To wrap up our Memorial Day Weekend trip to Prineville we visited the Crooked River Wetlands Complex
The wetlands were opened in 2017 as a solution to the city’s wastewater needs. The complex has 5.4-miles of trails, over half of which are paved, that loop around 15 ponds of varying sizes. We were the third car to arrive, however, there were numerous raucous birds.
The yellow-headed blackbirds were particularly noisy.
A cinnamon teal in front of two mallards?
With so many loop possibilities this is a choose your own route area. Ours wound up being primarily on the Outer Loop, but we cut back in toward the parking area between ponds 5 & 1 to make sure we passed all 13 interpretive signboards.
This loop was 3.4-miles.
Grizzly Mountain from Pond 4.
Killdeer
One of the interpretive signboards ahead.
Goose family
There were plenty of benches to enjoy the views from.
Mallards
Cinnamon teal
Must be a green-winged teal but the angle of light made the patch on his head look blue.
We’d never seen so many killdeer in one area.
Spotted sandpipers
Brewer’s blackbird
Swallow
Pollinator garden
Ring-necked ducks
Wilson’s phalarope
Yellow-headed blackbirds
American coot
Adolescent geese
Dove
Gadwalls
Female yellow-headed blackbird
Pair of bucks.
Ruddy ducks
Red-winged blackbird harassing an osprey.
Gray Butte
A pair of hawks.
Not birds.
Marsh wren
Great blue heron
Observation deck at Pond 10.
Another marsh wren.
Heading back to the parking area.
We had a lot of fun watching and listening to the birds here, and it was perfect for a morning walk. The distance allowed us to be on our way back to Salem shortly after 8am which was early enough that we avoided most of the holiday traffic.
After this weekend’s hikes we’re down to a dozen Eastern Oregon featured hikes to complete our quest for 500 (post). Happy Trails!
Flickr: Crooked River Wetlands
wanderingyuncks 