[obol] Another Black-throated Sparrow near Barnhouse Springs, se. Wheeler Co.

[Joel Geier]

Hi again folks,

I was sorry to miss the tribute to Harry Nehls and his many
contributions to Oregon birding at Saturday evening's meeting, since I
had to squeeze in a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) on this trip too. But I
suppose every BBS in this state is a bit of a tribute to Harry, since
his dedication has kept the program going for many years.

So with that in mind, my son Wil and I headed back to Wheeler County
late on Saturday night, and camped out under the stars & trees at
Barnhouse Springs Campground (see below for directions) to await the
4:42 AM starting time at dawn on Sunday. A FLAMMULATED OWL kept calling
for prolonged periods through the night, seeming to move from one end of
the campground to the other (unless it was two owls).

The Barnhouse BBS route starts in open, low sagebrush habitat with very
sparse junipers, where USFS Road 12 heads off to the south from U.S. Hwy
26, in the Mountain Creek valley west of Mitchell. The first stretch of
the road usually has lots of BREWER'S & VESPER SPARROWS, along with
Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks. As I was tallying the expected
sparrows, much to my surprise I heard a short song ending in the
distinctive trill of a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, like we'd been hearing
around Painted Hills on the other side of Wheeler Co. on Saturday.

The sparrow was at the second stop so about a half mile south of Hwy 26,
and about 100 yards out into the sage/rabbitbrush. Though this area
looks flat from the road, if you walk out into it there are quite a few
rocky gullies that somewhat resemble the desert wash habitat that Black-
throated Sparrows use in more southerly parts of their range. 

Looking at all the reports from Lake & Harney Co. plus vagrants to
western Oregon this spring, this seems like it might be a major
irruption year for this species in Oregon. Some southern Nevada birders
have reported low numbers on their BBS routes this spring, so perhaps
the ongoing severe drought has been pushing these birds north. It might
be productive to check other areas of low, open desert shrubs with a bit
of rocky topography.

Other unexpected birds along the route included a WINTER WREN singing
just outside the campground at Barnhouse Springs, and a ROCK WREN near
the end of this route on the north side of the Black Canyon Wilderness,
singing from some rock outcrops at about 5800 ft. A BLACK-BACKED
WOODPECKER working on a tree at Stop 21 (10.0 miles up FR 12 from Hwy
26) was a nice bird for this area. With the cool weather (36 F at the
start, and dropping down to 32 F once we got up to the higher
elevations), we recorded HERMIT THRUSHES singing all the way to our last
stop of the route at 9:20 AM.

Happy birding,
Joel

DIRECTIONS: Barnhouse Springs Campground is in the Ochoco National
Forest on the north side of the Ochoco Mountains (Delorme atlas p. 81
C-5). 

>From Mitchell go east on Hwy 26 over Keyes Creek Summit, continuing 6 or
7 miles past the summit to the first signed public road on the right,
USFS Forest Road 12 (formerly signed as Buck Point Rd., which is how
DeLorme still shows it). A low outcrop of the Rattlesnake formation
(pale buff-colored volcanic tuff) is visible on the south side of the
highway just before the turn. 

Turn south onto FR 12 and go about half a mile to look for the Black-
throated Sparrows and enjoy the many Vesper and Brewer's Sparrows that
sing in the early morning hours, or watch out for Horned Larks standing
on the road if you get there after dusk. The entrance to Barnhouse
Springs Campground is 4.4 miles up this road from the highway, on the
east (right) side of the road.

This is a very pleasant, no-fee campground with tall mixed conifers,
including older trees and snags that usually host White-headed and
Pileated Woodpecker as well as Flammulated Owls and Vaux's Swifts.
MacGillivray's Warblers and Lincoln's Sparrows often nest around/below
the springs, Townsend's Warblers and Hammond's Flycatchers sing
overhead. The easiest way to experience the Flammulated Owls is just to
camp out under the stars and try not to sleep too soundly, so you can
hear them call in the night.

Ruffed Grouse drum all around the campground during May, and can
sometimes be seen displaying on logs by the springs. The foot bridge
over the spring leads to a trail through varied habitats where you can
often find Williamson's Sapsucker, Dusky Flycatcher, Western Tanager
etc. 

Higher-elevation birds such as Gray Jay, Goshawk and Black-backed
Woodpecker can be encountered by continuing up a few miles of steep
grade on FR 12. Once you come over the crest, the terrain opens into
wide meadows and forests, which are very enjoyable to bird on bicycle
(personally I would cheat by driving up the grade from Barnhouse, but
hardcore bicycle-birders could start at the campground if they want). 

I don't recommend this campground during fall elk hunting season, as it
can be very full of the kind of hunting parties who are there more to
party than to hunt. However, we were the only ones in the campground on
Saturday night. The road just above Barnhouse Springs is usually blocked
by snow from late November to late May.

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area n. of Corvallis