UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison is back with some photos from Oregon. Her captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
An Oregon rift valley and its lakes and birds
Summer Lake and Lake Abert in arid central Oregon are the remnants of an enormous Pleistocene water body called Lake Chewaucan. They lie in broad and angular-walled valleys formed by tectonic pulling apart of the earth’s crust. Summer Lake is now nearly dry from water withdrawals, but the spring-fed wetlands at its northern end are protected as a wildlife refuge. Lake Abert, a few miles east, is a shallow and briny terminal lake fed by the Chewaucan River. Both lakes are important stopovers for migratory birds.
Lake Abert, east shore:
Summer Lake,seen from Winter Rim to its west; wetlands are in the center, the mostly dry lake bed is to the right, and the green circles are the center-pivot irrigation that uses much of the lake’s inflow:
Lake Abert is especially important to Wilson’s Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor), for which brine shrimp gobbled at salty lakes are their primary migratory fuel. They are the tiny shorebirds swimming in mad circles in the foreground. American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana) and ducks (probably Cinnamon Teal, Spatula cyanoptera) are behind them. I couldn’t get closer without sinking deep into lakeshore muck.
Wilson’s Phalaropes:
Bonaparte’s Gulls (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) and various ducks, also at Lake Abert:
The rest of the photos are from Summer Lake and its surroundings.
American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), and the Winter Rim escarpment in the background:
Great Egrets (Ardea alba) against the same backdrop:
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius):
Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri):
Long-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus scolopaceus):
Coot (Fulica americana):
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus):
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), juvenile begging to its parents:
This region is also known for its prehistory. Besides various petroglyphs, there is a site known as Paisley Caves where the traces of ancient occupancy include bones of camels, horses, and bison, and possibly the oldest DNA evidence of human habitation in North America (14,300 BP), although the latter finding is controversial.
Entrance to Paisley Caves, just above which is an active Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) nest:
Cave interior:
View from cave:
Great pics! Thanks, Susan.
😀😀😀😀
Ahhh so refreshing
Perhaps Susan can take the torch from John Avise to give a signature Sunday RWP to set that mood….
Thank you for that kind compliment! Lacking John’s career-long supply of photos (not to mention expertise), I can only post ’em as fast as I can see ’em. Fall and winter tend to be slow periods.
Beautiful shots, very well composed! I think I like the long-distance shots the best. Thank you!
Much appreciated!
Beautiful and informative photos, thanks Susan. I love eastern Oregon. My plan in August was to finally walk to the top of Steens Mountain. But I blew my knee out in July. 🙁
Winter Ridge and Summer Lake were named by John Charles Fremont on one of his exploring rambles through the west. His party was following the ridge and freezing their backsides off. They descended to the lake and found sunshine and warmth.
Best wishes for a quick recovery so we can enjoy more of your photos soon!
(You can always drive up Steens Mt…..)
That was quiet a little journey, thanks Susan.
You’re most welcome 😀
Lovely.
😺😺😺😺😺
Great perspective, visually and temporally.
What time of year did you tour the area?
Thanks! We went there in late August. I’ve heard there are good birds to see in the Summer Lake refuge year-round.
The photos of the birds at long distance, for which you apologized, are very effective as abstract components of the scenic images. I’ve come back to them several times. I suppose I’d say, clumsily, that I know what a bird looks like up close (while still admiring the skill it takes to catch one.) But a flock of birds? Every one is different!