[obol] BOREAL OWLS, BOHEMIAN WW, AND COMMON REDPOLLS (Wallowa Co)

[khanh tran]

Hi Obolers!

Andrew Thompson (a Colorado birder) and I escaped the non-stop rain here in 
Portland and birded the Wallowa area.  We had one decent day of clear 
weather and then a quick, morning snowfall followed, creating a beautiful 
winter wonderland.

Our best birds for the trip were two BOREAL OWLS near Ferguson Ridge in the 
town of Joseph.  We had one decent look at one bird and heard another 
calling (a piercing, downslur 'skiew' call) near by.  We were extremely 
lucky to observe these birds before the snow storm hit.  We were estactic to 
say the least considering it was a 'shot in the dark' attempt.

Along the Hurricane Creek Trail, we saw one male SPRUCE, two RUFFED, and one 
DUSKY GROUSE.

Other highlights included a flock of 30 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and 5 COMMON 
REDPOLLS in the town of Lostine.

Up to six NORTHERN SHRIKES (one adult, 5 juveniles) were seen between the 
town of Elgin to Joseph.  It looks like it is going to be a good shrike 
year.

On Golf Course Rd in Enterprise, we saw one WHITE THROATED and one TREE 
SPARROW.  There were also six ROUGH LEGGED HAWKS, one MERLIN, and one 
PRAIRIE FALCON along this gravel road.

We ended the trip with seeing one magnificient, GREAT GRAY OWL at Spring 
Creek.  The bird was perched three feet off the ground on a stump, not far 
from the main gravel road.

It was a nice, whirlwind trip after eight consective nights of working.

Good birding,

Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon)