Assortment of SE Oregon Birds 2017

Nobody really wants to see pictures of the 100+ species I was able to photograph on the trip.  So here are about 17.  If you find one or two of special interest, just double click on the image.

This is the one image that is probably more properly considered Central Oregon (shot taken at a blind at Cabin Lake, a few miles north of Ft. Rock).  Red Crossbill:

This pair of Burrowing Owl were just about a mile out of Hines

Seen near Burns was this pair of Sandhill Crane

The Eastern Kingbird was found on the Paiute Reservation out of Burns

Not the best picture in the world, but a new life bird for me was the Black-backed Woodpecker, seen at Idyewild Campground

The next two images were taken at Sagehen Rest Stop, west of Hines, the Mountain Bluebird and the Say’s Phoebe:

This Prairie Falcon was seen just a few yards from the wooden structure I posted yesterday

Seen not too far from Diamond was this cooperative Black-crowned Night-Heron

Headquarters for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was where this gorgeous Rose-breasted Grosbeak was seen, along with the Black-chinned Hummingbird and the Townsend’s Warbler

Not far from the junction of the road to Headquarters off Hwy 205 was this delightful Black-throated Sparrow (I think this was just the second time I had seen one of these!)

These last four were found at various locations on the Refuge.  In order, Trumpeter Swan, Wilson’s Phalarope, a pair of Willets making whoopie, and White-faced Ibis:

While a few of these birds can be seen locally, the bulk of them are not seen around Eugene with any great regularity, so it’s nice to share images of some birds not casually seen at home!

On the Road Again

Yet again to SE Oregon.

We got up early

and all too soon, we were on the road again

The first major stop was the Ft. Rock and Cabin Lake areas

But ultimately our destination was the High Desert of the Frenchglen area

and surrounding environs (Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Ruh-Red Road, Burns, and places in between).

The Refuge was lusher than we had seen it in recent years, due to a more normal amount of rain and snow.  Perhaps my favorite picture of the trip was this picture of the pond near the Buena Vista portion of the refuge, with the west side of Steens Mountain in the background:

In addition to sighting roughly 130 species of bird (Sally of course seeing more), the more normal water level brought out other worthy flora and fauna:

Finally, two last pictures to share.  The first is my favorite old structure in the area:

and the other, from dusk at P-Ranch, just simply reminds me of the movie, “City of Angels:”

I hope to have two more posts soon…just snap shots of a few of the birds we saw.  Some will be just fun shots, a few maybe not so good but that I think represent “lifers” for me.

A Recent Foggy Day

I always find fog interesting, as it seems to add an element of mystery to any subject.

My favorite part about the third one is the fence line.

Dunes Near South Jetty, Florence, Oregon

Here’s a shot from a recent trip to the entrance area of the South Jetty in Florence.

Fog at Golden Gardens

A week or so ago I took advantage of a foggy morning to visit Golden Gardens.  Although the fog was not quite as thick as I would have liked, these two images proved to be the best of the crop:

Well, these aren’t the Steens Mountain

…nope, not Steens.  Just a few local shots.

The first is a rock formation I like along Highway 242, not awfully far from Sisters, Oregon:

This next one is just a shot of light coming through our garage window.  It seemed like gold popping through!

The next three are all from Fern Ridge, just a few days ago.  The first two are very close to the same area, just the timing 3/4 hour apart:

This last one just near the Platform at the end of Royal:

Hopefully worth looking at!  Take care, all!

A Few Sunrises

It’s been a long while since I have posted anything to the Blog.  So I thought I would at least put out a few images today.  You’ve got to love where we live!  Enlarge by double-clicking (hope that works…not always, though!).

 

I hope within the next few days to post some images from our equinox trip to the Steens Mountain.  Lots of wonderful views of aspen and the open country.