Sisters, Oregon

 We headed into a popular birding place in the Deschutes National Forest a few miles north of Sisters, Oregon. The place is called Calliope Crossing due to the yearly visit of the Calliope Hummingbirds. They were gone south this time of year, but the birding in this little wetland with Ponderosa pine, willow, and aspen was great. We were in search of woodpeckers, hoping to see a species we've never seen before. Unfortunately that was not to be no matter how much we scanned the pines.

 

What we did see was a flock of Red Crossbills chattering on the pines wearing non-breeding plumage and with juveniles. Older birds have larger crossed beaks. Perfect tools for extracting pine nuts from cones.

Yellow-rumped Warblers buzzed around with White-Crowned Sparrows. A male Spotted Towhee made an appearance giving us excellent views.

 

A California (formerly Western) Scrub Jay landed a good distance away on a willow.

 

Western Wood-pewees perched on the power line running along the forest road.

A favorite find and a lifer for us was a Mountain Chickadee.

 A tiny Orange-crowned Warbler flitted over the path, dashing from tree to tree catching insects in the wing.

We saw Pygmy Nuthatches but they were far too active and high up to get a decent photo. They're chatty little birds. This was the first time we had seen them too!

We met a nice lady from Portland who birds this place on a regular basis from her nearby vacation cabin. A great little spot where the birds, but not woodpeckers, gave a great show!

Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

 We arrived at Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge by 10 am Pacific time on Sunday, September 12. The refuge headquarters area, about an acre of trees, yellow grass, dried pond mudflats, and lawn is truly an oasis in the vast sage open range. 

We walked through a Ponderosa and mixed pine grove to the observation deck at the refuge headquarters building. The deck over looks a wide expanse if green lawn sloping gently down to a split-rail fence and the grasslands and dried pond beyond. A nice couple from Michigan who are camping there until October, volunteer three days a week in exchange for being able to park their trailer in this lovely place. While chatting with them we saw a Northern-flicker with red under wing shafts flashing as it flew in the pines. Eastern Northern Flickers are mostly the yellow-shafted variety.

A Yellow Warbler in drab non-breeding plumage dashed in an out of the small tree near the deck proving that this is indeed an oasis for migratory birds. We explored further, not needing to venture much beyond the headquarters area.

A grey bird slipped in the tree cover giving me enough of a glimpse to get a photo. I later learned this grey bird is a Townsend's Solitaire. A lifer!

 

Dan spotted a yellow bird with a large beak fly into a horse chestnut tree. A female Western Tanager! Another bird we had never seen before.

Flocks of migratory White-crowned Sparrows enjoyed the lawn and planting areas.

A Song Sparrow also made an apprearance.

 

We walked to an observations blind where way off beyond the dried pond on the edge of the tall grass we spied a pair of Ring-necked Pheasants. These are very skittish birds so a photo from a huge distance was only possible. We enjoyed watching them forage.

Back near the headquarters buildings a migratory Willow Flycatcher dashed back and forth from the same bush catching insects on the wing.

In the small mixed pine and deciduous forest Dan spotted one of two Great Horned Owls in the vicinity perched high in a cottonwood tree.

Another raptors we saw were Red-tailed Hawk and Norther Harrier.

 

As we drove from the refuge headquarters along Sod House Road we saw Canada Geese and Sandhill Cranes in the muddy field stubble as a Coyote a bit farther down the road loped along in the bright warm sun. 

 

Even though we were not there during a peak season time, Malhuer NWR did not disappoint.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and A Lunar Landscape

 Friday, September 10th found us greeting the dawn the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge west of Brigham City, the self proclaimed migratory bird capital of America.

Clouds hung over the Wasach range, occasionally sprinkling the land with much needed water but clearly these little showers did nothing to raise even a puddle on the parched and cracked playa dotted with sage. 

After 12 miles of hard surface road into the refuge and the dusty gravel auto loop, we began seeing birds.Lots of birds. American White Pelican and a lone Ring-billed Gull sat at the entrance to the auto loop. House Sparrows crowded on the side of the road flying away when we drove by.

the canal along this portion of the loop yielded Great Blue Heron and a pair of Ring-necked Pheasant scurry from cover on one side of the road to the other. In sedge and mud we paused to see life birds for us: two Sandhill Cranes giving us a great show with croaking and leaping into the air.

I exited the truck to hide behind the hood to take these photos while Dan stayed in the cab using the window ledge as a tripod. I was immediately besieged by hundreds of mosquitoes and midges. They even followed me into the truck and flew in through Dan's open window. We then played a game of squish the insects and wisely brought out the insect spray, putting it on paper towels and rubbing it all over. That did the trick. Although the inserts still flew in every time we opened the truck doors or windows. 

A large pond in the center of the auto loop road gave us hundreds of American Coot and, another lifer for us, Western Grebe.

As we drive along a flock of about 40 large blackbirds clustered on the road ahead of us. We stopped and saw that these these birds were Yellow-headed Blackbirds, another lifer. There were hundreds of the much more familiar Red-winged Blackbirds all around us in the tall grass plumes on either side of the road. But even from a distance these blackbirds were larger. They flew off as we drive near so a photo was impossible. We were so thrilled to see them.

In addition to the vast numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds, Barn and Tree Swallows by the hundreds swooped and dove through the insect swarms illuminated in the late morning sun. Some perched ona small bridge railing giving us better views. We learned that the cave swallows that build theur mud nests under the overhang at the visitors center were gone. 

On the mud flats, we observed American Avocet, Kildeer, Black-Necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Snowy Egret, and a lone American White Pelican.

The stilt was another lifer. As was the Vesper Sparrow that paused long enough on the verge of the road for us to get a great look and a quick photo.

Bear River MBR was incredible and so amazingly different from anywhere we had birded on the east coast unless...you count Craters of the Moon National Monument, our next stop several hours away.

Two more lifers greeted us in that landscape that at first glance looks incapable of supporting life, but is actually a fabulous ecosystem. There we saw a Clark's Nutcracker eating a pine nut on a snag.

And a female Moutain Bluebird was simply perched on our way out of the park. 

 A wonderful birding day from end to end.

Eastern Idaho

 We traveled into eastern Idaho on route 34 through the Caribou National Forest and into the eastern side of Gray's Lake NWR. Incredible scenery at every turn as well as raptors. We saw lots of Red-tailed Hawks perched on telephone poles, fence posts, and snags.

American Kestrels dotted wires along the road side.

The day's surprise was at the entrance to Tin Cup Trail in Caribou NF. As hundreds of sheep bleated on the nearby hillside we observed from about 20 yards away at the trailhead a Great Gray Owl. 

We never thought we would see one of these large owls, but there it was. One of the best birding days for raptors we have ever had.

Yellowstone National Park

 

Yellowstone National Park is one of those iconic American parks, in fact it’s the oldest national park in America. We drive to the east entrance from Cody arriving before 8 in the morning. On the way to the entrance we spied several Black-tailed Magpies along the road through the gorgeous canyon. Unfortunately we saw a couple of road kill magpies too. A large black bear nearly became road kill when it missed being hit by an RV head of us by a toe before leaping back the way it came.

 

Once in the park driving west we saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched on snag on the side of the road. Several Big Horn sheep grazed lazily by the guardrail, giving us snort when we paused to observe them closer.  it became very evident that this section of park was recovering from wildfires of years past. The skeletal blacked and sun bleached fir trunks pierced the sky on either side of the road. The air had the haze from the large wildfires to the west in northern California.

 

But life springs eternal in Yellowstone and grasses and young fir flourished among the charred remains of the larger victims of the fires. It was in these grasses that we spied a mother grizzly bear with her large cub pawing at the roots of the plants growing around the dead fall. They deftly maneuvered the sticks and logs in search of breakfast. The bears were many yards away from us and the dozens of other observers on the overlook.

 

 

Along the north end of Yellowstone Lake we stopped to observe a raft of about a dozen Common Goldeneye and Ravens croaked from the trees nearby. Farther along near the river in a grassy verge a Northern Harrier scudded over the grassy wetland, its white rump patch clearly visible.

 

We took a turn north past the fishing village area and headed to the area called Mud Volcano where the ranger said we might find a few Trumpeter Swans. We did and just as promised we found two, or possibly a pair, in the shallow Yellowstone River. One rested on the grassy bank while the other swam and scraped the mud with is webbed feet before sticking it’s face underwater to get the treats it stirred up. Its white head feathers and part of its neck were stained brown from the muck. Canada Geese and female Mallard also joined the swans dabbling in the muck.

 

 

 

We traveled to Yellowstone Canyon and to the Artist’s Point observation area. The deep canyon and waterfall are spectacular. Perched on a tree way on the opposite canyon wall was an Osprey which we heard before finding.

 

Just south of the Mud Volcano we ventured into an open field bordered by deadfall and live firs to view the smoking landscape on the other side of the river. There a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a snag before swooping down into the grassy riverbank to grab some small prey. After a few minutes it emerged from the grass to rest on a log. 

 

 A Clark’s Nutcracker in the vicinity gave several angry raspy calls before flying to the other side of the river to perch on a pile of logs. Its call reminded us of that of a Belted Kingfisher.

 

We learned that in the vastness of Yellowstone finding birds is by luck. There is not one really great hot spot. The whole park is a hot spot of you are patient enough to look and listen. It’s a place we would like to explore far more, perhaps in another season and when the haze from distant wildfires obscure the landscape.

Spearfish Canyon SD and Devil's Tower WY

On this crisp morning, we headed to Spearfish Canyon as the sunlight was touching the top of the canyon walls. Our search was for the American Dipper. A common bird out west but not seen anywhere near our east coast home. We were excited at the prospect of seeing this bird in action. We began the day at Roughlock Falls down a dirt road to a nook on the canyon with the Little Spearfish River meandering though to tumble down the falls and continue onward. The first bird we saw was an American Redstart skulking by the stream and a Swainson's Thrush hunting insects from nearby brush.

We headed north through the canyon with its towering pine covered yellow walls and Spearfish Creek cutting through it. We stopped at the Bridal Veil Falls overlook high above the creek and peered down. Dan spotted the American Dipper on a log in the water preening itself. We watched this remarkable little bird, post preening, dip its head into the moving water, bob up and down on rock and log, and float with the gentle current to its next watery perch. 

We departed the canyon and headed to our next stop after a brief stop at the DC Booth National Fish Hatchery. Never seen so many trout in my life!

On into Wyoming and Devil's Tower National Monument. A puddle in one of the boulders at the base of the monolith attracted male and female Red Crossbills and a Spotted Towhee.

 

The pine woods near the parking lots had chattering Black Capped-Chickadee and white Breasted Nuthatch. 

The day was a great success as we finally got to see the wonderful American Dipper and a lot of equally fabulous birds in a variety of spectacular western landscapes