Williamson River Campground, Chiloquin, OR

I spent last night parked at the Kla-MoYa Casino and took advantage of the $10 free slot play money I received for buying gas at their fuel station. Now I am set up at the Williamson River Campground just over a mile off hwy 97.

It is a USFS campground so with my senior discount it is only $5 a night. It has 20 sites with 2 pit toilets and several potable water spigot scattered about. They have a camp host so that adds a bit of security! There are several trails in the area with good birding. I was able to ID 27 species. Below are a couple pics. The first is a colorful Western Tanager and then a mallard hen and her 5 ducklings!

To see a complete list of today's birds and a few more pics, click here: Williamson River bird list

Crescent Creek Campground

After spending a week on the coast at Winchester Bay, I have retreated to the mountains. Tonight I am at Crescent Creek Campground on the west end of the Crescent cutoff just a few miles from Hwy 58.

It is a small USFS campground operated by Hoodoo Recreation. Only $7 a night with my senior discount. There is a pit toilet and potable water is available if you have the muscle to get it!

Yes, that's an old fashioned hand pump! No need to to pump iron at the gym with one of these around! I will head further south on Hwy 97 tomorrow.

Winchester Bay, Fisherman's RV Park

I am spending a week here at Winchester Bay which is just south of Reedsport, Oregon. Arrived before the Memorial Day crowd and will stay till after they leave! The park has long term RV'ers with full hookups and a large field for short term campers. They have showers, and flush toilets, a faucet with potable water and a waste water dump. Cost is $26 a night or $160 for a week.

Took a short bird walk down to the public docks and identified 22 species. Below are pics of a Purple Martin and some Pigeon Guillemots.

To see a complete list of today's birds, click here: Winchester Bay ebird list I hope to do a bit of fishing and crabbing as well as bird watching while I am here!

Fish Lake on Santiam Pass

I spent most of my day at Fish Lake near the top of the Santiam Pass. A beautiful place to spend a day or even a night or two.

There is dispersed camping between the lake and the highway. It is a free camping area which means no facilities but the day use area has a pit toilet and it is within a couple hundred feet of the camping area. There is a short trail from the day use to the Ranger station which is built along the Santiam Wagon Road, a major route for wagons going from Central Oregon to the Willamette Valley. If you et a chance, stop and read the history boards near the Ranger station. Although the hotel and saloon are gone there are still several original buildings still standing.

Of course I took time to bird the area. Here a a couple of the species I saw. First a Barrow's Goldeneye.

And this colorful Red-breasted Sapsucker!

I am now in the Veneta area where I will stay a couple days before heading to Winchester Bay. 

Still at Indian Ford Campground

Once again I spent the morning birding here. I was delighted to finally spot a mule deer after just seeing tracks. This buck was grazing beneath the pine trees unaware I was watching. I gave a whistle and to alert him of my presence.

He moved a short distance away but kept an eye on me as he went back to grazing! I identified the most species of birds on my walks here with a total of 36. The highlight of the day was a Townsend's Solitaire. My 6th life bird at this location!

For a complete list of today's birds and a few more photos, click here: Indian Ford ebird list

More Birding at Indian Ford Campround

Birding has been fun and successful so I am still at the same campground! I started my walk along the stream looking among the aspen and willows and was rewarded with a pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks. She was foraging and he was singing up a storm! He kept being interrupted by a persistent would-be suitor whom he determinedly chased off! At this point I decided the best chance to see a different variety of birds was to detour from my usual path and head out thru the pine forest. My decision quickly paid off with being able to ID a Hammond's Flycatcher. A new life bird! I continued on and soon heard the drumming of a woodpecker. It was a distinct rapid drum followed by 4 shorter drums with a pause between them. I did a quick listen to the drums of the species I had seen here on my Sibley's app and none aligned. I move on to species I had not seen and found the drum of a Williamson's Sapsucker matched what I was hearing so I headed in the direction of the drumming! Sure enough, a Williamson's Sapsucker was perched high in a dead pine tree.

Two life birds in one day! I moved on and watched a pair of Western Bluebirds checking out an abandoned woodpecker hole for a possible nest! Overall it was a great morning! To see a complete list of this mornings birds, click here: Indian Ford bird list

Birding at Indian Ford Campground

It is a beautiful sunny central Oregon morning here and the birds are very active among the Aspen trees that grow along the stream. Woodpeckers, Black-headed Grosbeaks and a variety of Warblers. I have never seen such a variety of warblers in one location! First a couple pics of woodpeckers! The first pics is a Red-breasted Sapsucker and the second is a Downy Woodpecker.

I saw Townsend's, Yellow-rumped, Wilson's and Yellow Warblers. The only one I was able to photograph was the Yellow Warbler. Warblers move frequently as they forage in the vegetation for insects so capturing a clear photo is difficult!

What does not show in this pic is the contrasting red stripes on the warblers chest! I also identified another life bird, a Warbling Vireo! To see a complete list of this mornings birds, click here: Indian Ford birding .  I am looking forward to another birding walk this afternoon!

Sisters, Oregon - Indian Ford Campground

After enjoying some time on the Oregon coast feasting on home made clam chowder, fresh caught trout and surf perch, I have decided to move on to more adventures! I headed out this morning for the Sisters area. Along the way I stopped at Fish Lake to marvel at the view and make a short bird list.

As you can see, the lake is full of cold, clear water from the melting snow. In just few months, the lake will empty as the water seeps into the porous lava rock lake bed, turning it into a lush green meadow. I am at Indian Ford campground, just a few miles west of Sisters. It is a primitive campground with only a few sites and 1 pit toilet set amid large Ponderosa Pines!. There are also picnic tables and fire pits and the cost with my senior discount is just $6 a night! It is only about 1000 feet from the highway so you do get road noise.

A small stream meanders along the east side of the campground and is inhabited by a good variety of birds! I only identified about 12 species on my short bird walk but did get a Macgillivray's warbler which is my 340th life bird! I may spend a couple days here while planning my next stop!

Oregon Coast, Waxmrytle Campground

Moved across the river to a First Come First Served campsite in the Waxmyrtle campground so I would not be bumped from my Lagoon site because of a reservation. Now that I have my solar panels all mounted on the roof of the RV, I have to be more selective of my camp site.

I went clamming with my friend Rich on Wednesday and got our limit of Purple Varnish clams. They have been cleansing in salt water and corn meal for 2 days so today I will steam them and make chowder! I birded the Waxmyrtle trail to the beach this morning and identified 41 species! It was an overcast morning so not many good pics to share but here is one of Short-billed Dowitchers.

if you would like to see a complete list of species, click here: Waxmyrtle Trail ebird list