Nature – Page 17

June 26, 2022June 24, 2022

Summer Days

This week contained the summer solstice, June 21st, the longest day of the year. It also brought sunny days to the high desert. While we didn’t venture far from home, we did manage to visit some favorite spots.

Early summer is marked with days warmed by clear sky and daytime temps pushing into the realm of hot. However, the shrubs and grasses still hold spring greens with the added punch of a bloom or two.

A swallow swoops towards a colony of a gourd-shaped mud nests.

There are still surprise bird sightings, even as the migration tapers off. We’ve spotted fawns, as well as fledglings, not always with camera in hand. Some of the most pleasant days are jammed into the last weeks of June and early July … if you’re lucky.

All too soon the relentless sun will bleach the color from the sage plateau. We’ll seek shade under ancient Juniper along the river’s edge. And all too soon, we will scan the horizon for a plume of wildfire smoke … all too regular these days.

The Crooked and Upper Deschutes are running at average flows and fishing better than ever. The weather is perfect for relaxing with a good read in our camp chair. We’re not ignoring the oncoming drought, just enjoying the lush start to summer.

June 12, 2022June 12, 2022

Just Another Day

Our day trips typically evolve out of a very loose agenda. Generally, there is a destination in mind and a best route plotted. Into a cooler go bits of lunch, snacks, and beverages, between blocks of cooler ice. Camera gear and field guides get loaded into the back, fishing gear on top, and of course, there are extra coats and socks.

This week we headed down to Maupin, only to discover there were more people on the river than usual.

Undaunted, we scouted out a spot away from the crowds, set up the camp chairs, donned broad-brimmed hats, and took in the view.

I think the saying is, “you can never step into the same river twice,” which is the reason we spend time on them. In the high desert, these ribbons of water offer unique views of flora and fauna.

It is a landscape that changes dramatically with the seasons.

This time of year the Lower Deschutes Canyon wears lush spring green. Migratory birds forage and feed along the riparian, at least for a few more weeks. There is also a good spot to wet a line.

It’s really a matter of flexibility on these excursions. Expectations aren’t lowered, we just keep moving until a proper location is discovered.

There are so many good places to wind up around here, that regardless of where the camp chair is finally set, we’ll enjoy the day.

June 5, 2022June 5, 2022

Stream Side Respite

Early summer on the Deschutes headwaters

The Deschutes River headwaters couldn’t be more different from its iconic lower runs. From Lava Lake to Crane Prairie Reservoir, the Upper Deschutes is more of a creek than river.

It meanders through grass meadows and Lodge Pole pine forests. This week that stretch of river opened. Literally, the USFS unlocked roads and the stream was opened to fishing.

Signs of life after the winter snows retreat

This seven mile stretch of stream is a favorite summer destination. There are great spots to picnic, excellent stick fetching and good fishing. Even in the hottest days of summer, there are shady spots along the river to open a camp chair and enjoy the day.

Few things are more relaxing or peaceful than a spot in the shade by a quietly tumbling stream.

We’ll be back up here often until the snow closes things down for another season.

May 29, 2022May 28, 2022

Fledgelings

Red-winged blackbird coming in for a landing

This week we headed back out to Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge. There are always some birds that use the refuge as a nesting site. We were hoping to catch images of some babies.

American White Pelican

Summer Lake didn’t disappoint. A trip to the refuge always presents something new. The seasonal changes alone are worth the drive. This visit was no exception.

A Great Horned Owl family, nesting in a willow, seemed as curious about us, as we were them. This owl starts nesting early with both parents sharing in the rearing.

Perched throughout the tree, we sighted four baby Great Horned Owls.

The fledgelings are climbing trees in 5 weeks and fly by the 10th, but are still being fed by parents for several months. Their body is covered in a downy white fluff and lack the pronounced ear tuffs, but have the darker facial disc and yellow eyes.

Great Horned Owls vary in color by region with PNW species having a dusty gray brown tone.

We also happened across a flock of American White Pelicans. Breeding adults have a yellow plate sticking up on the front of their massive bill.

This group included some fledgelings, as southern Oregon is one of the few breeding sites along the migration route.

Several babies were snuggled in amongst this group

These are one of the largest birds in North America. The American White Pelican has white plumage with black flight feathers and has a nine foot wing span.

We also caught sightings of yellow-headed blackbirds staking out breeding territory and foraging. The Stilts were still around in great numbers, though we didn’t see any chicks. As well as the usual pairs of ducks in a variety of species and Canada geese.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

There was also a White-faced Ibis wading and feeding in the short grasses on the edge of a shallow pond.

May 22, 2022May 19, 2022

Getting a Start on Summer

A pelican flies over a side channel of Crane Prairie Lake.

May is nearly over … that went quickly.

A couple of things happen this time of year; the Cascade Lakes Highway and fishing season on the Upper Deschutes open. This marks the beginning of summer in Central Oregon.

April showers brought additional snow pack to the mountains and we found six foot banks on the highway between Bachelor and Elk Lake. Meaning, it will be a few weeks before you see wild flowers in those alpine meadows.

Skunk cabbage makes an early appearance.

However, once we’d dropped to Little Lava Lake and the head waters of the Deschutes, snow lay only in a few patches and new growth was poking through winter matted ground. Some wildflowers were showing as well.

In prep for future trips, Tip checks out the river and I did some entomology research. We are ready for the start of summer fishing on the upper D.