Sunset Serenade

Today was my last day on the job at the Visitor’s Center, and I believe the first full day of fall after the autumnal equinox.  My calendar shows the equinox as tomorrow, but today is close enough.  I think the birds may somehow know this.
Overnight, thousands of sandhill cranes migrated into this oasis in the high desert from places far North.  The moon is full, and the winds must have been right!  Almost everyone that came into the VC reported seeing large flocks of cranes in the fields.  I’m sure they were fueling up after their long flight.  They are joining the 200+ pairs and their young that nest here.
I was happy to see an Osprey pull one of the carp out of the pond below the VC this morning.  The refuge needs all the help it can get in eliminating this invasive species of fish!
As I took this picture of the departing Osprey with it’s booty, I was able to capture a bit of Malheur Lake in the background.  The lake is about 40,000 acres this year, and this is about the only way you can see it unless you have an airplane.  There are no access roads open to the public.  Those cranes in the first photo were flying over the VC and headed to the field area between the pond and the lake. 

I had 79 visitors today, so I was pretty busy from opening to closing, and didn’t get much of a chance to get outside.  :(  It certainly made the day go faster as compared to only 7 visitors when I started here!

So, what about the sunset serenade?  Well, as Emma and I sat outside this evening just before sunset, there was suddenly a great loud ruckus going on.  All those thousands of sandhill cranes were descending upon Malheur Lake to roost for the night.  They generally roost in water to make them safer from predation by the coyotes…and no one can call sandhill cranes quiet!  Wow!  Even though the lake is about a mile away, you just couldn’t help but hear all those cranes whooping it up.  :)  I just love the sound of cranes, and when you get thousands of them all jabbering away at the same time, it is just something I will never forget!  After about ten minutes, they all quieted down, and then the great horned owl decided to chime in with it’s hoots adding bass notes to the symphony!  Not to be outdone, the coyotes added their mournful alto and soprano tones as well.  The Chicago Symphony would have a hard time competing with the wonderful wild concert I was listening to tonight.  What a fantastic musical send off for our time here at Malheur!  Is it any wonder that I continue to volunteer at National Wildlife Refuges?

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

Guess whooo returned!

The great horned owl returned this morning to roost outside the Visitor’s Center giving me and some other lucky people the chance to enjoy an up close look at this denizen of the dark.  As you can see, he swiveled his head 180* to show off his feathery horns.  :)  What a hoot!!

Another day working the VC.  Not very exciting, but I did step out several times to check out the bird life. 
The California quail are pretty skittish, but…
I was able to sneak in a few close ups before they all took off in a noisy flurry of wings and squawks.  The male, on the left, was blasting out his warning calls the whole time I was skulking around trying to get a good shot.  :)  Don’t you just love those little top knots?
A new visitor to the bird feeders this week is the American goldfinch.  They’ve already molted into their winter plumage, so they’re not  the brilliant yellow of springtime that earns them the common name of a wild canary. 
Here are my latest attempts at a decent picture of a Lewis’s woodpecker.  Obviously, my quest is not over.  :)
Lest you think birds are the only concern at this refuge, I include this picture of the refuge manager out in the pond in front of the VC.  He is pulling a fish net behind him.  The invasion of carp have really had a detrimental effect on the refuge marsh vegetation, and the natural red band trout population.  He is out there trying to net some of the unwanted carp.

The thought of working the not very busy VC four days this week was a little depressing to me, so this afternoon I worked on a plan to get out and about for at least one of those days.  If the weather cooperates tomorrow, I may have something new to report.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  :)

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

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.
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.
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!
                                                                   THE END! 

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