After a lovely time in Utah with our son Will and his family, Bill and I headed for Oregon, making a stop at Malheur Wildlife Refuge south of Burns. We came into the area from the southeast, so we had a magnificent view of the Steens Mountain. We also had the opportunity to stop at the Pete French Round Barn. He was a cattle baron in the 1800s and built several magnificent barns in this area. Two of them are still standing.
Bill was amazed at the workmanship and the way this original gate continued to swing smoothly and efficiently.
We saw many deer on the refuge, and we spied this herd just at dusk.
We headed to Frenchglen to stay, and I snapped a view of the Steens Mountain.
We stayed in the newer Drover Inn behind the historic Frenchglen Hotel.
The historic Hotel is delightful, but you must be prepared to stay in very small rooms, with narrow hallways, and a shared public bathroom. We decided we needed our sleep :-).
The Frenchglen Mercantile Store brought back many memories for me. The last time I was there was with my mom, my sister Candy, and my daughter Anne. We had such a wonderful time together!
This is Pete French's Long Barn, another magnificent structure made from the surrounding trees.
Taken from the inside looking out :-)
A tall tower stands near the long barn, and every day the vultures ride the warm thermals in a circular motion above the tower. However, it was still pretty cold when we were there (33 degrees!) so we didn't have the privilege of seeing these vultures leave their perch. The nearby trees were FULL of what we thought were crows (hey, it was early morning light, or I should say, silhouettes!). I zoomed in on my pictures afterward and realized they were all vultures...perhaps juveniles?
We saw a small herd of antelope who were very nervous. I love the way they blend into their surroundings.
We drove the "auto tour" which is a gravel road that runs through the refuge. I was thrilled to see my favorite bird, the Greater Sandhill Crane!
I was able to walk up the road from our car and get a few close-ups.
We saw a few Short-eared Owls hunting. They hunt both during the day and the night. I had never seen one before!
A Short-eared Owl in flight
We saw several Meadowlarks. I caught this one singing its beautiful song!
We also saw several China Pheasants.
The males have spectacular colors!
We came upon about 10 Greater Sandhill Crane Pairs.
We also saw many Northern Harriers.
The entire morning we drove past marshes with grass like this. We rolled the windows down and could hear the little Marsh Wrens, but they were not easy to spot. I finally "captured" one singing its song :-).
The same little wren used its tail to balance on the narrow marsh reed :-).
The refuge is FILLED with Tri-color Blackbirds! Bill enjoyed listening to this one sing over and over right next to his window :-).
I am wondering what kind of a nest this is. We hoped to stop by headquarters or the field station to ask, but we had a long way still to drive as we headed home.
Pied-bill Grebe (above).
I don't know what kind of bird this is in the picture below.
Can you see the coyote just above the marsh grasses? It's a blurry picture of him, but I kept it anyway :-).
Beautiful canals!
Beautiful colors!
A male Northern Harrier hovering over the marshlands
As we headed to Burns we saw several Curlews. We saw a couple on the refuge as well. They are such an interesting bird to watch! Their feathers are beautiful!
We passed flooded fields and spied several Lesser Sandhill Cranes.
Before we came to Brothers, we saw this Bald Eagle on top of a telephone pole. It's not the most attractive place for a picture, but it IS a funny one...bad hair day :-).
Such a majestic raptor! Such a wonderful world we live in!
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