VENTURE TO

Oregon

August 10-21, 2006

It always rains in Oregon. Well, that's what everyone says. On our first Venture to the "Beaver State" we barely saw a drop of rain. It was 90 degrees in Portland and 50 degrees on the coast, so this matched the diversity of habitats we experienced throughout the state. That wide range of scenery was also a surprise, as we explored coastal rocky shores, alpine mountain scree slopes, sagebrush desert, cat-tail marshes and a wide range of forested environments. And we can't forget (although some of us would like to!) a day spent out on the ocean trying to see albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters as the waves tossed us around. Summer is fire season in the western US and we saw our fair share of charred woodland and billowing smoke clouds as we birded our way around the state. In one forest where we were birding, it was fascinating to walk amongst still the glowing embers looking for woodpeckers. It was surprising to see that quite a selection of birds had moved in so soon after the flames had gone. Highlights were many and along the coast they included watching a pair of River Otters crunching on a fish, a small flock of Harlequin Ducks feeding amongst the rocks, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels flying past our boat and several Humpback Whales feeding so close to us we could even smell their breath - yuk!

The ride up the Mt Hood ski-lift was spectacular, although we did not see any rosy-finches, walking in the mossy forests under tall spruces, hemlocks and firs was a quiet, sometimes bird-less experience, but still magnificent and very, very green. Bend was rather smoky, but Howard gave us a spectacular day birding around the fires and even walking through a recent burn to enjoy Red Crossbills, Fox Sparrow and White-headed Woodpeckers. Both Cynthia and Kathleen were very gracious and made us very welcome with food and great company -thanks very much. And then there was the long drive down to Frenchglen and the great little hotel in the middle of nowhere with California Quail, Mule Deer and Yellow-headed Blackbirds all over the lawns. That's something you don't get just anywhere. The drive through the Steens Mountains can truly be described as awesome, although some stretches of the road defied description. We missed the rosy-finches (again!), but got wonderful Golden Eagles, Rock Wrens and our only Green-tailed Towhee of the trip that day - so it was worth it after all. We finished the trip with 214 species of birds and 23 different mammals (very good), plus spectacular and surprising scenery at almost every turn, truly a wonderful state.

Simon Thompson

Location Guide

Friday, August 11                Portland to Mt Hood; stops at Wildwood Forest Park, Lolo Pass Rd., and Trillium Lake

Saturday, August 12           Chairlift up Mt Hood from Timberline Lodge, Bear Springs Campground, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Ogden Gorge, Smith Rock State Park to Bend

Sunday, August 13              Sisters area; Calliope Crossing, Cold Springs Campground, Trout Creek Swamp Rd (burn), Entrada Burn, Hatfield Lakes/Bend Settling Ponds

Monday, August 14             Bend; stops at Sawyer Park, Tumalo State Park, Chevlin Park, lunch at Brothers Oasis Rest Area, Chickahominy Reservoir, Hampton Agricultural Fields to Frenchglen 

Tuesday, August 15            Malheur NWR, Page Springs Campground, Steens Mountains Loop

Wed, August 16                   Malheur NWR, Page Springs Campground, Central Patrol Rd, Benson Pond, Headquarters, The Narrows, Bend

Thursday, August 17           Bend, Cold Springs Campground, Santiam Pass, Hoodoo Ski Area, Trail Ridge Campground, Eugene, Fern Ridge Reservoir, Florence

Friday, August 18               Florence, Siuslaw River, Silcoos River, Route 101 north, Alsea River to Newport, Yaquina Bay circuit

Saturday, August 19           Pelagic out of Newport

Sunday, August 20              Newport to Portland; stops at Seal Rocks, Yaquina Head, Otter Rock, Boiler Bay, Lincoln City area, Baskett Slough NWR, Portland