Collier Memorial State Park

Jeanette scanning Klamath Marsh

May 23-25 - On Tuesday the 25 we left Summer Lake to travel over to Collier Memorial State Park, taking the Silver Lake Road over to Highway 97, stopping at Klamath Marsh for a little birding.  This was a great route, hardly any traffic and excelent pavement. Click here for our bird list.

Resting in the shade

After getting set up in the Collier campground in site A10, we spent the afternoon relaxing under the shade of our awning.  We discovered we could just spot birds from our chairs and so started up a bird list.  Later in the afternoon we ventured over to Spring Creek to hike along the cool stream bank and look for more birds.  Here is a link to our Observation List.

Hiking the Williamson River Trail

On Wednesday we made a big push to hike the Williamson River Trail to the Williamson River Campground and back, some five miles or more.  This is a trail we worked on when we worked as Volunteers here the fall of 2010. It was fun to re-travel the route that we have hiked so many times through the years of continuing to volunteer here in 2011 and 2012. Click here for our observation list.  

Birding the River Loop Trail

Thursday morning we got in a good bird walk on the River Loop Trail before traveling north to Sun River for lunch with Kerry and Debbie Kliever, and then on to Bend for an overnighter at my brother Mark's place. You can see our bird list from the River Loop Trail here. 

Summer Lake Trip

May 21-23 - The impetus for this trip to the Summer Lake area was Jeanette's desire to get here before Spring had passed us by. On Sunday May 21, we made the drive down I-5, over the Willamette Pass, over to Gilchrist where we stopped for lunch in our RV, and on to state highway 31 through Silver Lake and on to Summer Lake. At Silver Lake we had actually come up with the brain storm of going up to camp at Thompson Reservoir, but a few miles on the badly separated pavement caused us to abort that idea.   

Our stop for the day was the Summer Lake Rest Area.  This is an oasis in the surrounding desert area, and where it's possible to pause and park for up to 18 hours in a 24 hour period.  This is one of 57 State of Oregon Rest Areas where free over night parking is allowed, and possibly the best one we have used.  

Belding Ground Squirrls were our closest neighbors. These three could be the squirrel equivalent to the Thee Bears. Thier numbers greatly exceeded the number of traveling visitors and indeed the total population of Summer Lake.

I love the morning sun at 6:30, filled with bird song and fresh air. The empty park revealed we were the only persons to enjoy this Rest Area for the night.

After a great breakfast at the Lodge at Summer Lake, we spent the day driving and birding  on the Summer Lake Wildlife Area Loop Route.  Jeanette is shown here using her iPhone to call in some birds along the Anna River. Check out our Observation List here for out species total and photos.

The Treasure-trove of Birding

American Goldfinch

Watching birds leads to a treasure-trove of information and experience.  It's akin to falling down the rabbit hole as in Alice in Wonderland. You are drawn into a world beyond your understanding. A world of art, history, and science, all interwoven and connected. It may start out simple enough, you observe a bird, perhaps in your yard and a question comes to mind, "what kind of bird is that?" That may lead to interaction with another person to seek some understanding, or perhaps borrow or purchase a book about birds.  Next you discover it would help to have binoculars. Then, you may need a better camera with a zoom lens to be able to get a photo. As you begin to build on your knowledge you realize that males and females may look different. There are seasonal changes, some birds are around all year, but some only in summer, some only in winter.  Some eat bugs, some eat fruit, some eat fish, some even eat other birds.  And you are drawn even further into the vast world of birding.  Different birds for different locations. Birds species on the decline, other species on the move and expanding. Seasonal changes of nesting, fledgling, and migration. The more you see and learn, the more questions surface.      

Yesterday morning my wife Jeanette, our dog Buster, and I all went for a bird walk at a nearby park, Wallace Marine Park.  During our walk along the river through towering cotton-wood trees, Jeanette spotted and I photograph this female American Goldfinch nest building, in a brier patch of all places! It sort of crystallizes for me our birding experience. Consider if you would, that we have seen many nesting birds over the years of our birdwatching, but this was the first time to ever find a nesting Goldfinch. Granted they are common enough, with great numbers easy to observe at back yard feeders, but nesting has always been a vague mystery. But to get to this simple trail side treasure has taken a culmination of experiences, study, and technology.  Our hand held smart phones contain applications for bird sounds as well as drawings and photographs to aid identification.  My digital camera with an 83 zoom lens allows photos to be taken for closer observation, identification and sharing. All of this converged in yesterday's sighting identification and photo of this female nesting American Goldfinch. This treasure hunt of birding is something Jeanette and I have found to be an all  encompassing experience, even life-changing, and we are very grateful.   

Johnson Pond

Jeanette using her iPhone to call in a bird

This week we are taking advantage of the good weather to do a loop on the Oregon Coast. Our first night's stay was in the Safeway parking lot in Roseburg.  This morning our plan was to drive Highway 42 to Bandon and bird at Face Rock State Park hoping to find some Tufted Puffins, but along the way while driving between Myrtle Point and Coquille I spotted a sign for Johnson Pond County Park. I seemed to recall that it was an e-Bird Hot Spot, and when I mentioned it to Jeanette, she said lets check it out.  Turns out it was an excellent impulsive decision, and we spend the rest of the morning birding there and having lunch.  We love the flexibility of the RV life style and serendipitous experiences we tumble into. Tonight we are camped in Bulllards Beach State Park and will make a second attempt tomorrow to look for Puffins.  Below are some of the birds we enjoyed at Johnson Pond.

Tree Swallow

Purple Martins

Marsh Wren