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It's hard to narrow down the best scenery on this Oregon tour. Between the coast, the Cascades, and the wide expanses of the Malheur NWR area, there's a lot to choose from! Certainly the Oregon Coast made a good case for some of the most breathtaking landscapes. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
From the crashing waves and Surfbirds hopping from rock to rock, to the Pinyon Jays walking amongst the pine needles, to the Sagebrush Sparrow that peeked at us from atop a sage, this tour covered an amazing array of habitats, birds, plants, and animals. And don't forget the great food, famous wine, and world-class views and scenery! This tour had a long list of highlights and I want to thank all of you for coming; it was a fun trip thanks to the fun group!
Right off the bat we were surrounded by new sights and sounds. Fern Ridge Reservoir was alive with shorebirds, ducks, and great side-by-side comparisons of Western and Clark's grebes. Meanwhile, a Black-throated Gray Warbler flitted overhead, Acorn Woodpeckers made a fuss, and Bewick's Wrens and Spotted Towhees stayed low. Up on Marys Peak in the afternoon, this stop gave us some stellar highlights like Mountain Quail (woohoo!) and a gorgeous Varied Thrush!
Out along the coast, we enjoyed some fresh seafood, views of Gray Whales, Black Oystercatchers, a myriad of alcids like Marbled Murrelet, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, Cassin's Auklet, and more! We got to study the differences of the three cormorants, scoped some Harlequin Ducks, looked for Wrentits along the coastal scrub, and spent some time reviewing our gull identifications. The scenery was outstanding too! Lighthouses, fog horns, the busy flocks of Black Turnstones and Surfbirds, Harbor Seals curiously looking at us, the Oregon coast is just an outstanding place.
Once inland, our good birding continued in places like Roseburg where California Scrub-Jays and Anna's Hummingbirds kept a close eye on us, American Dippers dipped into rivers in the foothills, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker found us at a rest area! But the crowning jewel was Crater Lake. Of course, the weather had us concerned but by the time we left the Clark's Nutcrackers along the rim, the clouds had lifted just in time for us. Amazing!
Birding around Bend and Sisters had a different feel; we were well away from the moist, coastal forests and what awaited for us was also quite different. We successfully tracked down White-headed Woodpeckers, Red Crossbills, and even a fantastic flock of Pinyon Jays! Townsend's Solitaires sang at Tumalo Reservoir, we scoped an impressive array of ducks from Hatfield Lake near Bend, and the Vaux's Swift roost was something we'll not soon forget. We stood amazed as 1400+ of these tiny swifts swirled and then dropped into a single chimney to roost of the night.
After we left the Three Sisters in their beautiful morning light, we headed east where we stopped in at the Brothers Rest Area, Chickahominy Reservoir, and eventually the wet fields south of Hines. New species were waiting for us including a Sagebrush Sparrow en route, White-faced Ibis at Chickahominy, and Sage Thrashers south of Hines.
The area around Malheur National Wildlife surely hosts some of the most interesting birding in the west. The headquarters area is a famous migrant trap and the birding there was outstanding. California Quail scuttled around, a fine diversity of warblers and flycatchers were tanking up for migration, and we even had a bonus Merlin, Western Tanager, and some flyby American White Pelicans. Later, at the Page Springs Campground, we saw the local rarity, the Phainopepla, in a state where they're not supposed to be! We added a Hutton's Vireo there too which was quite notable. We then made our way up Steens Mountain where Prairie Falcons, Golden Eagles, and outstanding scenery was the norm. Kiger Gorge was breathtaking, Rock Wrens hopped about, and Pine Siskins busily fed on the endemic thistles. We closed out our birding the following morning to the sound of Canyon Wren songs bouncing down the canyon walls, the rare Black-backed Woodpecker stealthily coming out of the woodwork, and even a sneaky Ruffed Grouse high up on Horsepasture Mountain. What a finish!
I want to thank you all for coming to Oregon with Field Guides this year. I certainly had a blast and a big reason for that was you; what a fun group! Oregon really is an amazing place and I'm glad we got to explore so much of it together. Hopefully you'll have fond memories of all the unique birds we saw, the great food we enjoyed, and the beautiful scenery that makes Oregon such a treasure.
Until next time, good birding to you all!
- Cory
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
BIRDS
One of the perks of exploring Oregon in September is seeing a fine diversity of shorebirds. The Oregon Coast hosts a variety of rock-loving species and one of the highlights was this Wandering Tattler photographed by participant Pete Peterman.
One of the highlights of the entire tour was watching the incredible dusk routine of thousands of Vaux's Swifts. As the calm evening crept closer to nightfall, a twittering swarm of swifts grew overhead, churning, sputtering. When would they start diving into the chimney? First one went in, then another, and before we knew it, hundreds of these tiny insect-eaters swirled down towards the chimney, somehow making their way into the tiny opening. In a matter of minutes, the night air was quiet once again, the swifts had found their spot for the night. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
What was Pete pointing out? Maybe it was the dozen Semipalmated Plovers we saw scurrying around the beach, or maybe it was the Belted Kingfisher that posed so regally for us, or perhaps it was flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees we all enjoyed here. Either way, it was a fantastic morning along the Oregon Coast! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
A key feature of this Field Guides tour is visiting the world-famous Crater Lake National Park, surely one of the most iconic and breathtaking views in the west. Although the weather tried to dampen our spirits by keeping it hidden, the clouds rose, the skies parted, and we ended up with fine views indeed! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Oregon hosts an impressive variety of woodpeckers and we were lucky to enjoy several with that distinct western flavor! One such highlight was a pair of White-headed Woodpeckers near the scenic town of Sisters. This male was photographed nicely by participant Pete Peterman.
It was hard to wrap our heads around the beauty of the Coast Range as we wound our way up Marys Peak on the first day. Around this corner, or maybe two corners down, we found ourselves face-to-face with Mountain Quail! What a fantastic start to our trip together. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Another woodpecker that we targeted was the uncommon and hard-to-find Black-backed Woodpecker. Our final morning found us in the Malheur National Forest where we successfully found this cooperative Black-backed! Photo by participant Pete Peterman.
In addition to the many woodpeckers we enjoyed, we also found an impressive number of Corvids; crows, jays, magpies, and the like. Here's an incredible shot of a Steller's Jay by participant Pete Peterman.
Seemingly always curious, these Canada Jays usually kept a close eye on us, probably in case we had spare snacks. This species has just undergone a name change from Gray Jay back to the original Canada Jay. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Certainly high on all of our wish lists was this interesting, high-elevation Corvid. The Clark's Nutcrackers were hard to miss at Crater Lake where participant Pete Peterman got this excellent photo.
Another specialty of the Pacific Northwest is this colorful little sprite, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Our time along the Oregon Coast found us face-to-face with these little guys on more than one occasion. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
Not every tour gets to enjoy three species of chickadees and three species of nuthatches... but we did! One of the nuthatches we often found in mixed flocks was the colorful Red-breasted Nuthatch, like this one photographed by guide Cory Gregory.
If you followed the clear, high-pitched notes to high in a conifer, you might find this hardy species, the Golden-crowned Kinglet. This one showed nicely for us and participant Pete Peterman got an excellent photo to prove it.
Ranging north to just beyond California, the Wrentit is a unique and fascinating target. We found a couple along the coast and, dare I say it, we got pretty good views! This fantastic photo is by participant Pete Peterman.
Although sometimes sneaky and hard to find this time of year, this Northwestern speciality, the Varied Thrush, was high on our most-wanted list. We found it on Day 1 as we birded in the Coast Range! Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
In a stark contrast to the humid-forest species, we also ranged to the east into sage country where we got awesome views of this specialist, the Sage Thrasher. Photo by participant Pete Peterman.
One of our birding stops as we drove east into the dry, sage flats was Chickahominy Reservoir. Hosting hundreds of birds, including a rare Red-necked Grebe, it was a beautiful spot to enjoy a fall visit. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.
MAMMALS
Certainly one of the more breathtaking vistas we took in, the Kiger Gorge view is a stunner! On our way up Steens Mountain, participant Charm Peterman took this great photo.
What a fun group! Here, at Boiler Bay, we enjoyed whales, alcids, gulls, and our first taste of rocky shorebirds like Black Oystercatchers and turnstones. I don't know how we managed to find time for a group photo! Thank you guys for making it such a fun trip! Photo (by remote) from guide Cory Gregory.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Totals for the tour: 187 bird taxa and 18 mammal taxa