A terrific visit to another state in collaboration with another Audubon chapter.
By Bea Harrison
Rarely has a birding field trip turned out to be so terrific. My husband Jim and I participated in a Palouse Audubon excursion to visit the Nature Conservancy’s Zumwalt Prairie Preserve in Oregon. The experience was highly enjoyable. The group started as strangers but ended up as good friends.
Palouse Audubon group at Zumwalt
We not only visited the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, but many other birding spots beginning in Asotin, Washington and ending up in Wallowa County. We had some unique experiences along the way and saw some rare and not so rare birds.
Palouse Audubon Society is centered around Moscow and Pullman. Like many organizations, the Covid-19 pandemic threw them a curve ball, and they are just now getting back on their feet. Jim and I enjoyed trading notes with their president Marie and other members on how our clubs are expanding and experimenting with new ideas.
We met at Chief Looking Glass Riverside Park in Asotin, which has a small lake and wetlands. After watching a pair of Cooper’s Hawks at their nest and trying the Merlin App out for any birds in the bushes, we began our trip. The first part was along State Highway 129 to Boggan’s Oasis on the Grande Ronde River. Highway 129 is extremely steep and winding, possibly one of the curviest roads on the continent, but with spectacular views of deep canyons and the Wallowa Mountains. Boggan’s Oasis is a small diner located at the bottom of Rattlesnake Grade on the Washington/Oregon state line, 43 miles from Clarkston. There is a WDFW boat launch area there for rafting the Grande Ronde. This was a butterfly mecca, and colorful cliff swallows were nesting under the bridge. We saw our first Bullock’s Orioles, Western and Eastern Kingbirds, and a Spotted Sandpiper, while we had a leisurely lunch and worldclass milkshakes from Boggan’s.
Our next stop was the cemetery in the little town of Flora. We ran into some locals, including an 80-year-old gentleman who was very friendly, inviting us to come back for their yearly “Flora School Days” to learn pioneer crafts and skills. Then we went looking for bluebirds. Our main sighting, though, was a group of Red Crossbills that flew down out of the tall conifer and briefly landed at our feet. Observation confirmed! We saw some Western Bluebirds, too. And there were two Western Kingbirds and a Chipping Sparrow that tried not to be seen.
At our next stop, we were lucky to see a beautiful male Western Tanager, with his yellow and red plumage, in plain sight. We also discovered that most of the members of our group are really interested and knowledgeable about plants, as there were several unusual wildflowers blooming there, including Big-head clover. I must say that botanists getting together is a fun and interesting way to slow down an already slow field trip! From that point forward, we continued to encounter rare and magnificent wildflowers throughout the remainder of the trip.
We continued our journey for a few more miles, until our lead car suddenly pulled over at a small wetland on the right side of the highway. What we took to be two Great Blue Herons were actually Sandhill Cranes! This was an unexpected delight. Upon looking at the range map, they were indeed supposed to be in this area of Oregon – maybe nesting. Wow! This tiny pond also held Cinnamon Teal, and we heard the call of the Sora Rail.
Sandhill Crane
We finally arrived in Enterprise, Oregon where we spread out to various places to sleep including the Ponderosa Motel, the Log House RV Park and Campground and an Air B&B near Joseph, Oregon. Jim and I stayed at the Ponderosa, as did Sarah, who graciously agreed to let us ride with her into Zumwalt the next day, to cut down on the number of cars and save fuel. That night we all met at a restaurant to eat and talk. Everyone really hit it off and began to get to know each other better.
The main event for our trip was to the Zumwalt Prairie Nature Conservancy Preserve, about 20 miles from Enterprise.
On the drive to the preserve, we witnessed an odd phenomenon. Untold numbers of Mormon Crickets were migrating across the gravel road! We paused to investigate and photograph them. Other cars were stopping, and we saw a group of children trying to help the crickets get out of the road so they would not get run over. These crickets literally covered the road and were about 2 or 3 inches long and various colors. The reason they are called Mormon crickets is because they decimated the crops of Latter-Day Saint colonists in Utah in the 1840s.
Mormon crickets
Getting past the crickets, we made more stops at small ponds and wetlands beside the road. We saw Wilson’s Phalaropes in several of them, which was a treat. We saw an unusually large number of buteos, including Swainson’s Hawks, Northern Harriers and many Red-tailed Hawks. We finally made a rule that we could not stop for every Red-tailed Hawk, or we would never get there.
We knew the location of a nesting pair of Ferruginous Hawks along the way and were anxious to see them. The nest was about 100 yards from the road in a huge willow tree. We trained the spotting scope on the nest and were soon able to see one of the parent birds come in with food for the nestlings. We could see three fluffy white babies sticking their heads up, which was beyond exciting for the whole group!
Ferruginous Hawk
We made our way to the preserve where we had lunch in the shade of a huge old wooden barn, and had fun taking photos of each other and sharing chips and chocolate. Then we were off to the Horned Lark Trail. By that time, the weather had really warmed up and we all applied sunscreen and prepared for a 1-mile hike down to a small wetland, through the namesake Zumwalt Prairie, filled with amazing wildflowers.
Birding Zumwalt
We didn’t think about how steep that hill was until we started back up. We were not as physically prepared as we thought and soon realized that we were all getting a little dehydrated and overheated. When we made it back to the cars, it was a little like a triage exercise, as we helped each other, including 80+ year old Peter, to get some cool water and damp bandanas on. The group really showed their kindness and generosity to each other again. Sarah passed out electrolyte powder and Marie tended to Peter with care. Summer seemed to have come without warning.
Not to be deterred, we started the trip back to Enterprise, stopping to take group photos at the Zumwalt Prairie sign and not stopping for every Redtail, but just for the Ferruginous nest again and any other interesting bird or plant sightings.
When we finally made it back to town, we decided to have dinner together at the Log House RV Park, where we laughed together and Marie, (being her ever shy self) read out loud the lovely children’s book, “Just Imagine a More Beautiful World”, written by Christine McDonald, a member of our group. As Sarah, Chris, Alice and I headed off to town, we could not have predicted the wild night ahead at Log House RV. Just as Marie, Marilyn, Peter and Monique drifted off to sleep, a wild wind picked up Marilyn and Marie’s bright red canopy tent and she thought she was back in Kansas! Chaos began, with dogs barking as the group struggled in the high wind to restore the canopy. Needless to say, there was little sleep that night at Log House.
Monday morning brought peace, and we made our way to Enterprise Wildlife Management Area, where a winnowing Wilson’s Snipe greeted us, soaring into the air and making his amazing “hu-hu-hu” sound as the wind crossed his feathers. This serene setting settled everyone’s nerves, and we found 17 species, including American Dipper and our first wren of the trip, a Bewick’s.
As the trip came to an end, light rain began to fall. We donned our raincoats, but Monique wanted another group photo with Wallowa Lake in the background. We all spontaneously began to sing “Birding in the Rain” (to the tune of “Singing in the Rain”) and Monique videoed us chain dancing and singing, risking elder knee and hip injuries doing high kicks and laughing.
Jim and I made 7 new friends, and the collaboration between our groups was worthwhile. We managed to see about 70 species of birds. We discussed sharing information and joining each other's field trips. They plan to attend some of our Turnbull walks, and Monique is already planning another trip for Spokane Auduboners to join.
Bea on the Zumwalt trail
