We wanted another look at the Malheur NWR so we left our campground on Sodhouse Lane and headed south on OR-205 toward Frenchglen. We had only gone about 10 miles before we turned out on a gravel road running east from 205 which took us to the Buena Vista Overlook. Buena Vista translates to good view in English and they weren’t fooling when they named the spot. There is a small gravel parking area at the base of a short path which leads right out to the edge of a lava outcropping overlooking a vast high desert prairie interrupted by lava cap rocks. On the eastern horizon is the 9000’+ Steens Mountain which was completely covered with snow. In the foreground is a wide creek which is, based on the volume and number of different bird sounds, extensively inhabited with a variety of species.
After ogling the mountain and prairie view for a while, we got back on 205 southbound to Frenchglen where they have some BLM housing and the Frenchglen Hotel. The hotel is a historical landmark, maybe because it is one of the only wood-framed buildings in town. This is about as close as we could get to Steens Mountain without driving on 48 miles of washboard gravel roads. South of Frenchglen we drove up on a lava finger that only required about a 600′ vertical component in around 3 miles. The caution sign at the top indicates the grade is 14%. From here we turned around and headed for Burns. There were animals everywhere and this time we kept a list of stuff spotted: pronghorn antelope, mule deer, sandhill cranes, snowy egrets, trumpeter swans, a snake too quick to properly identify, a lizard of the same type, red-winged blackbirds, Canadian geese, many varieties of ducks we couldn’t identify, meadowlarks, yellow-headed blackbirds, barn swallows, magpies, coots, white-faced ibises, a rough-legged hawk devouring some unfortunate critter, common snipes, redhead ducks, northern pintails, black-necked stilts, marmots, jackrabbits, prairie dogs, blackbirds and cinnamon teals. It is like driving through a safari park here.
We drove Hotchkiss Road near Burns again so we could check out the birds and we were not disappointed. A quick stop for fuel in Burns before we drove back for another pass at Hotchkiss Road. It is like a big zoo aviary. The birds here are plentiful and come in an amazing variety of vibrant colors. After we got home a gorgeous little bird we identified through quick camera action and considerable page shuffling in the Peterson’s guide as a (no fooling) yellow-rumped or Audubon’s warbler. This part of the world offers stunning scenery and abundant wildlife viewing. I would love to come back here someday although it won’t be tomorrow because we are going east to Idaho.
We got some pix today during our drive and you can see them by clicking here