Joel,
Interesting. The Tricolored Blackbirds I saw at Painted Hills were not at the
location you described. They were in a small marsh along the creek before you
reach the junction of the road heading west into the park and restroom area.
This spot is a couple of miles from the reservoir.
Darrel
From: "Joel Geier" <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: "Central Oregon Birders" <cobol@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Oregon Birders
OnLine" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 10:57:15 AM
Subject: [obol] Re: on Tricolored Blackbirds / Painted Hills colony access
Just one more note on the Painted Hills trike colony that Paul Sullivan
mentioned in this interesting behavioral note:
"I was watching the colony in the Painted Hills. They were up
on the cattails calling in their raucous style. Then something
triggered a 'get down' command, and the entire flock disappeared
down into the cattails in an instant. No birds could be seen.
Even if the birds are present, one sometimes had to hunt for
them."
It was often hard to see these birds, or get a good count, due to this
tendency that Paul describes.
But recently, observation has become very difficult to impossible due to
closure of the road that led along the west side of Painted Cove
Reservoir, to the marshy arm of Painted Cove Reservoir where these birds
were usually seen (thanks go to Donna Lusthoff for pointing me to the
right spot to look). So the records or lack thereof from recent years
are probably not very indicative of the status of that colony.
Apparently this stretch of road was always on private land along the
edge of the National Monument lands, but the owners didn't post it as
private until you got to a gate just past this viewing point. A few
years ago this changed, and "no trespassing" signs were posted
immediately after the Painted Cove trailhead. So birders can no longer
either drive or walk in there along that stretch of road.
The hillside just a few yards up the slope from the road is public land
(National Park Service). But I think off-trail hiking in that area to
get to the viewing point is discouraged, if not outright forbidden, by
the Park Service (for good reasons, but that's getting to be a topic for
BOO).
However it might be worth bringing up with NPS the idea of an
"authorized trail" that would lead back to the areas that birders have
traditionally visited to gain views of the reservoir. Besides Tricolored
Blackbirds, this reservoir historically produced a high percentage of
Wheeler County sightings of rare waterfowl, rails, terns, gulls, etc.
Landscape photographers might also benefit from such a trail.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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