A SUMMARY OF ROAD SCHOLAR TRIP TO HARNEY COUNTY

Posted by: atowhee | September 18, 2018

A SUMMARY OF ROAD SCHOLAR TRIP TO HARNEY COUNTY

Tomorrow the Steens Loop.
So far: Malher NWR HQ will have no water fowl, lake dry. Benson Pond is dry…Chickahominy Reservoir is best public access lake with dabblers and shorebirds, Krumbo has the common diving ducks and some grebes but no shorebird shoreline nor dabblers, but we got a pair of Golden Eagles up that box canyon…or you can pay to access Crystal Crane’s “wild lake” which has dabblers at least…the best lake is Boca (Trumpeters and dabblers and shorebirds), not accessible without help from the Portland Audubon biologist is you with a group…we also got NWR biologist to take us to Tern Island but that was mostly shorebirds…there are two Trumpeters on Mud Creek Pond accessible from Page Springs then north to end of East Canal Road but view is distant and other waterfowl difficult to see

We have seen two nighthawks and three flycatchers: Say’s Phoebe, Hammonds at HQ, Cordilleran at Page Springs, only phalarope (RN) At Chick…no curlew, no willet, no bobolink nor oriole, no Sagebrush Sparrows, a few warblers inc. MacGillivray’s and Nashville but no Wilson’s or orange-crowned, one waxwing…struck out on all owls except Great Horned which we cannot get away from, not even a Barn…tomorrow the Steens for views and rosy-finch es, we hope. Aspen already turned yellow above 6000 feet where we went at end of today for great Mountain Bluebird pics. Yellow-rumps, Barn Swallows and White-crowned Sparrows everywhere you go right now. Two Common Nighthawks only.

Best mammals: pair of busy long-tailed weasels at Boca Lake today.

Towheeblog