[obol] John Day Fossil Beds (Grant & Wheeler Co.)

[Joel Geier]

Hi again,

A few birds that we saw on side trips over the weekend:

While visiting the excellent paleontology museum at the Thomas H. Condon
Visitor Center (near Cant Ranch in the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day
Fossil Beds National Monument, Grant Co.) on Thursday, 3 July, our kids
spotted nests of CLIFF SWALLOWS, BARN SWALLOWS, and SAY'S PHOEBES in the
rafters of the entrance area. All of these species had nearly fledged
nestlings peering over the edge of the nests. It was especially fun to
watch the baby phoebes being fed moths etc. by one parent.

On Friday morning (4 July) a LARK SPARROW watched from a barbed wire
fence while we checked out the outcrop of the Rattlesnake Tuff just west
of FR 12 on Hwy 26. One of the more spectacular dioramas in the Condon
Visitor Center depicts the cataclysmic event when this ignimbrite was
deposited over much of the Blue Mountains region, 6 million or so years
ago. It's interesting to consider that some of our modern Oregon bird
species must have developed alongside of the mastodons, camel-llamas,
and short-faced bears that roamed the region at the time (which are
preserved in the fossil record that you can see at the museum).

We also saw a couple of Lark Sparrows, and heard more, while searching
for thundereggs on BLM land near the Painted Hills Unit of the national
monument. Myers Canyon was pretty quiet when we stopped there in mid-
afternoon, but we did hear a Rock Wren and Steve Dougill picked out a
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER singing in the junipers. The park area at
Painted Hills had a fledgling BULLOCK'S ORIOLE attended by an adult
male.

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis