Back at Williamson River Campground

After a couple weeks on the Oregon coast I have wandered back to the mountains to spend time in the sun!

My friends, Jim and Jeanette Scott will join me tomorrow for some birding and exploring. Last time here, I drove to the Oux-Kanee overview and enjoyed this sight.

That beautiful blue/green ribbon is Spring Creek. The water is clear enough to see the river bed even in places that are +10 feet deep!

I will spend about a week in the mountains and then head back to the coast as temps will climb over 90 around July 5th up here.

Sutton Lake Campgound

After spending a week at Waxmyrtle Campgrounds, hiking, birding, fishing and crabbing I have moved to Sutton Lake Campground just a few miles north of Florence!

It costs $12 a night with my Senior Pass so just $1 more than Waxmyrtle. Like Waxmyrtle there are flush toilets and potable water but no waste water dump or showers. It is much quieter here as there are no nearby OHV areas. Lots of trees which make it challenging to find a site with the good sun light I need for my solar power. I finished installing all my panels about a month ago and have not needed to run my generator since! There are lots of ripe Salmon berries which are a treat to eat. They remind me of Raspberries except they are orange. They have a mild taste but are still delicious. There are several hiking trails that take you Sutton Lake, the beach or the nearby Alder Dune campground. I will be hiking and exploring over the next coupe of days!

Wood River Wetlands, Chiloquin, Oregon

Today I visited Wood River Wetlands, a local birding hot spot. It has the highest species count of any location in Klamath County and is less than 10 miles from my camp site! The first hour there I was on sensory overload because of all the sounds and activity! Slowly I began to find focus and started to identify a number of birds and sounds. I spent about 4 hours covering a little over a mile walking along the trail. At the end of that time I had successfully identified 58 bird species including 2 life birds bringing my life total to 351! Here are a few pics to wet your birding taste buds. First a Lazuli Bunting!

Now a Black-necked Stilt.

 

Last a Ruddy Duck. This is the first time I have seen a male in mating colors with his blue bill! 

To see more pictures and the complete list of today's birds, click here: Wood River ebird check list I will definitely be going back later this week!

Williamson River Campground, Chiloquin, Oregon

I am still here at Williamson River Campground. Birding is fantastic, but before I go into that, I wanted to share pics of other animals here! There are a number of chipmunks and squirrels. One cute squirrel was this Douglas Squirrel that kept a close I an me as I passed by!

Another mammal was this Muskrat that swam past while I was sitting on the river bank.

Now back to birding! I walked from my camp to the border of the Collier State park, about 1.3 miles and back this morning. I identified 43 species of birds including this bright yellow and black American Goldfinch!

Two Pileated woodpeckers! At 16.5 inches in length it is the largest woodpecker in the Northwest.  It is 4 inches longer than the second largest woodpecker, the Northern Flicker!

The prize of the day went to this Black-backed Woodpecker! My 349th Life bird!

Only 1 more species to hit my goal of 350 by the end of this summer!