Painted Hills I

June 11, 2016 2 By Audrey

They don’t call the Painted Hills one of Oregon’s Seven Wonders for nothing.

Painted Hills

The eight wonder is why I’d never visited before.

Painted Hills

Painted Hills

Truthfully, I never liked the desert. It’s hot, dry, exposed, I’m more of a lush, green forest kind of girl. But that’s what birding does. It opens the world up to possibility even in remote places. Like nomads, Tomas and I spent three days exploring Oregon’s vast east, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, that includes three units: Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock.

Highlights included listening to Bullock’s Orioles chatter along the John Day River at our campsite while hanging out with a nesting pair of Osprey.

Osprey

Osprey

And watching the Osprey boldly dive after a Golden Eagle that came too close to the nest perimeter.

Osprey and Eagle

At a random rest area along U.S. Hwy. 97 I found my first Lark Sparrow. What a striking facial pattern!

Lark Sparrow

I hiked along the Blue Basin Rim Trail in the Sheep Rock Unit and saw Say’s Phoebe, Western Kingbird, more Lark Sparrows, and a new hummingbird!

Black-chinned Hummingbird

All hummingbirds are Anna’s to me until proven otherwise, and it wasn’t until I was able to examine the photos more closely that I could see a thin bit of iridescent purple under the black chin, positively ID’ing the Black-chinned Hummingbird!

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Other birds I saw on the hike:

Rock Wren

Rock Wren

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Gray Flycatcher

Gray Flycatcher

And I met a new-to-me flycatcher, the Ash-throated Flycatcher! Identified by habitat (open, arid areas), the pale grey chest, pale yellow belly, and long rusty tail.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Under the eaves of the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, we got up-close views of nesting Cliff Swallows. Here’s a nice look at the buff-white forehead patch.

Cliff Swallow

At the Painted Hills picnic area I followed a short trail along a creek and heard Yellow Warblers, House Wren, and I got a few looks at these summer visitors.

Bullock's Oriole

Bullock’s Oriole

Willow Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

And an Admiral Butterfly for good measure.

Admiral Butterfly

We spent one night at higher elevation in the Ochoco National Forest and camped near a magical field of camas.

Blue Camas

Blue Camas

The forest bustled with songs of Mountain Buebird, Cassin’s Finch, Chipping Sparrows, and Lark Sparrows.

Lark Sparrow

In the morning, I followed a buzzing “Zee-zee-zee-zee-dee-du-dee” until I laid eyes on a tiny Townsend’s Warbler.

Townsend's Warbler

On the way out of the campsite, I caught a glimpse of my first of year Western Tanager!

Western Tanager

I didn’t want to leave my new happy place. But we had more desert to see.

Proceed No Further

Tweets,

Audrey