[obol] Southern Malheur County Short-eared Owls, and a few other observations

[Don Albright]

I returned last evening from a hurried but much-needed outing to southern
Malheur County.  Here are a few notes on what I saw there, and a few other
notes from Harney, Lake and Deschutes Counties on the way going and coming.

First, southern Malheur County:
My destination was Louse Canyon along the West Little Owyhee River,
northeast of McDermitt.  Wednesday evening (October 4), I headed east from
Highway 95 along Jackson Summit Road. This road takes off of the highway
about 14 miles north of McDermitt, and 40 miles south of Burns Junction.
After traveling about 11 miles along the road in the dark, I began seeing
SHORT-EARED OWLS.  They were flying up along the gravel road as I
approached, often in pairs, but sometimes singly.  At one point where I saw
a pair fly up, I got out of the car and shone a flashlight on them.  As I
watched, more and more appeared, circling around me, sometimes "barking" at
me.  They were quite easy to see in the light of the nearly-full moon.
There were at least seven circling me at just that one stop.  In all, along
a 25-mile stretch of the gravel road, I saw THIRTY-ONE Short-eared Owls,
between about 9:15 and 10:30 p.m.  About two thirds of these were along a
five-mile stretch of the road, beginning about 11 miles east of Hwy. 95.
This road is passable with a passenger car, although it is rough in places.

When I arrived at Anderson Crossing on the West Little Owyhee River, a
BOBCAT was perched on the low rimrock above the river watching me, easy to
see in the flashlight beam.

Thursday, October 5, I hiked downstream from Anderson Crossing in the
incredibly scenic, narrow canyon.  The river here is not a continuous stream
at this time of year, but rather a series of deep pools interspersed with
dry riverbed.  The deep pools, narrow canyon, and sometimes-thick willow and
rose vegetation make the hike challenging and tiring.  I managed to walk
about five miles downriver in about six hours' time.  The ample vegetation
in the canyon makes this a good linear oasis for migrant birds.  Although I
didn't find any rare vagrants, I did observe 21 species of birds.
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS were abundant, as they were everywhere I stopped in SE
Oregon.  There were three good-sized flocks of BUSHTITS.  All of the
DARK-EYED JUNCOS I looked at were of the "Oregon" race.  Birds of prey were
present in good numbers, including GOLDEN EAGLE, NORTHERN HARRIER,
RED-TAILED HAWK, PRAIRIE FALCON, a COOPER'S HAWK, and a somewhat surprising
OSPREY flying south over the canyon.  An immature BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
was standing on the edge of one of the pools.  There were occasional
MALLARDS, COMMON MERGANSERS, and a single female BLUE-WINGED TEAL.  When the
canyon warmed up in late morning, I saw dozens of CALIFORNIA TORTOISESHELL
butterflies.  They didn't appear to be moving through, but this is far from
typical habitat for this species, so I assume they were a part of the same
irruption that was observed in the Cascades and along the coast this summer
and fall.

Other notes from SE Oregon:
I walked around at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters for a half
hour in late afternoon on Wednesday, October 4.  No one else around.  The
trees were teeming with dozens of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS.  A few
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and a single HERMIT THRUSH were also present.

I stopped at Glass Buttes (in far northeast Lake County)  both on the
afternoon of October 4, and the morning of October 6.  The junipers and the
stock pond along the gravel road that runs south from Hwy. 20 on the east
side of Glass Buttes, always surprise me with the variety of birds they
attract.  In my two visits here I saw 29 species of birds.  On the 4th, the
stock pond held a female WOOD DUCK and a HORNED GREBE.  The junipers were
thick with RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, and a good-sized flock of BUSHTITS.
GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS and a single FOX SPARROW were also present.  On the
morning of October 6, a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was calling just before dawn,
and a flock of 10 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES was moving through the junipers.  I
also had the pleasure of meeting Alan Reid, checking on his bluebird boxes
in the area.

On October 6 I made a quick run up to Pine Mountain in Deschutes County.  At
the summit near the observatory, a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL was calling from the
pines, and CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were present in good numbers.

Don Albright
Newberg, Oregon
donalbri at teleport.com