Tag: Kingfisher

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 14, 2017
1 Comment on Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

We made a late addition to our scheduled hikes when it became clear that the weather on the day of the Give and Get Social for Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) was going to be too nice to pass up. We had short two featured hikes in Portland from William L. Sullivan’s 100 Hikes in NW Oregon & SW Washington that we had not been able to work into our future plans. The TKO event was taking place at Dig a Pony which was conveniently close to one of these two hikes, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge.

We began our hike uncharacteristically late, just after 1:15pm, from the north parking area on SE Milwaukee Ave.

We followed a paved path downhill to a sign for the Oaks Bottom Bluff Trail.

Here the trail split and we stayed left crossing a small footbridge. We would return via the right fork after completing a loop around Wapato Marsh.

The amount of water in the marsh increased as we went. The first wildlife we spotted were small birds, squirrels and a hawk.

As the amount of water increased we began to see a number of ducks. Several species were present, some of which we were unfamiliar with.

Green-winged teal

Wood duck

Ring necked duck?

Mallard

Not sure what kind of duck is in the upper left hand corner.

At the far end of the marsh trails from Sellwood Park joined at a meadow. Across the meadow to the west the Holiday Express train was preparing to depart.

We continued around the marsh passing under the train tracks and turned right on the paved Springwater Corridor. The Holiday Express passed us as we went.

From this path we spotted some other birds including several herons, a cormorant, and a kingfisher.

We passed a viewpoint of the Willamette River to the west before passing back under the railroad tracks.

Before passing back under the the tracks we took a short path to the west toward the river where a few pieces of art could be seen amid the trees.

We turned off the paved path at a hiker only sign and passed through a wooden fence.

We were quickly back at the start of the loop and returned uphill to our car. A nice three mile or so stroll with lots of wildlife to watch. We ended our day at Give and Get where we had a good time despite not winning any of the raffles. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Tags Cormorant, Dig a Pony, duck, Green Winged Teail, hawk, hiking, Holiday Express, Kingfisher, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, Ring Necked duck, TKO, Trail Keepers of Oregon, Wapato Marsh, Wood Duck

Bend/Redmond Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Fall River and LaPine State Park

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 25, 2015
4 Comments on Fall River and LaPine State Park

The day after finally getting to see the Green Lakes clouds had moved into the mountains bringing snow to the higher elevations and rain lower. A pair of hikes near LaPine, OR offered us a chance to stay below the clouds while visiting the Fall and Deschutes Rivers.

Our first hike of the day began at the Fall Creek Campground located off the Cascade Lakes Highway near milepost 15.
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Fall River is fed by springs located less than a mile from the campground which causes the water to be crystal clear.
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We started our hike by crossing the river on a footbridge and heading east .4 miles downstream to a dirt road.
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Along the way we began noticing many trees that had been gnawed by beavers, some rather recently.
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We began watching intently hoping to see one of them. After reaching the road and returning to where we had crossed the footbridge we stayed on the south side of the river and continued west toward the springs. We didn’t see any beavers but we saw plenty of other wildlife along the way to the springs.

Fish in Fall River
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Mergansers
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More ducks
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Small birds
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Kingfisher
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Great Blue Heron
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At the springs we spotted several deer.
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The clear water near the springs was brightened by green plants in the water.
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There is a parking area near the springs as well as the rentable Fall River Guard Station.
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We returned to the campground on the north side of the river resulting in a nice little loop back to the bridge. We continued to see wildlife along the way.

Duck
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Golden-mantled squirrel
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Robin
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Merganser
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Deer
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The trail on the north side of the river continues east past the campground for a total of 2.4 miles before reaching private land. We decided to check out that section as well. More wildlife and peaceful river views awaited on this section of the trail. There was also plenty of evidence of beavers but they never showed themselves.

Golden-mantled squirrel
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Crossbill
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Ducks
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Aster
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Small bird
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Chipmunk
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After reaching the private land and returning to the car we drove 5 miles back toward Highway 97 on the Cascade Lakes Highway and turned south on a gravel road where we had seen a pointer for LaPine State Park. Just over a mile on the gravel road brought us to a pair of parking areas on either side of Fall River. We parked on the south side of the river and set off on a 5.3 mile loop through LaPine State Park.
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We decided to do the loop counter-clockwise and headed right away from Fall River. The forest was fairly dry and mostly lodgepole pine here which can be a little less than exciting.
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After crossing a couple of dirt roads we ignored a trail at the 1 mile mark that split off to the left sticking to the Fall River Trail using the many trail signs along the way.
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At a well signed junction within sight of a fee booth we turned left heading for the McGregor Viewpoint.
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The viewpoint offered our first look at the Deschutes River as it wound through the park.
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Continuing on the loop we veered left at the next trail fork then ignored another left staying straight until we reached a dirt road junction. We went straight toward the river on a dirt road heading for an old house ruin that was shown in our guide book. As it turned out the house had been completely torn down.
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We followed the road a little further then turned right on a trail with nice river and wildlife views and passing two other old ruins.
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Ducks
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Nuthatch
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Northern Flicker
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Heron
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The first ruin was along the Deschutes River.
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The second was was along Fall River.
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The trail followed a short section of dirt road after the second ruin. We turned right on a nice path sticking close to Fall river only to find that we had turned too soon and the path we were on followed a ridge down to the river where it abruptly ended. We backtracked to the road, turned right and quickly found the signed trail we should have taken. We followed the trail for a little less than a mile then forked right heading for Fall River Falls.
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From the falls it was less than a half mile along the river back to our waiting car.

These were great hikes for a less than perfect weather day and both of them offered multiple distance options. The nearly level terrain and abundant wildlife also make them good hikes for kids. Happy Trails!

Flicker: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157658868264591

Tags chipmunk, crossbill, Deschutes River, duck, Fall River, Fall River Falls, Fall River Guard Station, golden-mantled squirrel, great blue heron, hiking, Kingfisher, LaPine State Park, McGregor viewpoint, Merganser, norther flicker, nuthatch, Oregon, springs

Bend/Redmond Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Central Deschutes River

We headed over to Central Oregon for the last part of our vacation to visit our families and get a couple more hikes in on the east side of the Cascades. Originally we had planned on combining two hikes in one day for our first hike. Tipsoo Peak in the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness followed by Mount Scott on the rim of Crater Lake. We had to abandon those plans for good when the Government Shutdown closed Crater Lake so we turned to a standby hike along the Deschutes River between Trout Creek Campground and Mecca Flats.

With a trail head at each end of this 7.6 mile segment it allowed us to set up a shuttle with Deryl’s parents where they would start at Mecca Flats with Nique while we started at the Trout Creek Campground. The idea was we would do the whole trail both ways while the went from their car to ours, then we would drive them back to Mecca Flats to pick up their vehicle. With the plan set Heather and I headed to Trout Creek and set off along the Deschutes through the rivers canyon.

The trail follows an old railroad grade along the river surrounded by the scenic canyon walls. The river cut a colorful ribbon through the sagebrush desert. We spotted a heron standing on the river bank apparently watching for small fish.

We spotted quite a few birds along the way as well as some deer making their way up the canyon side.

There was also still a number of flowers in bloom along the river.

We met Dominique and my parents on the trail earlier than we had expected. They were moving a lot faster than they thought they would be. They gave us some info on what to expect on the trail ahead including to be watching for Scorpion Rock on the Warm Springs Reservation side of the river and a waterfall on our side of the river near a small creek.

Waterfall from an irrigation pipe way in the distance

Heather and I eventually made it to Mecca Flats where I accused my parents of hitching a boat ride with some of the many fishermen we’d seen. It was the only explanation of how they managed to make it that far that fast ;). We turned around at Mecca Flats and headed back toward our car and my family. Along the way we noticed a scenic red tree growing in the midst of a rock slide and several rock climbers high on the canyon cliffs.

It was a nice relaxing hike and a good time of year for it since the area is known for rattlesnakes in warmer weather. It was also nice to do a hike in the sagebrush landscape of Central Oregon. Ironically enough we were almost due east of our previous hike on the Red Lake Trail in the Mt. Hood National Forest and less than 50 miles as the crow flies. What a difference location and elevation makes. Happy Trails!

Facebook photos: https://www.facebook.com/deryl.yunck/media_set?set=a.10202388684345626.1073741862.1448521051&type=1
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157636480343143/

Tags Deschutes River, Heron, hiking, Kingfisher, Mecca Flats, Merganser, Oregon, Scorpion Rock, Trout Creek Campground, Warm Springs Reservation