to spending the next three days with him on his June 2014 trip to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Susan and Maureen, also GGBA members, joined us early on Wednesday morning and our car caravan headed east down Dead Indian Road. Malheur — a high desert basin in southeastern Oregon with an average elevation of 4,000 feet — is a birding hotspot. The snowpack on the Steens Mountains delivers ample water for wetlands, streams, meadows and grasslands. The varied habitat provides shelter and abundant food, especially insects. Since it is a perfect setting for breeding, I was hoping to see young at this time of the year.
As we climbed up the foothills, the trees became fir and pine. We stopped for a Lazuli Bunting and a Mountain Bluebird along the way. Near Howard Prairie Lake, we saw Sandhill Cranes in a meadow with young. A must stop was Rocky Point on the Eastern shore of Upper Klamath Lake. The highlight was a pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers flying in and out of their cavity nest feeding babies.
Adult and juvenile Sandhill Cranes by John Tysell
Red-breasted Sapsucker after feeding nestling by John Tysell
Close to Fort Klamath along the Sun River, we stopped to see Ospreys with fledglings in the nest. A Bald-headed Eagle soared in the distance. At Collin’s Rest Stop, I saw my first American Dipper, one of fourteen new species I would add to my life list. Then the highlight of the day: Red Crossbills.
After leaving the town of Silver Lake, we passed a large dark-brown bird on a post. The walkie-talkie crackled. Susan observed that it was too large to be a hawk, so the caravan turned around to find a Golden Eagle. Further East in Christmas Valley, we saw Ferruginous Hawks, a Long-billed Curlew and Wilson’s Phalarope.
Late in the afternoon, we finally arrived at the Malheur Field Station on Sodhouse Road near New Princeton, Oregon. It is isolated and filled with wildlife. Our dorm was old and worn but clean. Despite the drought, the faucet leaked freely. On our way to the cafeteria, Common Nighthawks were seen sitting on the railings.…