.

.
Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, September 3, 2010

The official tour

Today was the morning for my official tour of Malheur NWR.  I was to meet the Volunteer Coordinator at 8:00, and she would drive me around and fill me in on the details of the refuge.  It didn’t quite start on time because the Visitor’s Center was bubbling with people attending a birding workshop at a nearby retreat.  My fellow volunteer, Sue, was manning the VC, but needed an extra set of hands while the visitor’s made purchases.  She was also supposed to ask the visitors if they’d be willing to participate in a NWR survey.  I stepped in and helped her out with that because you have to write down their names and addresses.
_MG_4697 _MG_4704
While all the folks with binoculars, scopes, and cameras were scanning the surrounding trees for birdlife, the resident great-horned owl came to pose for pictures.  :)  How thoughtful of him.

About an hour later, the tour finally began.  This refuge consists of more than 187,000 acres of prime habitat.  That is big!  I must say that it was the fastest tour I’ve ever had, considering it’s size!  Of course, she knew I had already driven the auto tour route on my own, so we pretty much skipped that, and really didn’t stop anywhere to look at anything.  We also talked about my doing a special project in the field for her so I won’t be stuck the whole time I’m here in the VC.  I was all for that!  She also picked my brain about how to go about setting up bird tours here on the refuge.  I was happy to give her my input.  :)
 
We were back before noon, so I returned to the rig for lunch, and then made a call to Winnebago about the fluid leak from the leveler.  They gave me an email address to use to find out where the nearest place is to have it fixed.  I also asked them where the dipstick was located for checking the fluid levels.  It took him a while to figure that one out.  In the owner’s manual, there is a picture of the dipstick, but they don’t tell you where to find it.  What’s up with that?  Eventually, he told me it was on the frame under the motorhome in front of the passenger’s side front wheel.  So this afternoon, I crawled under the rig on my back to have a look.  I couldn’t find anything that looked like a dipstick (except myself:)).  I’m not giving up, though.
_MG_4314 _MG_4312
These two pics are of a yellow warbler I found hawking for insects on the wing in the willows along the Blitzen River the other day.  Notice how the bird on the left has his eye on an insect at the top of the pic.  :)

Tomorrow, I’m off early to go to a farmer’s market in Burn, OR, to hunt down some more home grown tomatoes.  It’s a 70 mile round trip, but it will be worth it to me if I’m successful!
_MG_4316                                                                   THE END! 

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

16 comments:

  1. That owl looks positively regal.

    I'm glad to hear you will get to involve yourself in other duties besides at the VC.

    70 miles round trip for tomatos - reminds me of my stay at Lassen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No wonder you volunteer, you are having a great time and getting an education on top. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a HOOT you are! I've been "out of pocket" for a few days and got behind on your posts...Gosh, I was going thru withdrawal when I was finally able to get back to my laptop and catch up with you.
    You should submit your photos to National Geographic or publish them!
    Kathy :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You sure know bird pics - that Owl is awesome! Glad to hear you may be getting some additional outdoor duties.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The owl is terrific, and so is your pic! You aren't a dipstick at all! We have a Winnie and the owner's manual is so inadequate. You aren't alone in being puzzled with some of the diagrams.

    On the calendar comment you left on my blog today:

    For our calendars we used a program my daughter had installed on her computer. She has since uninstalled it after some computer problems so we cannot access it now. However, Bruce said if you Google "calendar programs" a bunch of websites will pop up and you can print them out for free. Hope it works and you can find one you like. I cannot do without calendars taped up on my fridge! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have such a soft spot for owls. Gosh, what a handsome bird!

    Good luck with the field project! I hope it turns out to be fun and interesting for you. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. a very handsome great horned owl!..nice that he wanted his picture taken today!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So jealous of you owl photos..they will never come out enough to get decent shots. Beautiful shots of the Yellow Warbler as well, those little fellas do not sit still for very long!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Always so nice when Mother Nature's critters take the time & have the patience to pose for our cameras. I like when that happens:))

    ReplyDelete
  10. A Great Owl photo,now if my hummer would just co-operate like that, haven't seen him/her in a couple days. today I will put fresh food in his feeder maybe that will help. The more I read about motorhomes and their mechanical complexity, the more I like my fiver and truck, at least I am at home doing maintenance on a truck. If I was out there I would come by and find that rascal and look at your leak for you. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love your blog Judy and your bird pictures are outstanding. You always make me have a chuckle as well when I read it.

    Take Good Care
    Brenda Brown

    ReplyDelete
  12. Did you give that owl a couple 8X10" glossies?? He totally posed for those fabulous pictures!! We go to Falcon Lake State Park in South Texas..they have some great birding there, and a birding center in Roma...Have you been there??

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the owl picture. Are you thinking of making a bird calendar? If so, put me on the list to buy one. I love unique calendars.

    ReplyDelete
  14. We have Great Horned Owls here. I hear one from time to time, but have only seen one once! I guess I don't know where to look and don't have the patience.

    We also have some barn owls. Again I hear them and have identified their sound, but can't see them.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your bird pics are awesome! Did you find your dipstick? I think from year to year and model to model it is changed to suit the *house* part of the construction and not the *chassis* part which it's built on. Sometimes they hide it in the darnedest places. On my old coachmen, our brake fluid reservoir could only be observed by twisting the wheels far to the right, crawling into the space of the wheel well, and holding a mirror and a flashlight up high near the floor and looking at it. Filling it was even worse! You need to use a turkey baster to get it in there. Now WHO thinks up these things????

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steveio
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your bird pics are awesome! Did you find your dipstick? I think from year to year and model to model it is changed to suit the *house* part of the construction and not the *chassis* part which it's built on. Sometimes they hide it in the darnedest places. On my old coachmen, our brake fluid reservoir could only be observed by twisting the wheels far to the right, crawling into the space of the wheel well, and holding a mirror and a flashlight up high near the floor and looking at it. Filling it was even worse! You need to use a turkey baster to get it in there. Now WHO thinks up these things????

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steveio
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete