Smock Prairie 2-25-17

I took advantage of the nice sunny day and headed over to my favorite part of Wasco County, the White River Wildlife Management Area  (WRWMA).  Funny thing was, I was thinking it would be great to spot a Gyrfalcon or some odd predator while I was over there.  The Gyr decided to show up in the Willamette Valley, but I got my share of predators.

I wanted to explore the Smock Prairie portion of the WRWMA.  It is south of where I usually go, but the area north of FR 27 is closed this winter.  So I looked around at the map and noticed this gem of an area.  Below is a map of where I went, I walked the yellow path counter-clockwise today, about 9 miles.

On the way to Smock Prairie, I went by way of the White River Crossing.  No car should try this route this winter.  Not until the snow is gone and road is dry.  Only a good four-wheel drive should attempt this, and probably only when snow is frozen, not in the afternoon.  I made it, but I was thinking it was a bad idea.




I was wondering if I would see any birds up on the prairie.  As soon as I started down the road past the gate I saw a group of black birds on the road.  They turned out to be a flock of Lewis's Woodpeckers, a great start to the day. 

Lewis's Woodpeckers never cooperate with my camera.  I saw about 2 dozen today, none let me get very close or stayed put very long.

The open ground on the prairie was very damp in most places.  American Robins were out in the sun enjoying the day.

I saw a number of Red-winged Blackbirds and a few Starling.

A few shots of the road I walked out.

This is looking back toward where you park.  Spring birding along this road could be very interesting.

Lots of meadows to scan for bluebirds.

Mt Hood was looking nice.

There is a small wetland area here, I am going to check this spot out come spring.

I worked my way up into the snow and promptly lost the road I was trying to follow.  I cut over to a drainage ditch and followed it uphill.

There was ice on this ditch, it was cracking down the center.  Every time it cracked it sounded like a tree was coming down on Huck and myself,  it would give me a start every time. 

I did find a few mixed flocks of birds.  I scanned every bird I could for something rare,  I was really hoping to stumble across some Redpolls mixed in with these birds.  

I never tire of Mountain Chickadees, one of my favorites.

Lots of Pine Siskins.  Note the very pointed bill.

At one point I was walking through a small woods.  I was walking on pine needles and not making a sound, Huck was behind me.  I came within three paces of stepping on the tail of a Mountain Lion.  It was stretched out on the pine needles, relaxing in a sunny spot.  It must have been sleeping in the sun.  I startled it just as much as it startled me.  It jumped up and landed just like a startled house cat.  Its front shoulders were down, head close to the ground, hips and tail up in the air.  It was about 8 feet in front of me when we saw each other. It landed about 15 feet from me.  

It was huge, 9-10 feet from head to tail tip, I thought it weighed 200 lbs.  Three feet at the shoulder.  At that point I heard Huck barking, He got up in front of me, at the same time the cat  sprinted away. It went back the same way I had come, I do not know how it got past Huck, either dodged him or jumped over him. I think it went on the other side of a tree to me. 

I do not remember taking this picture.

Nor this one.

Nor this one.

These I remember. 

And it was gone.

Lots of cat food were seen..

I did run into a small group of White-breasted Nuthatch.

A young Northern Shrike was in the area of a wetland.

I like exploring new areas in February so I can return in spring.  I will certainly bird this area when the Gray Flycatchers and Nashville Warblers return. I am interested in seeing what these wetland areas are like come spring and what birds will be there. It should be great for woodpeckers as well.   If you bird out Smock Road way, stop and walk in the road a bit, you will need the same parking pass as Sauvie or Fern Ridge.

My eBird list for the day ( and the only one I could find for this spot)  on the WRWMA:

Smock Prairie (WRWMA), Wasco, Oregon, US
Feb 25, 2017 8:40 AM - 2:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
9.0 mile(s)
Comments:     sunny, started out at 25 degrees, warmed to 35.  Snow on ground in places, muddy in others.  Wind 5-10 mph, stronger if afternoon.
24 species

Golden Eagle  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Lewis's Woodpecker  25
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
American Kestrel  1
Northern Shrike  1
California Scrub-Jay  6
American Crow  2
Common Raven  1
Mountain Chickadee  15
Red-breasted Nuthatch  10
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Brown Creeper  2
Western Bluebird  8
American Robin  30
European Starling  1
Dark-eyed Junco  6
Spotted Towhee  3
Red-winged Blackbird  30
Western Meadowlark  3
House Finch  15
Purple Finch  6
Pine Siskin  40

Thanks for the visit!

Early winter in the White River WMA

On Saturday, Nov. 28,  I decided to go back to the east side of Mt Hood for one last trip this year before the forest roads are closed. There has been snow out there already, but the past few days have been nice and sunny.  Forest Road 48 will be closed anytime now, it is not plowed.  The drive out FR 48 had its share of icy stretches and frozen clumps of slush.  It was 14 degrees when I arrived at my parking area.  I doubt it got much above 20.  My purpose was to see if I could detect any Pine Grosbeak in the woods that line the creeks in the Wildlife Management Area.  

I decided to try to find a nice loop through the western side of the WMA.  I found just that by starting off on a road I went down in June (June Trip)  and simply kept turning left when I had the option.  I started off at the lower star on the map and went counter-clockwise.  I found myself back on the paved FR 27 at the top star.  From there back to the car down the left side of my loop is all paved.  7 miles in all.

There is a lack of variety of birds in these woods this time of year, but the birds you do see are in groups that are fun to discover and hunt through. The birds all seem to be in fresh plumage.





For a more general map of the White River WMA, try this one.  I have updated it with other bird hikes I have done on area.

Woodpeckers were a common species seen.  This Williamson's Sapsucker triggered a rare bird alert in eBird, I found it right before I returned to my car along FR 27.  I would assume only due to lack of effort, but eBird has only two records of this species in this area of the  county between Sept-Mar, 8 records for the entire county during this period.

Hairy Woodpeckers were the most common woodpecker found.

This Black-backed Woodpecker was up near where the dirt road I hiked hooked up with FR 27.

Not all Mountain Chickadees are in Western Oregon now.  Beautiful birds.

I have tried to pay more attention to the subspecies of White-breasted Nuthatch. These were all chattering with a rapid call.  A feature of the tenuissima subspecies (lumped with nelsoni in Sibley's  Interior West bird), the subspecies which should be found in Eastern Oregon. 

More info:  White-breasted Nuthatch

Interior West birds have narrower black crowns than the Pacific group,  and they lack a black mark behind the eye which can sometimes be found on the Pacific group.

Compared to the Pacific group the Interior West birds have darker but not black centers to the greater coverts, they are shown here as the dark dashes on the gray background.  The Pacific group supposedly has paler, less contrasting centers on the greater coverts.

The flanks are supposedly darker gray, rarely suffused with buff, the Pacific birds are paler on the flanks and can be suffused with buff.

Taken with my iphone, most of the hike was on bare ground or patchy snow.  This dark canyon is where Tygh Creek crosses FR 27. It was 2 pm, the area was still dark and cold, no winter sun reaches this area.

This is Tygh Creek down in the WMA, just as dark and cold.  I spent some time searching the grove for owls.  

This Mule Deer ( I think)  was on FR 27, it was a beautiful beast, it just stood there and watched me walk towards it. Black-tailed Deer are subspecies of the Mule Deer.  Mule Deer are larger and have big mule-like ears. They also have a larger white rump and a smaller black tipped tail compared to smaller white rumped and larger, solid black (dorsal surface) tail on the Black-tailed.   Black-tailed Deer are a western Oregon species but I understand they do occur on eastside of Mt Hood.

This print in the snow was the size of my hand.  Tons of animal tracks were seen, of all sizes and shapes.

Gobble gobble

Mt Hood glowing in the late afternoon sun.

eBird list:

White River WMA Loop, Wasco, Oregon, US
Nov 28, 2015 9:15 AM - 1:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
7.0 mile(s)
Comments:     temps 14-22 degrees F, no wind clear skies.  Went to see if any Pine Grosbeak or Redpolls had shown up in area.  No juncos.
16 species

Wild Turkey  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Williamson's Sapsucker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  5
Black-backed Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  4
Steller's Jay  8
Common Raven  4
Mountain Chickadee  23
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  14
Red-breasted Nuthatch  6
White-breasted Nuthatch  6
Pacific Wren  4
Golden-crowned Kinglet  30
Varied Thrush  5
Red Crossbill  9

Thanks for the visit

Ochoco National Forest

I had never been to the Ochoco National Forest, it is east of Prineville , OR.    I fixed that serious omission this past weekend.  The Ochoco is easy to spot on the map, it is the large green rectangle shaped forest with a distinct white spot in the middle, that is the Big Summit Prairie, a large cattle ranch that reminds me of the Catlow Valley.

Here is a google map of my trip.  My basic route was a  jaunt up Mill Creek Road, then over to the Ochoco Ranger Station, then a big loop up around Mt Pisgah,  down to Big Summit Prairie, then a trip out to the eastern portion of forest to the Bear Mountain area and then back to the ranger station and home.  My original plan was to do a two-night trip but it turned into a one-night trip.


.


The purpose of my trip was to track down a Dusky Grouse and make my 4th attempt for Boreal Owl in 2015.  A Dusky Grouse was reported from this forest the week before I went, rather than relocate that bird, I wanted to wander areas in hopes of finding more.

This dark shot is of Slide Mountain, I wandered many open areas looking for sites good for owls.  I was searching for areas with lots of rodents. The papers I have read say Boreal Owls prefer dry meadows  and hunt rodents.  Most of the areas I found seemed to be very rocky with no rodent holes though lots of small chipmunks were in the forest edges. So I had high hopes of owls.  In the higher elevations singing Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the loudest birds.  Lots of Chipping Sparrows at all spots.

Another open prairie on north side of Mt Pisgah.  Mallards and Lincoln Sparrows were here. 

I decided to spend the first night on the only non-rocky spot I could find on west side of Mt Pisgah.  (by the way, there is a Mt Pisgah down near Eugene, not the same).  I was near a spot called Indian Prairie (below).  It is a beautiful prairie, lots of singing Hermit Thrush in the area.  Picture taken just before dark.

My camp spot in the trees near the prairie.  As I was resting at about 8 pm, I heard a very short snipe like winnow call, I was very excited.  It was so brief and I never heard it again, I decided it was a Hermit Thrush making a short burst of sound, but it sure sounded owlish, I also heard one short very deep hoot  sound, maybe Great Gray or Flammulated?  In any case I never heard any other owl except one Great Horned in the very early morning. 

Sunset on western flank of Mt Pisgah.

Early the next day I was up trying to hear some owls.  This MacGillivray's Warbler was singing  away next to the road.  When I heard it up the road  I thought it sounded very Mourning Warblerish.  I think a Mourning would be a bit lower pitched, but they can come very close in song. I have tried to use Raven to get a spectrograph of this bird, no success.  Maybe an old Windows computer just doesn't work.  Anyone know how to get a spectrograph from a Youtube video?  Seems to me there would be some program available on the cloud for that.






Another one with songster closer to me.





The forest is home to some wild horses.  This trough was near my camp, the water must be from an artesian well.  This picture was taken at dusk, some critter must have recently visited the water hole, Huck had caught its scent.

The road that cuts across the north side of Mt Pisgah can be a challenge.  I did notice most of the roads on the forest are in great shape. FR 2630 from where it touches the Bridge Creek Wilderness heading east to FR 22 is not one of them.  My Subaru did fine, but some areas were rocky and others were ice slick with mud.  There is a burned area on the north eastern portion of Mt Pisgah, maybe I drove through there too early but all I saw were Hairy Woodpeckers.  The trees look good for Black-backed based on my experience on Mt Hood.

Burn on Mt Pisgah.

The prior evening I had driven half the rough road to search for owl spots, too much water I decided.  But I decided to return in the morning to look for woodpeckers and also to get to the top of the mountain, I was thinking it would be a blast to discover some Rosy-Finch up there .  None there but nice views of butter-butts, Brewer Sparrows and Mountain Bluebirds.

Sunrise while I worked my way along a rough muddy road.

Lookout on top of Mt Pisgah at sunrise, Wheeler County.  No Rosy-Finch.  Mt Pisgah is 6,816 feet in elevation.

Big Summit Prairie from top of Mt Pisgah.

Heading down the eastern flank of Mt Pisgah I would stop and search for Dusky Grouse, I was thinking being on the road this early would improve my chances of seeing one on the road itself, no luck.  I read Dusky Grouse's call travels a very short distance, unlike the Sooty which can boom across an entire canyon.  You need to be as close as 100 yds to hear the Dusky.

After getting back to a descent road  I headed down to Big Summit Prairie. 

Once you hit the eastern, drier side of Ochoco National Forest, Cassin's Finch and Chipping Sparrows rule the day.

Typical view of a Cassin's.

And your typical Chipping Sparrow buried in a pine tree just a few feet off the ground.

Mountain Bluebird were not hard to find.

View of Big Summit Prairie.  I heard snipe and curlew calling out in this field, darned if I could spot them.  Lots of birds were in this area, Tree Swallows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, WIlson's Warbler.  White-headed Woodpeckers.  Looked for Red-naped Sapsuckers , struck out.  At most of the spots I stopped for grouse, woodpeckers were in area, some drumming in the distance, some calling but they proved elusive as to the seeing.

Heading east it gets drier and looks much like the Steen's Mountain to me: juniper, sage , a few more pines perhaps.  Lots of cattle.

Below is a typical spot I stopped and walked hoping to find grouse.

Dusky Flycatcher were everywhere on eastern side.  Their chip note says duh - SKI  to my ear.

Of course with all the Chipping Sparrows and  Cassin's Finch,  Mountain Chickadees are all around you as well.  No bird really wanted to have its picture taken except that Dusky Flycatcher...  

I finally made it all the way past Bear Mountain to a spot that needs a new name , Squaw Prairie.  I thought this place looked great for owls, dry meadow with lots of rodents.


A Mountain Quail was calling at far end of this prairie.  I can tell there are rodents here, Huck quickly found many holes to sniff.

So what is this little fellow trying to drive off a Red-tailed Hawk over Squaw Prairie?

The longer tail and large head made me decide it was a Cooper's Hawk

Growing thunder storms, a tired dog that I was afraid had some bad water (he is fine) and me being burned out and wanting to be rested for Malheur next weekend caused me to stop my trip a day short. 

I managed to get confused between Townsend's Warblers and Hermit Warbler songs, they sure do vary by region's in Oregon.  I thought I was hearing mostly Hermit in the far eastern reaches?

Birds seen in forest ( I might have had a larger list, just spent most time listening for grouse):

Canada Goose  
Mallard  
Mountain Quail  
Cooper's Hawk  
Bald Eagle  
Red-tailed Hawk  
Long-billed Curlew  
Wilson's Snipe  
Mourning Dove  
Great Horned Owl  
Black-chinned Hummingbird       
Williamson's Sapsucker  
Hairy Woodpecker  
White-headed Woodpecker  
Northern Flicker  
Pileated Woodpecker  
Hammond's Flycatcher  
Gray Flycatcher  
Dusky Flycatcher  
Cassin's Vireo  
Warbling Vireo  
Gray Jay  
Steller's Jay  
Black-billed Magpie  
American Crow  
Common Raven  
Tree Swallow  
Cliff Swallow  
Mountain Chickadee  
Red-breasted Nuthatch  
Golden-crowned Kinglet  
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  
Mountain Bluebird  
Townsend's Solitaire  
Hermit Thrush  
American Robin  
MacGillivray's Warbler  
Common Yellowthroat  
Yellow Warbler  
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Townsend's Warbler 
Hermit Warbler  
Wilson's Warbler  
Chipping Sparrow  
Brewer's Sparrow  
Vesper Sparrow  
Song Sparrow  
Lincoln's Sparrow  
Dark-eyed Junco  
Western Tanager  
Black-headed Grosbeak  
Lazuli Bunting  
Red-winged Blackbird  
Western Meadowlark  
Brewer's Blackbird  
Brown-headed Cowbird  
Cassin's Finch  

North Fork of Crooked River along FR 42.  Lots of campers kept me from looking for American Dipper. 

 This is a beautiful forest, I'll be back and will try the eastern side for owls.  Thanks to Joel, Russ and Chuck for suggestions and info.

Thanks for visiting.

For a few more Huck pictures, try this.