Oregon - 2009
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Oregon Photos  2009 Trips     

The Oregon Coast has long held an appeal to us and seems to be that special place in the United States to which we compare all other scenic vistas.  We arranged our trip in early June of 2009 such that we could spend some time on the Oregon Coast, bird the Sisters Area in the Central Cascades, visit Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and finish up our trip in the areas surrounding Portland. 

Since anywhere along the Oregon Coast is exceptional for scenery we decided to focus on Indian Beach at Ecola State Park, Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Barview Jetty, Cape Meares State Park, and Boiler Bay in order to focus on some coastal birding.  Upon first arriving at the coast there was not a cloud in the sky, yet one couldn't help but notice a thick dark band about a 1/4 mile offshore that extended from the sky to the sea.  Thus until 10 in the morning we had the most beautiful weather one could hope for and then the wind direction changed and you couldn't see more than 50 yards as the fog rolled in.  However, as thinking about a boat trip was out of the question we can't call this area a loss as we saw Pigeon Guillemot, Rock Sandpiper, Surfbird, Tufted Puffin, Marbled Murrelet, and thousands of Common Murres along the rocky outcroppings.    

From the coast we made a stop at Finley National Wildlife Refuge allowing us spectacular views of American Bittern, Virginia Rail and Lazuli Bunting before heading to Sisters, considered the Gateway to the Cascades and known for it's spectacular woodpecker habitat.  In the areas of Cold Springs Campground, the burns outside Whispering Pines, Metolius Preserve and Calliope Crossing alone we tallied 11 of the 12 woodpecker species we would see on the trip highlighted by the Lewis's Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsucker, White-headed Woodpecker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, and Black-backed Woodpecker.  True to it's name we found our life Calliope Hummingbird at Calliope Crossing as well as a Northern Goshawk nest.  We were however now realizing that the rain/fog/misting from coast was following us across the state.  Before leaving Sisters we loaded up on Marionberry cobbler and biscuits and were on our way to Malheur NWR.

Every birder has that special bird whether they realize it or not that when they see it they light up with enthusiasm, for Diana that bird has been and I suspect always will be the Yellow-headed Blackbird. On our way to the refuge we stopped on the side of the road at Riley's pond and were treated to displaying Yellow-headed Blackbirds. 

So it was on to Malheur NWR, one of the premier birding spots in Oregon as it is an important migratory stopover, an outstanding migrant trap for eastern specialties, and supports a significant breeding population for many species such as American White Pelican, Redheads, and Cinnamon Teal.  The ponds and fields outside Burns Oregon on the way to the refuge were filled with Long-billed Curlew, White-faced Ibis, and other assorted waterfowl.  Idlewood Campground about 20 miles outside of Burns had Flammulated Owl calling at night and the drive into the refuge provided numerous Burrowing Owls and a Ferruginous Hawk nest.

Within the refuge we stayed at the Malheur Field Station which proved to be the perfect base for us to search the refuge.   Searching the South Harney Road area we found a Golden eagle nest, Sage Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow and Vesper Sparrow, but no luck on the Brewer's Sparrow - our target bird.  Common Nighthawk were abundant literally appearing on branches, posts and flower bed dividers seemingly everywhere.  The field station had a badger den - our first ever badger - Cliff Swallows nesting throughout every carport, Great-horned Owls working the fields and calls from the Brewer's but still no visible looks.  So on to the French Glen Area where we found Prairie Falcon, Lark Sparrow & Chukar but again no Brewer's.  Things at the HQ were relatively quite although we walked up and said Oh I hear American Redstart and got a mild bit of excitement for the local birders for this eastern migrant.  As the rain let up a bit we searched a rest stop just outside of Burns on the way back towards Sisters and did find a fair number of teed up Brewer's Sparrow. 

As the trip began to wind down for our last few days we set our sights on a few target species - Cassin's Finch and Clark's Nutcracker at Timberline Lodge, American Dipper and a vocalizing Long-eared Owl at the Wildwood Recreation Site, and White-throated Swift at Smith's Rock.  The last day of the trip we met up with a friend who had guided us at Sacha Lodge in the Amazon and spent the morning birding with him and a friend of his. 

Our target was Paul's new Most Wanted Bird - the previous title holder Great Gray Owl had been found in Southern NH this winter - the Spotted Owl.  A clear but distant view provided the only sighting although 2 pair were heard.  Wrapping up this area we also had a teed up MacGillivray's Warbler - which had been heard often but yet to be seen and a Sooty Grouse.  Not a bad morning by any stretch of the imagination.  But this meant our days were coming to a close and we spent the last few hours along the Columbia River Gorge before readying for our flight back to Massachusetts....

Overall on the trip we had 201 species and 17 new life birds for Paul and 19 for Diana.

Oh and Paul's new target bird - he's thinking Gyrfalcon, Mountain Quail, Yellow Rail, Swainson's Warbler, Virginia's Warbler - but I think he may have settled on Boreal Owl.

 Oregon Photos     2009 Trips