The South Central portion of Oregon holds the northern part of the Great Basin. The Great Basin is North America’s largest area of contiguous endorheic (internally drained) basins.
Two hundred thousand square miles dotted with lakes and streams that don’t flow to any ocean . . . it’s a hydrological land formation.
The Wasatch mountain range defines the eastern edge while the Cascade and Sierra Nevada range define it’s western side.
Death Valley and the Mojave Desert mark the southern point and a few hundred miles into Oregon from Nevada is the basin’s northern portion.
The off-shoot of being basically a closed system is these basin lakes are typically shallow, alkaline and circled by marsh lands.
At least historically . . . currently these lakes are disappearing, drying up, which is not good news for anyone, and particularly for migratory birds.
Oregon’s portion of the basin includes a chain of lakes at the foot of Hart Mountain and west over Abert Rim sits a long valley holding Abert and Summer Lakes.
The refuge on Summer Lake was our destination this week.
We’re trying to get one more birding journey in before it turns into a duck hunter’s trailer park. This week we got to watch Egrets come and go.
There was a small squadron of American White Pelicans, along with thousands of water foul; ducks, geese and swans.
What we try to accomplish in the fall is a final trip across the northern dike road before it’s closed for the season.
This narrow track of gravel cuts between two large ponds with a view unobstructed by reeds and with Fremont Ridge as a background.
Most likely we won’t be back until the spring migration starts.
Though if we see a string of warm winter days, it is worth a trip to catch a photo of a resident heron, local raptor, or even one of the many cold season song birds.
Great pics!