Oregon Trip, Part 2:
The second part of this year’s Oregon birding adventure
took us back to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. 

Craig and I have done quite a lot of birding in the past few months! In March we spent a week birding in Texas (links to the relevant posts are below). Then in April, we went on two Audubon Society birding trips: one a hike on the Sutter Buttes in the Central Valley and the second a boat ride up the Napa River, where we saw lots of ospreys and not much else. I even attended a workshop on bird photography. I have taken literally thousands of photographs in recent months, something I particularly notice when I’m struggling to catalog and edit them all.

Feeling a bit birded out, I started talking about not taking so many pictures on our Oregon trip this year and backing off a bit from writing about birds and little else… However. On past trips, certain birds had eluded my camera, leaving me with only blurry, unsatisfying shots (I’m talking about you, black-headed grosbeak, western tanager, yellow warbler, and sandhill crane!). So despite my talk, once we got to Malheur my picture-taking instincts kicked in and I was determined to capture decent shots of my missing birds. And once I got started photographing them… well, you know how it goes! Here’s what I got.

At the campground

We were staying again at The Narrows RV Park, located a few miles down the road from the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a great spot not only because of this proximity but also because Scott and Tina, the young(er than us) couple who took over the campground a few years ago, have made it into a bird haven by planting trees and shrubs and putting up nesting boxes, which are now inhabited mainly by house sparrows. An early-morning walk around the campground was a great chance to see and photograph some of my elusive feathered friends who hop around in the blooming trees or snack on the moths that also like these flowers.

Cliff swallows build their mud nests under the eaves of the shower building, and Bullock’s orioles weave their nests in the trees between the campsites.

I was at last able to get decent shots of a western tanager and a black-headed grosbeak.

Cedar waxwings, who always travel in groups, also love these blossoms.

I think this little guy is an orange-crowned warbler, but I need to confirm that with Ron.

Western kingbirds were a common sight throughout our rambles in Malheur, and you could always find one or two on the wires above the campground. Black-and-white Eastern kingbirds are a less common sight, but we did see this one (lower left) on one of our drives.

On our last morning, I spotted this California quail on the perimeter fence at the campground.

At headquarters

Stopping at the headquarters of the wildlife preserve in the morning is de rigueur. With a pond, lots of big trees, and numerous feeders, this place draws lots of birds of various kinds. A whiteboard lists the birds recently spotted in the preserve, and on our first day the big excitement was a magnolia warbler that had been seen hopping around the trees behind the main building. We followed the crowds and eventually managed to get a glimpse of this beautiful little bird.

But there were also lots of other colorful or striking birds to see at headquarters, and we made a point of stopping through each day to see what we could see! Here’s a Western tanager among the lilacs.

Blue birds are not very common, so I was tickled to get a shot of this beautiful lazuli bunting.

At headquarters, staff set out halved oranges to tempt fruit-loving Bullock’s orioles.

The warbling vireo is a neat and modest little bird, but I found this one quite beautiful.

I was pleased with this shot of a female black-chinned hummingbird in mid flight.

Yellow warblers are flitters, hopping quickly from branch to branch in the treetops. Though bright yellow, they can be hard to spot amongst the green leaves.

A family of great horned owls was nesting again this year in the tall trees at headquarters.

Along the waterways

Each day after checking out the birds at headquarters, we set out with Ron and Linda to explore one of the birding routes and waterways that crisscross the area. You never know what you’ll find when you venture out, but you know that the scenery at least will be lovely.

We spotted a number of waders on these excursions, but the big excitement was a wood duck, seen from a considerable distance (hence the tiny photo). When I was a child, I had a subscription to Ranger Rick Magazine which was — and still is, it turns out — put out by the National Wildlife Federation. Even after more than 50 years, I remember the photos of wood ducks that I saw in one of the issues. I was dazzled by this spectacular bird, which looked too fancifully gaudy to be real. But here was one in the feather, the first I’ve ever seen. That was a thrill.

American coots are one of the most common water birds, but I usually catch a rear view as they swim away! This old coot was more obliging.

Here are a pair of northern shovelers (check out those long bills!) going their separate ways.

This is my usual view of a sandhill crane: from the rear as she walks away from me. This one, at least, looked back over her shoulder as she departed.

But we were all thrilled to spot this mama crane on her nest, keeping her eggs warm even as the rain began to fall. A few days after our trip, someone posted a photo on Facebook of this same crane with a couple of chicks!

Other birding paths

Other roads throughout the area are also great places to discover birds. Birders are usually happy to tell you what they saw and where and when, so we followed their advice and were lucky enough to come upon these little burrowing owls.

We also saw several species of hawks on our peregrinations.

And we spotted this loggerhead shrike on a wire along one of the roads.

 I think this barn swallow is actually yawning, but he looks to be having a good laugh at my expense!

This horned lark was resting on a fence post. We saw a couple more scrabbling in the grass but none with visible horns. This is where it comes in handy to have the Merlin app with us — or, better still, to be riding with birding pros Ron and Linda, who can help with identification!

It was the end of the day when we saw this western meadowlark posing on a twig in the twilight.

Three days of exploring Malheur sufficed Craig and me, so we bid goodbye to Ron and Linda and headed off. After dropping off the trailer in Klamath Falls, we made a detour up to Crater Lake and then set off on the long drive back home. In all, a great trip!

Here’s a toast to Ron and Linda, birders and planners extraordinaires — and all-around great people! Thank you for organizing these annual adventures and inviting us to take part. We’re delighted and so very grateful! 

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