Birding Trip Review

We are now back home in Salem from our little birding loop tour of Northern-Central Oregon.  It was kind of a whirlwind trip is some ways, but it took advantage of a window in time with our schedule and gave us a taste of what it will take to visit all of Oregon's 36 counties. Posting photos with a blog  proved a little more difficult due to time constraints and poor Internet connections. As I look back through the many photos, I see some that I still would like to share.  So, here are some additional photos from some of the stops we made that I hope will be of interest.

Bonneville Hatchery -
Our first section was through the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, with a stop at the Bonneville  Hatchery.  This area, also the route of a section of the Oregon Trail, holds many memories for Jeanette and I because our honeymoon was a bicycle tour up the Washington side and back down on the Oregon side.

Mayer State Park -
Our next stop was at Mayer State Park.  On many of our trips in the Columbia River Gorge we have by passed this park because there are no overnight camping sites, nor are there any good hiking trails.  But seen through the lens of bird watching, this park took on a new significance.  In making a bird list for this stop we discovered the Great Egret was considered a rare bird for this location, so I took a photo to prove we had seen one.

Deschutes State Recreation Area -
We like camping here so much we stayed for two nights.  The birding was great, and we discovered that fishermen, which made up most of the campers, are of the same mind as us - early to bed, early to rise.

Dyer State Park - 

Here is a tiny Oregon State Park we stumbled upon between Condon and Fossil, just North of Mayville. If you look on the list of parks on the Oregon State Parks and Recreation web site you won't find it, but here is was and it is even an eBird Hot Spot. It was a delightful stop.

Fossil - 

The town of Fossil was an overnight stay for us at the Wheeler County RV Park.  It's the county seat of Wheeler County, but don't expect a bustling metropolis here.  While strolling down Main Street we had to pause to let this daddy California Quail get his family across the street.

Clarno Boat Ramp - 

This boat ramp on the John Day River was vacant save for the roosting Turkey Vultures in the top of the nearby tree when we made a stop.  No it's not our smell, nor are they waiting for us to die, they were simply waiting for the sun to warm up the cool morning air.