Tag: Mallard

Milo McIver State Park – 02/22/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 24, 2025
1 Comment on Milo McIver State Park – 02/22/2025

After getting a couple of extra hikes in during January, Winter finally arrived in February. We were down to our final chance to take our monthly offseason hike so regardless of the weather we planned on heading somewhere. I had a few options ready depending on the forecast which wound up being for a relatively dry morning followed by rain. We originally decided on a pair of hikes near Estacada, Eagle Fern Park and the Riverbend Loop at Milo McIver State Park.

We planned on starting our morning at Eagle Fern Park, but unfortunately the debit/credit card fee station there was out of order, and we weren’t carrying cash, making it impossible to pay the $8 day use fee charged by Clackamas County. (The county doesn’t have a way to pay online, that I could find.) After striking out at Eagle Fern Park we headed to Milo McIver where a State Park Pass is required. Day use passes went from $5 to $10 beginning in 2025 so for the first time we purchased an annual pass (online) which is only $30, or three visits to fee parks.

We parked in the McIver Memorial Viewpoint parking area and began our hike by following a paved path down to the viewpoint.

Gazebo near the parking lot.

McIver Memorial Viewpoint

On a clearer day there would be a view of the mountains here, but we had to settle for the mountain identifier to let us know what we were missing.

Clackamas River from the viewpoint.

We had visited this park in June 2020 and done a 6.5-mile loop around the southern half of the park (post). For this visit the plan was a lollipop around the northern portion. From the viewpoint we walked back toward the parking area and turned right (north) on a gravel path leading to a signboard.
The small trail sign on the left is labeled “Viewpoint Trail”.

Map on the signboard. Oddly the Viewpoint Trail is not shown on this map even though the trail continues past the signboard.

We continued past the signboard on the Viewpoint Trail which descended the hillside above the Vortex Meadow before reaching a junction with the Vortex Loop near the edge of the meadow.

The Vortex Meadow through the trees.

At an unsigned 4-way junction with the Vortex Loop we turned right and headed further into the meadow.

Former model airplane landing strip in the meadow.

The lack of signage combined with some trails not being shown on the maps we had, created some issues as we neared the SE end of the meadow. We came to a group of picnic tables where a trail headed left toward them. It appears, based on our final GPS track compared to the route shown in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide and the park map, that this was the continuation of the Vortex Loop. We assumed it was simply a trail to the tables and continued straight through the meadow to a “T” junction at its edge.

We turned left on this trail, which again had no signage, and followed it staying right at junctions until we arrived at a 4-way junction with signs.

There were some limited views of the Clackamas River from this trail.

While we were happy to see trail signs again it was a little confusing to see the Riverbend Trail pointer here. Here again the maps that we had did not show this junction. They did show a 4-way junction between the Riverbend Trail and Vortex Loop but only after crossing a road which we had not done.

We decided to follow the pointer for the Riverbend Trail to the right since that was the trail we were eventually to be on. A short distance later we came to another signed junction, but this one made no mention of the Riverbend Trail.

This junction really threw us off. We initially turned left following the pointer for the Vortex Trail but quickly talked ourselves out of it when it appeared to be heading away from the river. In hindsight this was the correct choice to follow the Oregon Hikers Route, but I failed to catch that in the hike description. We were still a little confused as to exactly where we were on the route as well due to having come to more junctions than we’d expected already. We backtracked to the junction and headed down into the Kingfisher Group Camp and picked up the continuation of a trail on the far side of the grassy area.

Viewpoint near the group camp.

This trail led us to a junction with the Riverbend Trail at the Riverbend disc golf course.

Had we not backtracked through the group camp we would have connected with the Riverbend Trail after crossing a road then turned right on the Riverbend Trail, recrossed the road, and arrived at this junction on that trail which was now on our left.

We turned right on the Riverbend Trail and were now back on track with the route we had intended to be on. The Riverbend Trail passed between the river on the right and the Riverbend Day Use Area.

Stellar’s jay

We stumbled on a one-leg standing competition that the local geese were engaged in.

The mallards seemed unimpressed with the geese’s balancing abilities.

Common mergansers

The Riverbend Trail brought us to a parking area near a boat ramp where we once again got a little confused.

We should have turned left here following the pointer but instead we continued past the boat ramp and picked up a trail on the far side of the parking area.

This trail was not the Riverbend Trail but rather was part of the disc golf course providing access to holes 5, 6, & 7, and it ended at the riverbank.

Common merganser drake

After consulting our maps once again we realized our mistake and that we should have turned left when we’d arrived at boat ramp.
We found this nice little bridge wandering around the disc golf course attempting to connect with the Maple Ridge Trail.

Stream below the little footbridge.

When it became clear that it wasn’t possible to reach the Maple Ridge Trail from this part of the disc golf course we made our way back to the boat ramp and walked up the paved road to a trail marker on the right.

We crossed a patch of grass to another set of trail signs where we found a pointer for the Maple Ridge Trail.

We were back on track again and followed the Maple Ridge Trail uphill half a mile to Wood Duck Pond.

The Cedar Knoll Trail connects the upper and lower segments of the Maple Ridge Trail. We stayed right on the Maple Ridge Trail.

Colorful fungi

Wood ducks on Wood Duck Pond. It’s pretty rare that the animal a feature is named after is actually present.

At the pond the Maple Ridge Trail made a 180 degree turn and headed SE while continuing its gradual climb. A short distance from Wood Duck Pond was a signed spur trail to the 2008 Landslide Viewpoint.

We detoured the 150′ to the viewpoint.

While the cliffs were dramatic this short detour also resulted in us spotting a large newt/salamander and a great blue heron.
Not sure if this is just the biggest rough-skinned newt we’ve ever seen or a different type of salamander.

Great blue heron by a small pond. It was probably hunting the frogs that were croaking loudly here.

We returned to the Maple Ridge Trail and followed it to a junction with the Riverbend Loop Trail. This stretch of trail climbed a little more before leveling out somewhat and eventually dropping back down to the junction.
The sign ahead is for the Cedar Knoll Trail joining from the left.

Dropping down to the Riverbend Loop Trail junction.

The Maple Ridge Trail makes another nearly 180 degree turn here and drops down to the parking area a short distance from its other end.

We stayed right here again at a junction with a trail leading to the Maple Ridge Picnic Shelter.

I believe these are sweet coltsfoot starts.

There was a bench next to this nice little creek.

Nearing the Riverbend Day Use Area entrance road.

When the Riverbend Trail arrived at the entrance road it turned uphill.

After a short climb we arrived at a junction where we turned right leaving the Riverbend Trail.

A very short distance later we came to a junction with the Vortex Loop where we also turned right.

Had we not gotten confused and gone through the group camp earlier we would have come to both of these junctions before. In any event we followed the Vortex Loop uphill, steeply at times, to a crossing of the paved road across from the Vortex Meadow.

Song sparrow

At the junction in the meadow we turned right onto the unsigned Viewpoint Trail and followed it back uphill to our car.

It’s hard to make out but there is a coyote in this photo.

I have no idea what’s going on with this photo of the coyote as it was trotting away from us. Shortly after this it popped out from behind some brush and jumped into the air to pounce on something. That was the last we saw of it.

Squirrel

Left to right: Silver Star Mountain, Little Baldy, and Bluff Mountain (post).

Mt. Hood making a partial appearance.

The weather held and we stayed dry despite having driven through several rain showers on the way to the park. Despite missing out on Eagle Fern Park it had been a good day of hiking. The trails weren’t too busy, and we got to see a fair amount of wildlife through the morning. This hike was approximately 6.4-miles with a little over 400′ of elevation gain.

We plan on trying Eagle Fern Park again in the not-too-distant future, and this time we’ll be sure to bring cash just in case. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Milo McIver Riverbend Loop

Tags Clackamas River, Common Merganser, coyote, geese, hiking, Mallard, Maple Ridge Trail, McIver Memorial Viewpoint, Milo McIver State Park, Oregon, Riverbend Trail, Viewpoint Trail, Vortex Loop, Vortex Trail, Wood Duck Pond

Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge – 02/10/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 12, 2024
2 Comments on Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge – 02/10/2024

While we didn’t have another hike scheduled for February a decent forecast was too much to pass up. We were looking for something nearby (less than an hour from Salem) on the shorter side that would be more of a leisurely stroll than a hike. We decided it would be a good day to check out the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge . Originally added (2007) as part of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (post) the Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 2013. Eight years later the refuge was opened to public use and now has approximately 2.85 miles of trail. The trails are currently open from Feb 1st through Nov 30th each year (note the 1.3-miles of natural surface is closed to hiking starting Sept 1st). Also of note is that during periods of heavy rains the access trail may become flooded, but the Refuge website has a link to the USGS Monitoring Tool where you can easily check to see if the creek’s level is over 7.5 feet.

The trailhead is adjacent to Brown Park in the city of Gaston, OR and includes two ADA parking spaces and a restroom. What it lacks is signage from Highway 47. The parking area can be accessed from that highway or via Onion Lane by turning South off of E Main Street/SW Gaston Road. A paved trail begins at an informational signboard where you can also pick up a brochure.

It was a little cloudier than we’d hopped as we set off on the paved path. We followed the path to a footbridge over Wapato Creek to the levee that partially surrounds the lakebed. We faced a choice of heading left for 0.6-miles or right for up to 2-miles. Another person had just turned left so we opted to go right.

We were a little confused by the sign on the left here stating the trail was closed. The website and signboard had said nothing about a closure and the gate at the far end of the bridge was open and others were already out on the levee. We assume they just hadn’t taken the sign down after the seasonal closure period.

Pointers on the levee.

Nutria (sigh). We had hopped it was a beaver but alas the whiskers give it away.

Geese, several species of ducks, and some shore birds.

From the bridge to the right the levee’s surface is good gravel. We took our time as we strolled south trying to discern which types of ducks we were seeing.
A great blue heron along Wapato Creek.

Great blue heron

Wapato Lake

Beaver lodge

Northern shovelers and an American wigeon

Of course we forgot to bring binoculars making it even harder to make out which types of ducks were out there.

Ring-necked ducks with an American coot in the background.

Ring-necked duck and northern shovelers

Reflections in Wapato Lake

There is virtually no shade along the lake which wasn’t an issue today but could be in the heat of Summer. There are however three benches along the levee allowing for a place to sit and watch the birds.

Lesser scaups

Ducks flying over the lake.

Old bridge over Wapato Creek. The gravel surface ended at this bridge.

After 0.7 miles of gravel the levee continued as a natural surface. The unevenness of the natural surface was a stark difference to the gravel.

We continued on the natural surface another three quarters of a mile to a gate at another old bridge. Across the lake we could see some tundra swans which were a first for us, and we startled a coyote that raced off through the brush along the lakebed.

The coyote running off through the brush.

Tundra swans

We decided to turn around at this bridge even though the levee continued. It appeared that the water was further away from the levee going forward and we hadn’t planned on going much more than 3-miles today.

We were hoping that the partly sunny skies that had been forecast would make an appearance as we made our way back, but that never happened. Nevertheless, we were enjoying trying to identify the different ducks and birds we were seeing.
Northern pintails and some green-winged teals.

American wigeons and a pair of green-winged teals.

There were a couple of times that blue sky seemed imminent.

Buffleheads

Iowa Hill (post) across the lake.

More buffleheads

Immature bald eagle

Sparrow

Horned grebe

Canvasbacks, another first for us.

Great blue heron on the osprey nest.

Ther heron on the nest.

When we arrived back at the bridge over Wapato Creek we stayed straight on the level and followed the gravel path north 0.6-miles to a gate where we turned around and returned to our car.

Mallards

Red-winged blackbird

Bald eagle

Nutria

Gaston from the refuge.

Green-winged teals

Northern pintails

Mostly American wigeons and green-winged teals

On the paved path back to the parking lot.

We wound up going a total of 4.8-miles (according to both our GPS units) which was a little further than we’d planned, but we got to see a lot of wildlife without much effort on the level trails.

This was an enjoyable visit and given its relative proximity to Salem one that we’ll likely revisit down the line. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Willamette Valley

Ankeny Wildlife Refuge – 04/13/2021

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 13, 2021
4 Comments on Ankeny Wildlife Refuge – 04/13/2021

I found myself with some time off that Heather does not and after spending the first day getting the car serviced and receiving my first dose of COVID vaccine (YAY) I spent the next morning exploring the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge. We had visited once before in 2014 for a short hike described by Sullivan in his “100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades” guidebook (post). This time I hoped to explore more of the refuge by hiking some of the dike trails that are open from April 1st to September 30th. I started my morning at the Eagle Marsh parking area on Buena Vista Road.

There is a nice kiosk there overlooking the marsh from which quite a few ducks and geese were visible.

Buffleheads

Canada goose and mallards

American coot

Ring-necked ducks (I’m not sure all the females are the same.)

Geese flying over Eagle Marsh as the Sun rises.

There was more vegetation at the southern end of the marsh where robins and blackbirds were singing.

At the end of Eagle Marsh the dike split and I had intended to stay straight (the Refuge trail map appeared to show a possible loop around Willow Marsh but other maps do not show a dike at the southern end) but a sign there announced that dike was closed due to active nesting so I turned left instead.
Willow Marsh

There were a lot of ducks in Willow Marsh but they were keeping a safe distance from me.
A bufflehead and mallards

Mallards and ring-necked ducks

I then turned right along a dike passing between Willow and Teal Marshes.
Teal Marsh to the left of the dike.

It was more of the same treatment from the ducks in Teal Marsh.

Mallards an northern shovelers

Buffleheads

While the ducks stayed away I had better luck with the smaller birds.
Spotted towhee

Red-winged blackbird

Female red-winged blackbird

Sparrow

Yellow-rumped warbler

At the end of Teal Marsh I turned around and headed back past the ducks.

Geese coming in for a landing on Teal Marsh

Northern flicker

Green-winged teal

Ring-necked ducks and a bufflehead pair

Scrub jay

Pie billed grebe at Eagle Marsh

The out-and-back was a nice, albeit windy, 3.2 mile walk with no elevation gain. From Eagle Marsh I turned left (SW) onto Buena Vista Road and drove a quarter mile to a small pullout at a green gate.

From here I planned on following another dike past Mohoff Pond and Pintail Marsh to Wintel Road and then follow that road briefly to the Rail Trail Loop Area which is where we had been on our first visit. A bald eagle flew over Mohoff Pond just as I set off.

Mohoff Pond was busy with a number of different ducks but primarily they seemed to be northern shovelers.

I didn’t see it when I took the picture but it appears there is an eagle on the ground in the distance here.

The activity wasn’t only at Mohoff Pond though as a handful of egrets were mostly out of view in a field on the other side of the railroad tracks.
One of the egrets taking off.

Brewer’s blackbird on a tree along the railroad tracks.

I stayed right at a junction with a dike running between Mohoff Pond and Pintail Marsh.
Pintail Marsh ahead on the left.

The dike between Mohoff Pond and Pintail Marsh.

Ducks at Pintail Marsh

There was a gravel parking area at the southern end of Pintail Marsh where I hopped onto Wintel Road and headed left following the narrow shoulder for .3 miles to another green gate on the right hand side of the road.
Pintail Marsh

Looking back at the gate and Wintel Road

I followed a grassy track which split 100 feet from the gate and turned right (left would have led me to the Rail Trail Parking area). The path led past a little standing water before leading onto a dike along Wood Duck Pond.

Yellow legs

I passed the Rail Trail Boardwalk and stayed on the dike now retracing our steps from our first visit.

The dike turned south wrapping around Dunlin Pond.
The boardwalk across Dunlin Pond from the dike.

Ring-necked ducks

Ring-necked ducks taking off.

Sparrow

Common yellowthroat

Hawk and a sparrow

At the far end of Dunlin Pond the dike split again at Killdeer Marsh. Here I turned right and looped around Killdeer Marsh.
Killdeer Marsh

Another yellow legs?

Mustard along Killdeer Marsh

A killdeer amid ducks at Killdeer Marsh

The dike didn’t quite go all the way around the marsh but it was easy walking along the edge of a field to get back to the dike on the north side of the marsh. The only issue was a 5 foot wide wet area between the field and dike where try as I might my shoes wound up wet. Once I was back on the dike I had the choice to go left back along Killdeer Marsh or a different dike veering off to the right along South Pond. I chose right and followed this dike around the end of South Pond.

South Pond

Cinnamon Teal in South Pond

The dike led me to one of two actual trails in the Refuge, the Rail Trail.

Damaged trees from the ice storm earlier this year.

Turkey vulture

Candyflower

I turned right at the boardwalk and followed it over the water to the dike on the far side.

American coots

I think this is a ring-necked duck and a lesser scaup.

At the dike I turned right and retraced my steps back to Witnel Road and headed back toward Pintail Marsh. Instead of going to the gravel parking lot that I had been at earlier I left the road at the Pintail/Egret Marsh Boardwalk Trailhead.

I followed this short boardwalk along and over Bashaw Creek to a bird blind.

Again on the trail map it appeared that the boardwalk connect to a dike at Egret Marsh but it instead it dead ended at the blind.
The dike from the blind.

I turned around and headed back to Witnel Road a little dissapointed but then I spotted a little green frog on a log and all was good.

When I got back to the lot a Pintail Marsh I turned right thinking I would follow the dike on the other side Pintail Marsh and Mohoff Pond.

I stayed right when I passed another dike that allowed for a loop around Frog Marsh and stopped at a photo blind (reservable from 10/1-3/31).

At the junction with the other end of the Frog Marsh Loop I ran into another obstacle, more active nesting had closed the dike along Pintail Marsh so I did the loop around Frog Marsh and back to the gravel lot I went.

I retraced my steps on the dike along the west side of Pintail Marsh before turning right on the dike between the marsh and Mohoff Pond.
Killdeer on the dike.

A whole lot of geese in the air ahead.

I turned left at a four way junction where the closed dike joined from between Pintail and Egret Marshes.

I was now on a dike between Mohoff Pond (left) and Mallard Marsh (right).

Ducks and geese were everywhere as I trudged directly into the wind along the dike.
Green-winged teals

Northern shovelers

Canada geese

Another green-winged teal

Various ducks

Northern pintails

Crow

A green-winged teal and a yellow legs

My second stop wound up coming to 7.5 miles making for a 10.7 mile day. I only passed two people all day and saw a lot of different birds which made for a great hike. If I were a more patient person I would have sat at a blind or two and waited for some closer encounters but I prefer to keep moving so I have to settle for the long distance shots more often than not. Either way Ankeny is a great place to visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Central Oregon Hiking Klamath Falls Oregon

Link River Nature Trail

Two weeks after a last minute hiking trip to the Klamath Falls area we had a different reason to head back down to that city, my Aunt LaVonne and Uncle Ron’s 50th wedding anniversary. The celebration wouldn’t be starting until the afternoon, so before the festivities began we took a short hike with our son Dominique along the Link River Nature Trail.

After being chauffeured to the trailhead by my parents (who did their own shorter version of the hike) we set off along the trail which was actually a closed roadbed behind a chain link gate.

The road paralleled the river which flows between Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna.

From the very start the trail lived up to being called a nature trail as a number of different birds could be seen in and around the water.

At the .4 mile mark we passed the dam that created the lake behind it.

Just beyond the dam the trail crosses a canal on bridge.

At the half mile mark we left the roadbed at a post for Klamath Falls and made our way to the river just downstream from the small cascades.

After visiting the falls we returned to the trail and continued to follow the river toward Lake Ewauna through a desert canyon where there were plenty more birds.

Coots

Scrub jay

White pelican, coots, and a cormorant

White pelican

Coots

After one and three quarters of a mile we arrived at the southern end of this section of trail at w parking lot near a power station. Here we crossed Main Street near the Flavell Museum and then also crossed Highway 39 at a crosswalk into a small parking area for the Klamath Wingwatchers Nature Trail.

This trail passed underneath Highway 97 and brought us to Lake Ewauna.

The trail itself wasn’t much to write home about as it passed between the lake and the busy highway, but the number and variety of birds made up for the traffic.

After about a quarter mile on this trail we came to a fork signed “Loop B”.

This was the beginning of a .8 mile loop around a couple of old mill ponds. We decided to go around the ponds counter-clockwise so we stayed right. We saw birds everywhere – in the ponds, on the lake, and in the sky.

Mallards and other birds

Canada geese

Pelicans in flight

Great blue heron among others

Northern shoveler

Horned grebes

After completing the loop we headed back, recrossed the roads, and returned to the trailhead along Lakeshore Drive. We spotted several additional types of birds that we hadn’t seen earlier and many that we had.

Northern flicker

More pelicans

Another jay

Great blue heron on the rocks

Common merganser

Hooded mergansers (in the foreground)

Egret

Western grebe

In addition to all the birds we did see two garter snakes slither into the grass and my parents spotted a muskrat and a deer on their hike. For a short, in town hike it had provided a lot of wildlife over the 5 mile round trip.

We spent the afternoon at the anniversary party with a whole different type of wildlife :). Happy Trails!

Flick: Link River Nature Trail

Tags Candad geese, Coots, Egret, great blue heron, hiking, Horned grebe, Klamath Falls, Klamath Wingwatchers Nature Trail, Lake Ewauna, Link River, Link River Nature Trail, Mallard, Northern flickr, Northern Shoveler, Oregon, Upper Klamath Lake, Western Grebe, White Pelican