Diana and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Central Oregon for a bit of bird photography, and some general relaxation. Our first stop was in the Fort Rock area, and we had phenomenal birding. No real rare species, but a lot of different species, in large numbers. The big surprise was not having pinyon jays come into camera range. We heard them, but they stayed aloof.
Our second stop was at Hosmer Lake, on the Cascade Lakes highway. That was our 36th year at Hosmer. Two items of disappointing news, Max Peel (the Mayor of Mallard Marsh) has retired, and there is a new camp host. Max and Nyla were the first people we met there in 1978. The Peels spent 51 years there as either campers or as hosts. BTW, that was Diana and my first camping trip together.
The second bit of Hosmer bad news is ODFW will no longer stock the lake with atlantic salmon. What ever is in there will be the last, unless public pressure forces them to find the funding for the salmon. They did stock the lake with big cutthroat trout, and a subspecies of rainbows called the cranebows (from Crane Prairie).
Here's a shot of one of the birds...
Our second stop was at Hosmer Lake, on the Cascade Lakes highway. That was our 36th year at Hosmer. Two items of disappointing news, Max Peel (the Mayor of Mallard Marsh) has retired, and there is a new camp host. Max and Nyla were the first people we met there in 1978. The Peels spent 51 years there as either campers or as hosts. BTW, that was Diana and my first camping trip together.
The second bit of Hosmer bad news is ODFW will no longer stock the lake with atlantic salmon. What ever is in there will be the last, unless public pressure forces them to find the funding for the salmon. They did stock the lake with big cutthroat trout, and a subspecies of rainbows called the cranebows (from Crane Prairie).
Here's a shot of one of the birds...
