Back on the Crooked River again this week. Fishing is getting good and the weather is perfect for a day of sitting along the stream.
American Kestrel (adult male), this small falcon is rusty above with slate-blue wings and two black slashes on the face.
In June the kestrals show up and we may have discovered a nest site,
Though it’s on the back side of an old snag . . . on the opposite side of the river . . . making it difficult to confirm.
Kestrels typically hunt ground prey like small mammals, lizards and large insects.
There was a lizard exchange that first drew our attention to the fact that this pair of kestrels might not be just using the tree as a feeding station.
Northern Flicker (juvenile) is larger than most woodpeckers in Oregon.
Next time we visit, I’ll wade the stream and get a better angle.
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
For now, we will be content with images of summer blooms, a young flicker and mourning dove also enjoying the water.
Of course, there are some pix of fishing and Tip keeping watch.
The Fremont Highway will take you right by Summer Lake, so we drive that route frequently. Usually only as far as the refuge, but this week we kept on going.
Past the southern end of Summer Lake sits the tiny town of Paisley. If you stay on Highway 31 for another 30 miles you’ll run into 395 and that eventually gets you to Reno, Nevada.
Instead, we took a hard right in the middle of Paisley, heading up into the Fremont Forest along the Chewaucan River.
The initial plan was to run up the back side of Winter Ridge and come out at Silver Lake.
The Chewaucan is a beautiful little stream, we’ll definitely be back to fish. We’d explored the northern portion out to Fremont Point and got a spectacular view of Summer Lake Valley
The Chewaucan River cuts through a meadow
The canyon cut by the Chewaucan winds south through pine forests, past numerous camp sites and side creeks, eventually running into USFS 28. This road traverses the top of Winter Ridge and would, in theory, lead to Silver Lake.
I say in theory because we didn’t calculate snow pack and got turned back by blocked roadways.
Remnants of a 2022 wildfire
Plans changed and we headed south to Dairy Creek and around Quartz Mountain intent on meeting up with State 140, Klamath Falls Highway. Foiled again by snow covered roadways, we retraced our route.
A JQ angle on dandelions
Undaunted, we’ll return to this area and complete the loop once the snowy grip of winter has been removed.
Each visit offers a unique experience. Seasons bring shifts in habitat and inhabitants. The wildlife refuge empties and fills over the course of the year with a variety of bird populations.
Marsh Wren
Common Blackbird
Mallard
Tree Swallow
Some birds are resident, but most of the species we encounter at Summer Lake are only there for a short period.
Resting, feeding, and for some, raising young, before moving on to summer or winter nesting sites.
One of many nesting boxes for long term residents
In addition to wildlife, the refuge sits amid an incredible landscape. Framing the western edge is Winter Rim, a 3000 foot escarpment jutting out of the valley floor. The top can have a cap of snow ,even when it’s shirt sleeve weather at Summer Lake.
American White Pelicans
To the south is Summer Lake, a marshy flat plain that stretches for miles. Eventually, this runs up against Abert Rim a fault scarp that rises 2500 feet from the valley floor . . . the last 800 a basalt cap.
Yellow-headed Blackbird singing his little heart out
This landscape is equally as photogenic as the wildlife, and both are the reason we keep coming back here.
The Lower Deschutes is open to fishing year-round. However, as winter turns to spring, fishing improves. Run-off hasn’t started, but water temps rising triggers the metamorphosis in aquatic insects.
Slopes of Balsamroot
Tip keeps watch
By the middle of the month insect activity has come full swing. Most anglers await the big stoneflies to crawl on to riverside bushes. This week we’re content to chase Blue Wing Olives and the Baetis hatch.
Salmon flies, a giant variety of stonefly, attracts more fishers than fish. It also marks a point when the rafters start to flood the stream and camp sites.
We try to get at least one trip to the Lower Deschutes during the big stonefly emergence, before heading to less crowded water.
At a favorite parking spot on the Lower Deschutes
This week was that trip. We had a blast. There could still be a trip to fish over salmon flies, but river spots are already getting a bit too crowded for us.
The real highlight of this week’s travels was a trip to a grocery store. Just half an hour north of Maupin, in the town of Dufur is a unique market.
Grocery store in Dufur, Oregon
Years back, while researching whole grain suppliers, JQ came across Azure Standard. At the time they offered local delivery of a limited variety of bulk grains. We ended up getting our wheat berries from Bob’s Red Mill, as it was easier and closer.
Jump ahead a dozen years, our lives have changed, but not a need for organic, clean products.
In that time Azure’s offerings have expanded and are being trucked nationally. Turns out one of a growing number of ‘local drop sites’ is a five minute drive from our house. We’ve become Azure Standard regulars.
A wide variety of grains and beans fill shelves in the market
This last week, JQ discovered the company operates a brick and mortar store in Dufur, Oregon . . . The Dufur Market. The Azure Standard catalogue is quite extensive, with some items we’d love to try, but on a smaller scale than the delivery order.
Mt. Hood as backdrop to a winter wheat field
Thus the trip to Dufur.
In case you’re ever in that part of Oregon, it’s worth a stop. And the sprouted corn tortillas were as good as the reviews said.
