[obol] Fw: [Tweeters] Deschutes River (Oregon) Birding Trip

[Judy Meredith]

Hi birders,
Am forwarding this from Tweeters.
Judy
jmeredit at bendnet.com
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: johntubbs at comcast.net 
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu 
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 8:49 AM
Subject: [Tweeters] Deschutes River (Oregon) Birding Trip


Hi all,

I just returned from my (21st) annual float/fishing/whitewater trip to the Deschutes River in central Oregon (Warm Springs to Harpham Flats near Maupin for anyone familiar with the river) with two former work buddies.

In the past, this trip has been primarily a fishing trip.  This year I decided to focus on birding.  I birded (from brief road stops, mostly) on the two days I took to drive to Sisters, OR to meet the guys.  The highlight of the trip down was my first drive along Rock Creek Road east of Goldendale, WA (ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, LAZULI BUNTING, CHUKAR, RING-BILLED and CALIFORNIA GULL at the river inlet, among others).  I had a day and a half in Sisters before the trip, and birded two 'must-see' places if you are in the area - Cold Springs Campground on Highway 242 (the McKenzie Pass highway just out of Sisters) with WHITE-HEADED, HAIRY and DOWNY Woodpeckers, HOUSE WREN, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH and others; and the Headwaters of the Metolius River (the large source springs for the Metolius) with PYGMY NUTHATCH, CASSIN'S FINCH, and a host of others in a fabulously beautiful setting with Mount Jefferson looming in the d! istance over the Metolius and pristine meadows.  

I kept a separate species list for the actual float trip along about 40 miles of the Deschutes River.  The Deschutes is high desert country with good riparian habitat (no public roads through the canyon, only a railroad) and sage steppe with scattered juniper trees.  The river is in a 1000-1500 foot deep basalt canyon which has a number of substantial cliff faces.  The birding was hampered by very hot temps (our truck thermometer read 107 degrees when we put on the river late afternoon of the first day, but still quite enjoyable.  I logged 40 species in the canyon itself, with 65 seen in Oregon and 73 for the whole trip.

Canyon species included: numerous TRI-COLORED BLACKBIRDS (apparently one or more nesting colonies along the river) mostly on the first part of the float, GOLDEN EAGLE, PEREGRINE FALCON, BELTED KINGFISHER, GREAT BLUE HERON, AMERICAN KESTREL, EASTERN and WESTERN KINGBIRD multiple species of FLYCATCHERS and SWALLOWS  - and OSPREYS by the dozens, including numerous active nests with multiple chicks, most nearly full grown.  For the second year, I photographed one of the active nests from a high bank which allowed shooting down into the nest - I got some great images which I will post on my website when I can carve out time to go through them.  While shooting the osprey chicks, I witnessed a fascinating scene involving the Golden Eagle.  

Across the river out of the corner of my eye I saw a large bird land (unfortunately behind a juniper tree).  The two adult ospreys from my subject nest immediately took off and starting dive-bombing whatever the bird was.  Watching through the binocs, I shortly saw a Golden Eagle walk (actually hobble) out from behind the juniper tree with the ospreys coming within inches of his head.  He then drug himself further up the bank, limping heavily on his left foot - here was my first golden eagle and he appeared to be badly injured.  However, when I put the scope on him to get more magnification, the "limp" turned out to be the result of a very large trout the bird had in his left talons and was dragging along with him up the bank.  I assume the fish was scavenged because it was much larger than typical osprey fare.  This show went on for a few more minutes until the eagle reached a clump of sage ! brush w hich was tall enough to provide overhead cover from the ospreys, who broke off the attack.  I never saw the eagle again, so I assume he spent the next several hours happily consuming his prize in private.

The next day I set off downriver early in the morning along the railroad tracks toward famous Whitehorse Rapids.  On the east bank here there are vertical cliffs rising several hundred feet.  As I was walking I saw a raptor soaring near the top of the cliffs and saw immediately it wasn't an eagle or osprey.  It landed on a ledge and the binocs revealed a PEREGRINE FALCON, notable in this case for a very lightly streaked breast and belly.  I set up the scope on the bird and watched as he (size suggested a male) just sat and took in the scenery.  After a half hour of this, I was thinking of leaving when he took flight, went into a stoop almost directly over my head and came screaming into a group of swallows feeding over the river.  Panic and chaos ensued among the swallows - all of this within about thirty yards of my position - and it didn't appear to me that the hunt succeeded.  However, when the bird head! ed back to the ledge, it was obvious a swallow had been caught, because a second peregrine I hadn't noticed flew out squawking loudly to meet the returning bird.  The second bird was clearly from this year's brood and was still being fed, as the first bird gave the swallow to the youngster and set off again looking for another meal.  The youngster, in contrast to the adult, had the classic breast/belly peregrine markings.  I had a great scope view of the bird plucking and eating the swallow.  The meal clearly was insufficient though - when the young bird finished eating, she looked around to try to find dad and when she didn't see him she started squawking her head off again begging for more.  

On the off chance anyone on the list knows the Deschutes and might be heading there in the near future, let me know and I can give you specific directions to the location I spotted the peregrines.  The adult was on the same ledge the next morning when we headed downriver past the cliffs.  I would assume they had a scrape in the area where they might nest next year again, but the location where I saw them appeared to be a hunting perch and plucking rock.  There were, however, multiple other locations on the cliff that were heavily whitewashed (some from a fairly sizable CLIFF SWALLOW colony, but others could easily have been peregrine scrapes).  The cliff also contained a large stick nest on it - presumably a Golden Eagle's - that would be worth checking out next breeding season.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com



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