Indian Ford Campground near Sisters Oregon

 I have been almost a week and am trying to stay cool despite the high temps but it looks like most of the state is suffering with as hot or hotter than I have it here. At least there is lots of shade and a small stream I can sit in to keep cool! I have camped at this site numerous time over the last few years and one species of birds that has escaped me is the owl. This trip that changed as I was awoken my second day here to the hooting of a Northern Pygmy Owl. I spent several hours over the next few days trying to find it and get a pic but no luck. This morning I was able to see and get pics of a Great Horned Owl. 

 

It was quite a ways off and there were a number of branches in the way but I was able to use the manual focus and at least get a decent pic! There were actually 2 of them but this was the only one to land in a visible location! 

While sitting in the shade this afternoon, a large moth crashed to the ground near me and started climbing a tree. I grabbed my camera and got some pics. It was a Pandora Moth! 

As you can see, it was easy to spot while its wings were spread but once it stopped and folded them in it was almost invisible!

It certainly is amazing camouflage! You never know what you will see in the outdoors whether you are looking or not!

Central Oregon Wildflowers

 I am currently outside Sisters, Oregon at Indian Ford Campground. While taking my bird walk today, I could not help but notice all the wildflowers in bloom! Hopefully I have identified them correctly! First is Indian Paintbrush. 

Now Columbine.

This is Wild Rose or Wood Rose

Next is Scarlet Trumpet. This seems to be a favorite of the Calliope Hummingbird as I have often seen them at this flower!

I did make a bird list and get a few pics. My favorite today was pics of a Red-naped Sapsucker bringing food back to its nesting hole! You can see todays list and the pics at eBird list
 

A great morning at Sunriver and Life bird 431!

The mornings bird walk was very exciting! I was told about Great Gray Owl sightings here so I have been on the lookout. I took my camera along and sure enough while standing on the river bank, the owl flew out of the brush and landed an a small pine tree in the open. I snapped a half dozen photos before it flew back into the trees!

This was my Life Bird #431! My morning was starting out great. Next I spotted a Western Wood-Pewee and as I attempted to take some pics, it flew into a tree and landed on a nest!

That was also a first as I have seen this species many times but never nesting! I moved on and spotted several Mule deer standing under a tree. I looked at them thru my binoculars and saw that at least one was in velvet!

I shortly ended my walk after that and hurried back to update my blog and post pics on eBird. I am not sure if the owl or the pics will show up on ebird as it is considered a "sensitive" species and they hide the pictures and location to other viewers. My ebird list for today and be found by clicking on this link: Sunriver bird list 

Checking out caves

This afternoon we checked out a couple of nearby caves. First we went to Arnold Ice Cave. I was there about 35 years ago and was excited to show it to my son and his family. We located the cave and after a bit of searching located a trail to the entrance. To my surprise, there was no ice! We went in a couple hundred feet and except for a couple small frozen puddles there wasn't any ice. When I visited years ago, the ice was visible from the opening and it filled the cave almost to the ceiling! Despite the lack of ice, they were still thrilled to be there and were amazed that the temp outside the cave was mid 80's but once inside it quickly dropped to the 40's. From there we went to Boyd Cave

 The entrance is hardly visible among the sagebrush and juniper trees. Once again the temperature inside was in the 40's. We hiked in a couple hundred feet and could not see the end. My son and his wife stopped to pose at the exit.

From there we went to Lava River Cave but it was closed for the day so we headed back to Sunriver and dinner!

Sunriver, Oregon

It's been a while since I posted but I have been spending the last couple months camping at coastal sites that I have posted about in the past so not much new happening. This weekend I am somewhere new! My oldest son's wife has a conference at Sunriver and has rented a house here. She invited me to bring my trailer and stay with them so here I am.

I took a bird walk this morning but did not take my camera. This new camera and lens are quite a bit heavier than my previous on and even though it takes great pics, I often do not carry it along but out back of the house a Mountain Chickadee has a nest and I captured pictures of it bring food to its young.

Among the other sightings this morning was a small spotted mule deer fawn suckling its mother! At one point I was surrounded by winnowing Wilson's snipes! What an awesome start to my day!