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A Few Days in the Mountains

July 26, 2026 – 11:34 am
Posted in Harts Pass
Tagged Harts Pass, labrador retreiver, nest, Slate Peak, wildflowers
Comments (4)

Willow and I did a volunteer stint in the mountains last week. Our time there was cut short by evacuation orders concerning a fire in the wilderness to the north of there. The fire people are concerned that it will expand to the south and west, endangering hikers and others. It was hard to leave under those circumstances.

We did enjoy good weather, blue, smoke-free skies and wildflowers. We did not enjoy the flies and mosquitoes! Lots of interesting hikers came through and a French man doing the Fastest Known Time on the Pacific Crest Trail. It is over 2600 miles and he did it in 45 days! That’s 60 miles per day, on average, for 45 days. Can you even imagine? Search on FKT, Fastest Known Time, for more information. He had quite a support crew including a content creator and a French journalist.

But mostly it was quiet and beautiful. We did go up to Slate Peak to see the collapsed lookout. It was very sad. I found a Dark-eyed Junco nest within two inches of one of the trails.

Spring Birding

April 1, 2023 – 2:17 pm
Posted in birding
Tagged birding, birdwatching, Columbia River, cormorant, ducks, heron, killdeer, nest
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The girls and I had a field trip day at the big river this week. Somehow, we picked the nicest day ever this year, so far. It got up to 64 and sunny with clear blue skies! I had hoped we might see or hear some cranes but no luck. I feel like they are late getting up here. We did see many herons and cormorants on their nests and flying back and forth. Also, a few raptors, lots of ducks, some loons (maybe some that we see during the summer in the Highlands?), killdeer, many blackbirds, a pair of grebes I have not identified (probably Horned or Eared) and others. And a beaver. Willow found lots of sticks and stinky things. And she likes to watch birds. Sky really just enjoyed the day, getting in and out of the river and finding her own sticks. If you look closely at the big nest near the end, you will see the top of the head of its resident.

Bird Life

June 19, 2019 – 9:24 am
Posted in birds, Uncategorized
Tagged great horned owl, nest, Owl, owlet
Comments (2)

Remember the Great Horned Owls from this post? I continued to visit them, not too frequently, but often enough to follow the progress of the nest. I was up there on May 11 and 23 and June 6. Three days later all of the owls were gone – mom, dad and the youngster. I don’t think the little one had any flight feathers so I don’t think it survived. On the 6th, there was someone camped in front of the nest and also the adjacent vacation cabin had a LOT of guests. Maybe it was disturbance? Maybe the owlet died of natural causes and the parents left? Maybe they could not feed it enough although I think it looked healthy. Maybe mouse poison or pesticide use? I’ll never know. Hopefully they will return next year and try again.

New Parents on the Hill

These two Great Horned Owls kept us awake earlier in the spring with their hooting back and forth in the wee hours of the morning. Now that they’ve settled down to raise a family, they are much quieter. I imagine they are busy hunting, probably just one at a time these days. I think the eggs have hatched and the mom stays on or near the nest all the time while the dad stands guard in a nearby tree during the day. It will be fun to watch the little ones grow up!