Waiting For the Sun

Despite being less than 160 miles from Bend, we had never been to Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The truth is I wasn't even aware of Bear Valley per se; only the larger Klamath Basin refuge complex of which it is a part.

Bear Valley isn't particularly scenic -- in fact, it isn't even a valley. It is a northeast-facing hillside covered with old growth timber. It's closed to the public, yet every winter morning visitors gather before sunrise along a gravel road just outside the refuge to watch "the flyout".

Cold Hands

It was cold enough outside that The Boy actually relented and left his hat on. This was an unusual concession for which The Dad took mental credit since he was wearing a similar hat. Gloves, or rather mittens, were where The Boy drew the line. He needed to be able to manipulate his bottles no matter how cold it was -- and he didn't see The Dad wearing mittens!

After about 10 minutes he threw up his little red hands as if to say, "Do something about this!"

Pastoral Pastels

The weather forecast had called for partly cloudy skies over the weekend. This meant nothing, of course. Thus it was with a sense of suspense that we opened the camper door on this morning to discover clear skies and a mist-covered landscape that perfectly captured the pastel blues and pinks of early morning.

The Flyout

The flyout is the departure of as many as 500 bald eagles from their night roost in Bear Valley to the wetlands of the Klamath Basin. The protected slopes of Bear Valley shelter these birds from the worst of the winter weather. The large, old growth trees provide the strong, widely-spaced branches these raptors need for their nightly perch.

From our spot along the road, we observed dozens of eagles heading out for the day but it wasn't until I turned my attention elsewhere that this one flew directly overhead. I would learn over the course of the next two days that these eagles notice everything. It is very possible that it was only because I wasn't paying attention that it flew so close.

Irrigation Wheels

This image of a field shrouded in a pastel mist is one of my favorites. The Klamath Basin is a mixture of agricultural fields like this one interspersed among and between the six refuges.

The farmers and the refuges both rely on the same water supply for survival. This has led to significant conflict during times of drought. During his first term, George W. Bush sided with the farmers and ordered a study to tally the ecomonic loss to the region were agriculture forced out of the basin due to lack of water. The annual loss totaled in the millions. The report went on to point out that if the wetlands were allowed to dry up in order to preserve agriculture, the annual economic loss to the region would run in the tens of millions due to the loss of tourism. The administration successfully blocked the release of the report for several years until word of its existence was leaked to the press. That being said, there are many examples of farmers working together with the government to help preserve both the wetlands and their own way of life.

Red-Tailed Hawk

It was on Hwy 161, between Bear Valley and the Lower Klamath refuge, that we got our first close up look at a bird of prey. It wasn't an eagle. It was this red-tailed hawk.

Trumpeter Swans

Being neither hunters nor birders, we spent our first day referring to these swans as snow geese. No doubt my brothers-in-law, both hunters, would have regarded our attempts at bird identification as a bit of a comedy routine.

Geese in Formation

These white-fronted geese were in the process of picking a spot to spend the morning.

Coming in for a Landing

After a thorough aerial investigation, the white-fronted geese chose to land in a nearby section of the marsh.

Landing With Style

While lacking the sheer numbers of the ducks that preceded them, this bevy of swans conceded nothing when it came to style points for their landing.

Up Periscope

The Lower Klamath refuge is a patchwork of marshes, fields, and canals. As we drove along this particular canal we noted a curious series of round holes in the ice. After stopping here for brunch, it soon became apparent what was causing these holes. We heard a loud crash and looked over to see this otter briefly pop his head up to take a breath and check us out.

A Gaggle of Geese

We located this gaggle of Canadian geese in the Tule Lake refuge, a short drive from Lower Klamath.

Red-Tailed Hawk No. 2

By late afternoon, we decided to head back to the section of Hwy 161 that runs north of Lower Klamath. We found this to be the easiest place to spot raptors. There are plenty of perches along the road -- and plenty of red-tailed hawks to take advantage of them. It wasn't long before we came across this one, who provided me with my favorite hawk image of the weekend.

Red-Tailed Hawk No. 3

Needless to say, finding red-tailed hawks was not much of a challenge along this road. This one was just a few hundred feet from the last. Do you think he sees me?

I found it interesting that this one was perched just a few feet off the road. The hawk was completely unconcerned by the cars and trucks speeding past but immediately took issue with me once I got out of our truck. There seemed to be a wide variation in how willing these creatures were to tolerate my presence. Some took off as soon as they saw me. Others couldn't have cared less.

No Friends

If there had been one disappointment in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable day, it was that we had not seen an eagle since early morning. We had expected them to be everywhere. Part of the problem was that we were looking in the wrong place. As we headed back to Lower Klamath to catch the sunset, Darla noticed a bird sitting by itself in the middle of the ice. I assured her it couldn't be an eagle. Of course, it was.

Darla explained to Lewis that this is what happens when you insist on eating your friends: You end up sitting by yourself in the middle of a frozen marsh. I suspect her point was somewhat lost on The Boy.

Synchronized Flight

I have to admit that prior to this weekend I hadn't given swans much thought. I knew Germany's Mad King Ludwig had a thing for them back in the 1800's but that was about it. By the end of the day, these trumpeter swans had become the birds I most enjoyed watching in flight.

My favorite detail in this image would probably go unnoticed by all but the most careful observer. All of the birds are looking straight ahead, focused on where they are going -- all, that is, except one. In what can only be described as a "Far Side" moment, the third swan from the front appears to be mugging for the camera. Yes, he is looking right at me...and is it me or does it look like this swan is trying to soar while the other birds simply fly?

Frozen In Time

After living within a few hours of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges for over 8 years, what finally motivated me to spend a few days here was the acquisition of a fancy new lens: Canon's EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L. Its sharpness and ridiculously fast focusing speed make it perfect for this type of photography. Even Darla was impressed with the results. Check out the detail in this image: Swan #3 was honking; you can see its tongue!

Frozen Landscape

As the sun drifted toward the horizon, the pink and gold hues of sunset began to appear. There were no eagles sitting out on the ice here but I'd bet there were more than a few raptors perched in the distant trees. It looked like there was probably a way to drive out to them but the route wasn't obvious. It would have been dark by the time we got there. Maybe tomorrow.

Close Encounter. Kind of...

This would be our closest encounter with an eagle. I must admit that this is not the dramatic, frame-filling image I had pictured as I left Bend.

Now that we knew where to look, we were able to spot quite a few eagles. The Klamath Basin has the highest winter concentration of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. They come from as far as the Northwest Territories in Canada to feast on ducks and other waterfowl.

With over 500 eagles here during the winter months, you might expect to see some spectacular aerobatics as eagles pluck ducks out of the sky. Reality is somewhat different. There are so many ducks and geese in the area that the eagles just wait around for the weak and infirm to drop dead. This makes these refuges a paradise for the lazy, unambitious raptor; less so for the wildlife photographer hoping to see a little action.

Cattails Reflected in the Canal

We decided to spend our second night parked along a canal in the Lower Klamath refuge. This was the spot where we had seen the otter earlier in the day. It was also where we had encountered the largest flocks of waterfowl. They were gone now but I planned to be up again at sunrise when hopefully both the otter and the birds would return for an encore.

Meet the Otter Family

It proved to be an interesting night in the refuge. Darla summed it up well when she said, "Geese don't really sleep, do they?" It wasn't a complaint; it was actually kind of cool. But neither of us expected to hear the constant calls of swans and geese throughout the night.

Since The Boy wakes up at 5:30AM, it was no challenge to be up again before dawn. As I had hoped, I stepped out the door of the camper and discovered not just one otter but a whole family of them! The canal had re-frozen during the night and the otters were already hard at work punching holes in it.

Mt. Shasta in Morning Pink

The pinks and blues of dawn seemed considerably more intense than yesterday -- perhaps because there was less mist in the air.

While the otters showed up as expected, there were no signs that suggested the masses of waterfowl which had spent the day here yesterday were on their way back.

Nature, Meet The Boy

The Boy wasted no time alerting a nearby group of ducks to his presence. I suspect they were not used to that shot of adrenaline so early in the morning.

Our Little Environmentalist

After rousting the ducks, The Boy apparently decided that his empty bottle would look better floating in the canal. Needless to say, he hadn't quite grasped the whole "leave only footprints" concept. This was just the first of several unsuccessful attempts to force The Dad to go wading.

Busted

Yes, Little Man, I saw that!

Mountain & Marsh

The six refuges of the Klamath Basin complex sit less than 70 miles northeast of 14,440' Mt. Shasta, now completely pink in the early morning light.

Swans in Pink

Even the swans took on the pink color of morning, looking more like flamingos for a short time. This was the contingent outside of our camper. I found it hard to believe so few birds could make so much noise during the night.

Morning Cattails

Prior to the twentieth century, this entire area -- the refuges and the farmland in between -- had been part of a shallow network of lakes and marshes totaling over 186,000 acres. Bird populations peaked at over 6 million each fall.

Today, the wetlands are less than 25% of their original size. In 1905, the federal government began "reclaiming" the wetlands and turning the acreage into farmland. Today, the bird population is less than one fifth of its original size and continues to decline as the percentage of water diverted away from the refuges for agricultural purposes increases.

Our "Campsite"

Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe this as our parking space since we didn't actually do any camping in the traditional sense. Camping is prohibited in the refuge.

It had been another cold night which not only froze over the canal but also had the unexpected benefit of freezing the mud solid. Coming in and out of the camper was not the muddy affair it had been the night before.

Masses of Birds

The sun had been up awhile when the honks and squawks of the small group of birds near the camper were suddenly drowned out by the first of what would be wave after wave of birds landing in the distance. The ruckus was amazing. Time to head further into the refuge.

The Sound of Flight

This image attempts to capture the beautiful sight that is swans in flight. What it cannot capture is the amazing sound of swans in flight -- an eerie SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH as they fly overhead.

Avian Silhouettes

The waves of incoming birds were landing a few miles away in a section of the refuge between us and the sun. The backlighting from the sun reflected in the water turned the birds into silhouettes.

All In Line

A great blue heron watched this group of swans swim by in single file. Like many of the birds in the refuge, the herons never let us get too close. Darla described them as prehistoric-looking which I thought was a good way to put it.

Monet Wannabe

I tried to give this image an Impressionist feel by deliberately overexposing it and leaving the birds out of focus. Yeah. That's it. The overexposure and poor focus was intentional...

Roadside Discovery

Being two and a half, The Boy was far more impressed by the rocks along the side of the road than the birds. No doubt part of the reason was the accessibility of the rocks compared to that of the birds. I also have no doubt that, if the birds had been closer, Lewis would have been happy to engage in an activity involving both the rocks and the birds...

Taking Flight

Mad Dash

Swans seemed to be one of the more tolerant species of birds at the refuge so something must have spooked these guys. The result was another of my favorite images.

Bottle Boy Arrives On the Scene

"Did you see the way those swans took off when Lewis started kicking around that bottle?" asked The Mom as she and The Boy caught up with me. Mystery solved. While I appreciate the shot I got out of it, we probably won't be listing this accomplishment on his Audobon Society membership application.

"At least he's still wearing his hat," I responded. At that exact moment, The Boy yanked off his hat, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it, proving once again that: a) he understands exactly what we are saying even though he refuses to speak; and b) we're screwed.

Darla's Swans

Years back I bought Darla a Canon SureShot Classic 120, a beautiful little camera which served her faithfully until it met an untimely end on the cobblestone streets of Rothenburg, Germany. She was pregnant with Lewis at the time and had developed a bad case of the dropsies. Ever since then Darla has been reluctant to even hold any of my camera gear. After a day and a half of seeing the images I was getting from the new lens she decided she wanted to give it a try. This was one of her first shots. I like the shadow of the upper swan's head on its own wing.

Indian Well Cave

Lava Beds National Monument is a short drive from the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges. It features an interesting volcanic landscape that would have been even more so if a similar landscape wasn't located several blocks from our home in Bend. Lava Bed's claim to fame is a series of lava tubes that they refer to as caves. They range from very accessible to very challenging and you can explore all of them if you've got the time and the inclination. (The visitors' center will even loan you flashlights for your chosen adventure.)

Descending Into the Lava Tube

I'm a big fan of caves which is why I can't get too excited about lava tubes. I suppose that they are no less caves than the classic limestone variety but they lack the fantastic stalactites and stalagmites that characterize limestone version.

Frozen Bowling Pins

One thing that I'd never seen before in any cave were these stalagmites made of ice. They were everywhere around the mouth of Indian Well Cave, standing guard like tiny ice sentries. Of course, their formation has nothing to do with the type of cave but rather the surrounding climate. There were no matching ice stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave -- at least not on this day. Getting hit in the head by one of these could be fatal.