Field Guides Tour Report OREGON: FROM THE COAST TO THE CASCADES I 2018 Aug 29, 2018 to Sep 8, 2018 Cory Gregory For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the USA, is a must-see destination and this Field Guides tour visits this beautiful National Park. The vistas are amazing! Photo by guide Cory Gregory. This tour, a new offering in our ever-growing list of fun domestic tours, turned out to be quite birdy, filled with amazing scenery, great food, and of course, a fun bunch of birders! Fall is a productive time to visit the Pacific Northwest and our tour hit migration squarely which helped us top 200 species! Additionally, the weather really cooperated and we had no issues with rain or smoke. All in all, this ended up being a fantastic way to get to know some of what makes Oregon so special and fun to bird. We kicked things off in Eugene where we spent a morning birding the famous Fern Ridge Reservoir area including the Royal Avenue access and Perkins Peninsula Park. Right off the bat, we were seeing fantastic shorebirds like Buff-breasted, Baird's, and a Stilt sandpiper. A friendly flock of Bushtits visited us, we scoped both Western and Clark's grebes side-by-side, and even a Virginia Rail popped into view. That afternoon we explored Marys Peak where we were fortunate to cross paths with a flock of Mountain Quail! By the end of the day, we were listening to fog horns in Newport. Our full day in Newport was spent visiting a variety of oceanside parks which yielded stunning scenery and a completely new suite of birds. We scoped loons, grebes, murrelets, murres, terns, and even a selection of Gray Whales. A Peregrine Falcon perched overhead at Yaquina Head, a trio of Harlequin Ducks bobbed in the surf, and White-crowned Sparrows dotted the boardwalk. A visit to the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport was another fun way to experience the local wildlife, complete with seeing a 40 lb octopus guarding eggs in the aquarium. As we headed south, with gorgeous vistas at about at every corner, we stopped to enjoy scenery at Ona Beach State Park, Seal Rock Wayside, Alsea Bay, Yachats State Park, and others. Besides the scenery, we found Black Oystercatchers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Band-tailed Pigeons, and a myriad of gulls and shorebirds. We explored a breezy jetty along the Siuslaw River highlighted by Wandering Tattlers and, by the end of the day, we were watching Black Turnstones and Surfbirds near Bandon. The following morning was highlighted by a friendly Wrentit, a collection of Snowy Plovers on the sandy beaches south of Bandon, more rocky shorebirds near the Coquille River jetty, and even a White-tailed Kite perched distantly at Bandon Marsh NWR. Before long, it was time to head east and we made our way to Roseburg. En route, we added Willow Flycatcher at the covered bridge and even a pair of Golden Eagles high overhead. Stewart Park in Roseburg was extremely birdy (yes, lots of pigeons) and we had amazing encounters with Green Heron, Western Bluebird, Anna's Hummingbird, and many more. Farther upslope, we explored the moss-ladened forests and rushing streams and came away with American Dippers at a roadside rest. Closer to Crater Lake, Mountain Chickadees soon became the norm, a flock of Lewis's Woodpeckers moved through, and the Golden- mantled Ground Squirrels were oh-so-friendly. It's hard to describe the vastness of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, but it's safe to say that we were all in awe. We had beautiful views of this iconic crater and even enjoyed lunch in the lodge right on the rim! We noticed a transition in the forests as we spent time around Bend; the firs gave way to the Ponderosa Pines and it became a much drier forest. We visited the quaint town of Sisters where we visited the Ponderosa Lodge where Pygmy Nuthatches kept us on our feet. In town, near the high school, we Field Guides Birding Tours • www.fieldguides.com • 800-728-4953 1 crossed paths with a wonderful flock of Pinyon Jays and even a Black-backed Woodpecker dropped in. Farther uphill, we enjoyed seeing Red-breasted Sapsucker, Williamson's Sapsucker, and a few Red Crossbills. The afternoon was spent exploring areas south of Bend such as the Sunriver Nature Center where a pair of Prairie Falcons soared overhead, a Trumpeter Swan lurked in the pond, Mountain Bluebirds dotted the fences, and Orange- crowned Warblers came out of the woodwork. The next morning we birded the popular Hatfield Ponds northeast of Bend where we added a slew of new species like Tundra Swan, Greater White- fronted Goose, a variety of ducks, Red-necked Phalarope, Say's Phoebe, Gray Flycatcher, Western Meadowlark, and many more. But then it was time to start driving east and we made our way through Brothers (same time as Lazarus was), visited Chickahominy Reservoir to enjoy Sagebrush Sparrows and Sage Thrashers, the Sage Hen Rest Area, and finally the Hines area. Greenhouse Lane and Potter Swamp Road delivered our first White-faced Ibis and who can forget about the trio of Burrowing Owls! The main draw of our visit to eastern Oregon is the famed Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, an 187,000 acre refuge created by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. Although the water levels were falling rapidly, Benson Pond was still hosting stilts, avocets, and a plethora of waterbirds. The headquarters area, one of the most well-known migrant traps in the west, was exceptionally birdy; trees were alive with Warbling Vireos, Western Tanagers, Lewis's Woodpeckers, and warblers like Chestnut-sided, Townsend's, Yellow, Nashville, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-crowned. Meanwhile, the Yellow-headed Blackbirds were glowing in the morning light and the Great Horned Owls stood guard near the gift shop. We then made our way up to nearly 10,000 feet to explore Steens Mountain, an island in the sky of southeast Oregon. Rock Wrens hopped around the rim, Golden Eagles and Prairie Falcons soared overhead, vistas at Kiger Gorge were breathtaking, and we even managed to find a Calliope Hummingbird feeding at the endemic thistles along the roadside. We birded at the beautiful Malheur National Forest north of Burns the next morning where Townsend's Solitaires sang, a Cassin's Vireo gave a few last song phrases of summer, and the cascading song of Canyon Wren worked its way down the slopes. Driving back to the west towards Eugene, our final stop was a magical one complete with multiple Sooty Grouse parading on the road in front of us. What a way to end a fun trip through Oregon! On behalf of Field Guides, I want to thank you all for joining me on this Oregonian adventure spanning the coast, the Cascades, and beyond. You all made it a lot of fun! Thanks also to Karen in our Austin office for working hard to have everything in line and ready to go. Until we meet again, good birding! -- Cory KEYS FOR THIS LIST One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant BIRDS Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl) GREATER WHITE­FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons) – Our tour barely caught the front end of migration and we scored a single white­front at Hatfield Lake near Bend. CANADA GOOSE (Branta canadensis) – Common and widespread, these big geese were seen every day of tour. TRUMPETER SWAN (Cygnus buccinator) – It required a little searching but we eventually found the long­staying swan at Sunriver Nature Center south of Bend. TUNDRA SWAN (Cygnus columbianus) – A couple of these northern swans spent much of the summer at Hatfield Lake near Bend. WOOD DUCK (Aix sponsa) – More than a dozen of these attractive ducks were seen swimming in the ponds at Sunriver Nature Center. CINNAMON TEAL (Spatula cyanoptera) – A few were scoped at Hatfield Ponds and again along Potter Swamp Road near Hines. NORTHERN SHOVELER (Spatula clypeata) – Fairly common on tour, these dabblers were seen in a variety of freshwater habitats including Fern Ridge Reservoir, Stewart Park in Roseburg, Hatfield Ponds, etc. GADWALL (Mareca strepera) – A couple of these were spotted at the South Jetty of the Coquille River, Hatfield Ponds, and Chickahominy Reservoir. AMERICAN WIGEON (Mareca americana) – Fairly common in freshwater habitats. Our largest number came from Hatfield Ponds near Bend where nearly 100 were packed into the lakes. MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos) – Common and widespread on tour at a variety of wetlands. NORTHERN PINTAIL (Anas acuta) – This long­necked and graceful dabbler was also fairly common on tour. GREEN­WINGED TEAL (Anas crecca) – Our smallest dabbler, these were spied at Fern Ridge, Myrtle Point Marsh, Hatfield Ponds, etc. RING­NECKED DUCK (Aythya collaris) – We chanced into a couple at Sunriver Nature Center and again at Hatfield Ponds near Bend. LESSER SCAUP (Aythya affinis) – Only a few of these divers were found at Hatfield Ponds northeast of Bend. HARLEQUIN DUCK (Histrionicus histrionicus) – An attractive (even at this season) duck that favors the rocky shorelines of the coast. We saw them at Yaquina Head during our time near Newport. SURF SCOTER (Melanitta perspicillata) – Good numbers of these seaducks were seen migrating offshore during our time near Newport. WHITE­WINGED SCOTER (Melanitta fusca) – A few these bold ducks were spotted as they migrated south offshore of Boiler Bay.