Upper Tygh Creek and young birds

I took a look at weather radar at 5 am today and decided I would be dry if I went on a bird hike in the Badger Creek Wilderness.  I have birded the lower section of Tygh Creek up into the wilderness, I wanted to avoid a repeat of the brutal hike up the steep trail. so I drove up FR 2720 to the Jordan Cutoff Trail which gives you access to the upper sections of Tygh Creek and avoids the steep climb.  While this upper  trail goes up and down in spots, it is really rather flat and is an easy bird hike.  It is the purple section on my often posted map of the area (see below) the access trail is in red and starts at the red star.  My map is getting rather cluttered, you might need to zoom in to see the trails.

Early July is a great time to bird in these areas, the woods are full of birds. With all the recently fledged birds, I would say it is the busiest time of the year.

This clearing was right before you cross Tygh Creek on the trail.  I estimated over 50 birds were in the surrounding trees. It was birding madness trying to track them all.  Dark-eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins, Red-breasted Nuthatch,  Cassin's FInch. MacGillivray's Warbler and Yellow-rumped Warbler were the main varieties.

There was a young MacGillivray's hanging out in the brush. I could not get a photo, so I settled on what I thought was mom, no black lores.

Young Dark-eyed Juncos were the most common hatch-year (HY) birds I saw.

All along the trail adult juncos let me know I was an intruder. Lots of noisy complaints were filed.

Hatch-year Chipping Sparrow.

Thankfully there are volunteers that go out into these wilderness areas and clear the trails.

A good portion of the trail passes through old blow-down.  With all the flowers out, it is really very beautiful. I saw 9 Rufous Hummingbirds, most were in habitat like this.

A family of House Wrens were making a huge racket in this clearing.   Juveniles are supposed to not have strong barring on flanks, I figured this one was the best bet for a juvenile.

Another MacGillivray's was a nice treat.

Lots of young Yellow-rumps were in the trees, note heavily streaked below.

This one was also heavily streaked below, but had a yellow throat, so I went with hatch-year male.

Juvenile Western Tanagers have streaks to the underparts, so I do not think this is a hatch-year bird. I did see a few juveniles.  But they were very secretive.

Not a hatch-year tanager. Hatch-year birds have no red. A classic image from the western mountains.

Down at the crossing of Tygh Creek a juvenile Pacific Wren was in the dark brush.

Juvenile Townsend's Solitaires should still have scaly underparts, so this is not a hatch-year bird.

Groups of Evening Grosbeak were up in the dark tree tops.  I could not tell if this was a juvenile or not.  It seemed to be following an adult around.

Lots of birding activity, it took me almost seven hours to bird seven miles. I would urge folks to try this very nice birding area, or just get out in your local woods and enjoy all the youngsters!

Turkey Vulture  5
Rufous Hummingbird  9
Williamson's Sapsucker  1
Western Wood-Pewee  5
Hammond's Flycatcher  3
Dusky Flycatcher  7
Cassin's Vireo  1
Warbling Vireo  2
Mountain Chickadee  2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  9
Red-breasted Nuthatch  13
Brown Creeper  9
House Wren  11
Pacific Wren  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet  17
Townsend's Solitaire  1
Hermit Thrush  7
MacGillivray's Warbler  5
Yellow-rumped Warbler  23
Hermit Warbler  2
Chipping Sparrow  26
Dark-eyed Junco  43
Western Tanager  15
Cassin's Finch  13
Red Crossbill  3
Pine Siskin  32
Evening Grosbeak  9

After a long, exciting hike, Huck was eager to get in the car and rest. Once he senses he is getting near the car, he races ahead and waits.

Thanks for the visit.

Sunny day in Wasco County

If the forecast calls for rain in Portland, one possible spot to catch some sun is the White River WMA in Wasco County. I had a warm, sunny hike around a few of my favorite spots today.  I was looking for spring arrivals.

My first stop was at what I call the Bottomlands of Threemile Creek.  I found this meadow this past winter. I was eager to get down there this spring to see what would be there.  I was hoping for some hummingbirds,  this nice Nashville Warbler was a nice start to the day.

A view of the riparian area, the stream is an irrigation ditch, I believe it flows year-round.

The meadow, stream is off to the right.

I'll visit this spot in a few more weeks to see what else arrives.

Bird List:

Turkey Vulture  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Northern Flicker  2
Cassin's Vireo  5
Common Raven  1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  3
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet  3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Nashville Warbler  4
MacGillivray's Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  5
Black-throated Gray Warbler  6
Chipping Sparrow  7
Dark-eyed Junco  3
Golden-crowned Sparrow  2
Spotted Towhee  3
Cassin's Finch  1

I left this spot at 10 am to head to my favorite loop up on FR 27.  I was expecting to catch the first arrival of Gray Flycatcher, maybe just a few birds. I was wrong, the area is packed with them.

Long, narrow, straight sided bill, short primary extension and small dark tip to bill.

Chipping Sparrows were hiding everywhere as well.

This is the road/trail that goes down to Tygh Creek. I was birding here in early March, this tree was standing at the time. When it fell,  it brought down a few other trees. It took a bit of an effort to get through this mess.  Even Huck struggled under and over the branches.  He is taking his revenge out on a branch.

Tygh Creek is nice , but too noisy to hear any birds. MacGillivray's Warblers will be here in good numbers soon. I heard none that I was sure of today, heard a few strong chips, but lots of other noise made it tough to be sure.

Birds seen from car down to this spot:


Turkey Vulture  3
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Vaux's Swift  4
Northern Flicker  2
Gray Flycatcher  8
Cassin's Vireo  3
Steller's Jay  2
Common Raven  2
Mountain Chickadee  3
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  2
House Wren  3
Western Bluebird  2
Orange-crowned Warbler  3
Nashville Warbler  12     numerous in all locations along trail.
Yellow-rumped Warbler  21
Black-throated Gray Warbler  9
Wilson's Warbler  1
warbler sp. (Parulidae sp.)  1     song only, possible Townsend's
Chipping Sparrow  19
Dark-eyed Junco  4
Cassin's Finch  3


There is another riparian area you pass by on the way to Tygh Creek.  I returned to this drier creek bed and hiked down to a watering hole then up to a ridge then back to the car.

By this time it was later in the day, the wind kicked up and the birds went quiet. Still a great birding experience.

The pond at the bottom.  

Birds seen in this section:


Vaux's Swift  2
Gray Flycatcher  3
Cassin's Vireo  4
Steller's Jay  3
Common Raven  1
House Wren  1
Orange-crowned Warbler  2
Nashville Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Black-throated Gray Warbler  4
Chipping Sparrow  15


The oak woodlands are beautiful with the new oak leaves and the blanket of yellow and purple flowers.  Lots of Chipping Sparrows, Gray Flycatcher, and a few bluebirds.

Proof that Rock Creek Reservoir is indeed a reservoir and not a big dry hole in the ground.

I drove to the area via Hwy 26 to FR 43 then up to FR 48. 

On the way home I tried to get from FR 48 to Hwy 35, I chickened out 2 miles short of my goal.  It does not look all that bad, but up ahead there is a big snow drift blocking the road.

I was surprised to hear or find no woodpeckers, never a lot of species but always a great birding experience. There is a google map of this area on the ECAS website/Wasco County/ White River WMA and environs.

ECAS Wasco County

Thanks for the visit.

And yes that is my wonderful Huck, he got his summer shave yesterday. He is much happier during the summer minus all that fur.

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.


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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.