Thief Valley Reservoir and Life Bird 440!

 This morning I decided to visit Thief Valley in search of a Grasshopper Sparrow. I was a bit hesitant as it was almost a 100 mile round trip and there was no guarantee I would even see this bird. As it turned out the third bird I spotted entering the campground was my target bird! 

 I stopped the truck, grabbed my binoculars and confirmed the species. I then snapped a couple pics before it took wing and disappeared! I went ahead and parked in the campground and walked the entire loop documenting all the species I could ID. The campground is a bit remote with the last 7.5 miles being gravel road. It was easy to travel with just a few mild wash board sections. 

There were 11 sites and only 2 campers. The sites are well spaced and level. The campground has 2 pit toilets and at least 1 pump with potable water.

Yes, I tried the pump and it worked great! The lake has a nice boat ramp and there were several boats out on the lake that appeared to be fishing.

This appears to be a free campground as I could not find any pay stations or signage saying otherwise anywhere in the campground. I had 1 bar of connectivity with Verizon so I could submit my eBird list. I am confident I could get several more with my booster if I camped here. Only 1 site has shade so lots of sunshine everywhere! It was very quiet and peaceful with the only sounds being birds and cattle that grazed outside the campground. I did hear a train in the distance at one point but otherwise you would not know there was civilization anywhere near. It would be a nice place to camp for  few days, especially it you wanted to save a few bucks!

Train Ride

Yesterday, I took a ride on the Eagle Cap Excursion Train.

Several times a month the train takes runs east from Elgin. Each trip has a different theme,  I took the Bavarian Excursion. The train partners with the city of Joseph which is having a Bavarian Festival at this time. The ride includes a meal which was Bavarian themed. It included, wiener schnitzel, scalloped potatoes and apple strudel! The trip went about 20 miles into the canyon and back. On the way out, I had a window seat with great views of farm lands and the Grande Rhonde river.

I saw a number of eagles and a few osprey. On the trip back I was on the opposite side looking and the hillside which was not as interesting so I took a short nap! I did see 3 healthy looking Mule deer bucks in velvet as we neared the station. Overall I enjoyed the trip but probably would not go again.

Hu-Na-Ha RV Park, Elgin OR

I am spending a month at the Hu-Na-Ha RV park here in Elgin. 

The rates are very low as it is only $502 for a month with full hook-ups. It is $16+ a night for shorter stays. The park is located at the south edge of town. The Grande Ronde River flows along 2 sides of the park.

There is a RV area

and a tent area.

The sites are gravel and level with a mix of pull thru and back-in. There are showers and a laundry room. The washer and dryer are both $1 each. There are a few long term campers but most are short stay. Most of the guests are older like me and seem to be very friendly and quiet! There are lots of birding hotspots in the area and I plan to visit them all as some are reported to have bird species I have never identified! I have purchased tickets to ride the Eagle Cap train which runs along the Grande Ronde river where there are no roads for cars. I might also ride the Wallowa Lake tram which carries you to the top of Mt Howard. Looking forward to not traveling for the month! 

Catfish Central

Since arriving, I have  learned that Farewell Bend is a well known place to catfish. I have been to the fish cleaning station several times and there are always people cleaning dozens of catfish. The pictures below show a fisherman in the river headed to the cleaning station. 

You can see the catch being towed behind the boat!

They also catch catfish bass and crappie. Not only are there lots of birds here but also wildflowers like this Showy Milkweed.

And butterflies like  this Cabbage White Butterfly.

One of the things I like about traveling is seeing new places and learning about the flora and fauna!

Farewell Bend State Park

 I left Chickahominy Reservoir yesterday morning and am now at Farewell Bend State Park where I will be for a week.

This is an oasis on the banks of the Snake River. You are looking at Idaho on the other side of the river. 

All around the park it looks like what you see on the Idaho side of the river but here in the park it looks like this.

It has been unusually wet this year which means there is a lot of green vegetation but also a LOT of mosquitoes! I try to avoid putting many chemicals on my skin but may break down and have to spray on some repellent! As of this moment it has been raining for about 12 hours! I thought once I got away form the Oregon coast it would be dry but in the month since I left it has rained about 1/2 the time! I will admit the thunder and lightning do put on a impressive show! At least it is warm rain!

Chickahominy Reservoir

 I have visited this location once in June of 2019. Not much has changed in 4 years.

Upon arriving most of the view is flat land covered with sagebrush but if you take a closer look you will see birds like this beautiful Mountain Bluebird

Animals like rabbit, chipmunks and marmots.

If you look between the sagebrush clusters, thanks to the recent rainfall, you will find wildflowers like larkspur

Longleaf Phlox

Bitterroot

I did not know the species of flowers but I used the Seek app to identify them. Hopefully it was correct as I did once find out an identified species was incorrect.