Nature – Page 26

August 9, 2020August 8, 2020

Good Fortune at the River

Not sure what happened.

Time of day, day of the week, or maybe just heat of summer … regardless, there was no one at our favorite picnic site on the Crooked River!

And then we were visited by an osprey and treated to aerial acrobatics and maneuvers …, good luck indeed.

Monday we got going early to avoid afternoon heat. We were ready for what had become typically packed campgrounds and had riparian picnic gear at hand.

As has become custom, we start with a fetch/swim at the reservoir, which has been drawn down quite a bit.

Wet and happy dog back in the car we head down into the canyon and search out a parking spot on the river.

Over the past few months the river has been unusually crowded, however today Post Pile CG was completely empty. It stayed that way until we left about 3 pm.

The other thing that stayed away was August heat. These last few weeks have seen temperatures hit near ninety by noon. Shade trees aided with a light breeze up the canyon offered pleasant reading sites all day.

August 2, 2020August 1, 2020

A Summer Morning Walk

Summer with all it’s heat has decended on Central Oregon.

What this means is we’ve shifted our outdoor activities to the morning hours, and if we are out in the afternoon heat its near a stream with plenty of shade.

While it might approach 100 degrees by midday, it has dropped to a refreshing 45 by the next morning.

This week we decided to explore a spot on the western edge of Crane Prairie Reservoir. There is a short hike to a birding spot on the reservoir’s banks that typically we drive by on our way to favorite fishing haunts on the upper Deschutes. This morning we started there.

Osprey Point is an interpretive trail, no camping and only one picnic table. This day there were no cars in the parking area, but the path is well worn so it’s not always so private.

The trail winds through lodgepole pine forest with twists of blowdown that would make off trail walking difficult.

At the end you breakout onto the southern reach of a broad marsh. There is a crescent shaped area with willows, grasses and lots of snags for nesting that runs for half a mile of shore line and is about 500 feet deep.

There are osprey, as well as other raptors and a variety of shore birds. The middle of summer isn’t the best time to observe nesting birds. Plus, we weren’t equipped to slog across wetlands to the shore to get a closer look at a flock of pelicans. That said it was a beautiful morning and JQ did manage to find some subject material for her camera.

July 19, 2020October 31, 2020

A Day on the D

This week we returned to a favorite fishing site, the Upper Deschutes River.

Proximity to our house makes for a perfect day or even half day jaunt.

Numerous pull-offs and side roads offer access to grassy banks, perfectly suited for a camp chair.

The Deschutes River is divided into three zones, Upper, Middle and Lower. There is a striking difference between these separate stretches of river. It’s entire length is bank fishable, with lots of access points for picnicking as well as camping.

This day we tried a new spot just downstream from the head waters and Little Lava Lake. From here the river flows south into the Crane Prairie Reservoir, eventually turning north out of Wickiup Reservoir and onto the Columbia River. This close to the head waters means the stream is more wadeable but holds smaller fish.

Nothing better than a dust bath after a swim in the river …

The stream is never more than knee deep so we can wade and fish either bank. It is also perfect for a game of fetch with Tip.

The biggest fault with this weeks jaunt was a lack of fish caught, but that was made up in time spent pulling a stick from the river.

July 5, 2020July 8, 2020

Story and picture

It wasn’t that long ago you needed to carry a camera if you wanted pictures. Of course, this was not always conducive to the spontaneous capture of life’s simple events … all possible with phone and app.

This blog has always been an excuse to post pictures the way we want them to be seen. To that end, we’ve pushed the limits of our iPhone cameras.

Simple lenses offer a fraction of the image detail, but it does get a boost from some very clever software and offers some pretty good pictures.

We enjoy exploring remote landscapes, so naturally wildlife photography is one of our interests. iPhones, unfortunately, are not great tools for this type of image taking.

We’re not advocating abandonment of smart phones, it’s just time to up our game a bit.

This week we spent nearly every day working with a Sony mirrorless system and super telephoto lens. There were some successes and plenty of learning opportunities.

Kudos to Jack for getting this beautiful shot of an American White Pelican!

We made good use of the rental. By the end of the week we had completed 9 separate shoots and taken nearly 10,000 images. It was a great experience … and we are hooked!

June 28, 2020May 23, 2022

Birding to Social Distance

You may have heard of Malheur Refuge in southeastern Oregon’s high desert. It’s known for it’s birding, fishing, and hunting.

But just 200 miles east of there is our favorite site to photograph birds and wildlife, Summer Lake Wildlife Area. It is strategically located within the Pacific flyway and sits in the northern corner of the Great Basin.

For birding, we’ve found Summer Lake is more rewarding. You can gain access via car and dike paths to the marsh lands. Canals and ponds are adjacent to the major loop road.

Plus there are camp/picnic sites within easy access. It might also be that Summer Lake is just an hour’s drive from our house.

We manage to spend a day at the refuge at least every other month, keeping track of the migratory birds, as well as full time residents. There are nearly 300 bird species that nest or pass through the area and it also hosts about 40 different mammals and another 20 or so fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Currently we’re looking to upgrade our photography kit with shooting wildlife in mind. This means we need a telephoto lens at least 400mm. Borrowed Lenses has equipment rentals so you can try out a camera and lens to see if that is going to work. This saves a lot of frustration in what will eventually be a major purchase.

The week’s trial was enlightening. The lens, a 200 to 600mm zoom, was a great fit but we also fell in love with the camera, Sony’s A6400. The other piece of information gleaned was that a smaller, lighter wide angle lens is going to be critical.

Being able to capture images at distances even with the great level of wildlife proximity Summer Lake offers has always been an issue. iPhone cameras are great, Moment lenses work well, but neither of these let you “pull in” those distant critters.

The week was spent with lots of early morning trips to all our favorite haunts. Not just the edge of a marsh, but the mountains and onto a stream side as well. I think in all we had some 5K frames to work with … with wildlife that means you have about 2 dozen decent shots. The ones shared here are just a few. Expect a new photo essay going up next month.