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Evidently this is turning into a whole trip report….
I drove through Sisters to get home. A few miles west out of Sisters a whole herd of Roosevelt Elk crossed highway 20 right in front of me!!!! Easily 1-2 dozen. They were booking it. I mean, I would too, if I were crossing the highway…
I’ve never wanted a dash cam more in my life just so I could have captured it. I’ve never seen that many Roosevelt Elk in the wild let alone crossing in front of me like that.
Oh, oh! And I stopped by the USFS office in Bend and got my America the Beautiful Access pass! It was free, is good for life and has this lovely photo of an owl on it!
I had asked my doctor to provide an affidavit of disability, which the folks at USFS definitely asked for, along with my passport to verify my identity. It’s not clear to me whether or not they also used it to verify citizenship. (Only US citizens and PRs, I think, are eligible for the Access pass.)
The staff recommended I keep the letter on hand as I might be asked for it when showing my pass at NP entrances, etc.
There are 4 campgrounds at Summer Lake Wildlife Area. They are open basically when hunting season is not. All you need is an ODFW parking permit which is something like $30. And it’s good for all the ODFW areas, some of which also have campgrounds. Stay limit of 14 days. The campgrounds are primitive. Tables and vault toilets. I saw things you might call fire rings but were so pathetic I wouldn’t have considered them even if it weren’t windy as hell.
If anyone is interested, I will do a little write up on the campgrounds. I could only fine 3 of the 4, but I took pictures of the three I did find. I ended up staying the first night at the Bullgate Campground and the second at Ana River Campground.
Birds identified at Summer Lake Refuge:
Merlin (eBird) identified Sandhill Cranes and I heard them too, but didn’t manage to see any. Same with the Virginia Rail.
I still haven’t seen a Sandhill Crane yet, so I’ll continue to BOLO for them this season.
The scenery out at Summer Lake Wildlife Area are just stunning. Highly recommend it if you enjoy birding! I woke up to this amazing rainbow on Saturday morning.
There were many Trumpeter Swan in residence at Summer Lake. And Greater White-fronted Geese.
The Trumpeter Swans make quite the music! A bunch were banded. I’m sorta curious about that…
I didn’t get to explore as much as I wanted. It was very windy the entire time I was there. In fact, I left early due to a high wind advisory. And I struggled a bit with the altitude and low humidity (neither great for my crappy lungs).
However, I got some good photos of: Marsh Wren, Tree Swallow, Song Sparrow, and Red-wing Blackbird.
I spent the weekend out at Summer Lake Wildlife Area and captured my best photo yet of a Bald Eagle. #BirdPhotography #Birding
