Hi all,
This morning Gawain and I substituted for another Breeding Bird Survey
volunteer who usually runs the Ochoco BBS route, but was unable to do it this
season due to unexpected circumstances.
This route runs along Ochoco National Forest Road FR 22, mainly in Crook County
but just starting north of the Wheeler County line about 3 miles north of
Scotts Camp (where we camped out last night), then along the north side of Big
Summit Prairie over to Walton Lake, then south to the site of the old Ochoco
Ranger Station (which no longer exists as operations were moved into
Prineville).
We drove over the Cascades yesterday afternoon expecting to run into hot, dry
weather which would limit bird activity apart from the earliest hours of the
route. But we got lucky on that front, as the shifting air masses produced
showers heavy enough to form puddles on Hwy 26 as we came through Prineville.
We were treated to the sight of a very intense double rainbow over Big Summit
Prairie, and pleasantly cool conditions for camping and for this morning's
count, though we were also worried to see some lightning.
We got to Scotts Camp around 9:30 pm and had to get up by 4 am in order to have
enough time to tear down the tent and get to the starting point of the route.
There was still a strong breeze in the pines and so we didn't hear any owls
before we tucked into our sleeping bags, nor in the pre-dawn when we got up,
thought the half moon did provide excellent light for tearing down the tent and
making sure that we didn't leave any tent poles behind. We did smell some smoke
in the air so wondered about fires.
At one of our first few stops around 5 AM we encountered a young log truck
driver who stopped ahead of us with a full load of logs, heading down the grade
toward Mitchell. He got out of his truck and was walking toward us, so my first
thought was that maybe he needed for me to move our Prius farther off the road
to get by, since it was a curvy stretch. But no, it turned out that he had
stopped there to give way to another trucker coming up the hill. But then he'd
noticed a plume of smoke coming off the next ridge to the east of us, which I
couldn't see from where I was doing that point count. He said he'd call it in
to the fire dispatch, and mentioned that there was a fire going on just about
every draw between there and Big Summit Prairie. And then he asked about the
bird count, so I filled him in on what the BBS is about.
At our next stop the other log truck he'd mentioned passed us coming up the
hill, but that was the last vehicle we saw until near the end of the route,
when we got stares from a couple of jeep drivers who were just getting going at
9 AM.
I don't know much about the history of this route, so I'm not sure what's
significant. But some things that were interesting for us included:
1) LINCOLN'S SPARROWS singing at multiple stops, and an apparent nesting pair
at one stop. I so seldom get to hear these birds singing, even though they can
be fairly common in our neighorhood in winter. It was nice to be able to
validate my song-based identification, when at one stop I heard one (apparently
the female of the pair) giving the more familiar chip notes, and then sitting
up for a good view.
2) FOX SPARROWS singing at several stops, including two counter-singing at the
stop closest to Walton Lake where I've found them in past years. There is
apparently still some uncertainty about which (sub)species breeds in the
Ochocos. For anyone wanting to delve into that question, Walton Lake is the
place where I'd recommend to start.
3) A juvenile BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER landing on a tree trunk just ahead of
where we stopped, on the north side of Big Summit Prairie, then foraging in
plain sight.
4) STELLER'S and CANADA JAYS squabbling over the best perches to dry off, after
both apparently had taken baths in a stream.
5) An adult DUSKY FLYCATCHER stuffing an insect into the mouth of a begging
fledgling.
6) Juvenile PINE SISKINS foraging alongside of adults, picking seeds out of
some kind of composite flower (need to look up the ID still).
We were slightly disappointed not to hear a Veery at our last stop near Ochoco
Campground. But from Chuck Gates, I understand that it's been a decade or so
since anyone heard one there. We did hear plenty of HERMIT THRUSHES all along
this route, and were greeted by COMMON NIGHTHAWKS both at the start and at the
end.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
