White River Wildlife Management Area

Today I went on a group bird walk with the Audubon Society to the White River Wildlife Management Area in the Tygh Valley of North-Central Oregon.  It wasn't exactly a hike but I'm totally counting it!  We ended up walking most of the day and even though it was at a snails pace, we put in quite some mileage.  We started out by stopping south of The Dalles near Dufur to check out a creek and oak woodland area.  We saw some amazing Lewis Woodpeckers which are nearing to be endangered and only come through this region during migration.  They are about 10 inches from beak to tail, have iridescent green wings, a red belly, white neck and red crown.  We were able to see five or six of them and that was quite a treat considering how rare they are.

After that we headed towards the Tygh Valley and stopped in a canyon where we got to watch a Golden Eagle fly around looking for food for a good five or six minutes.  This is the closest I've been to a Golden Eagle and it was just stunning!  We continued on to the White River Wildlife Management Area where we had to follow some forest service roads to get up to Jordan creek where we stopped for a bit.  The area was leaving the farmlands of The Dalles and entering into the high desert so the landscape changed right before our eyes.  Now we were looking at rustic desert shrub rather than the vibrant green nearer to the Columbia.  This area is definitely some place I would like to come back for an actual hiking trip.

We then continued on up into Mt. Hood National Forest (the eastern side of Mt Hood, I was on the western side when I went to Alder Flats last week...) where we made multiple stops before heading to Rock Creek Reservoir. One of my favorite episodes of the day was when the entire group (14 other people besides me and all older) were looking across the reservoir debating where those were Black Capped Chickadees or Mountain Chickadees when I started looking at the trees behind me and there was a HUGE Bald Eagle perched in a tree about 50 feet from where we all stood looking the other way! It was comical how ridiculous that was.  Another episode was when the most eager (read... irritating) birder insisted that we all stop our cars suddenly on the side of the road because he saw a duck in a pond he wanted to check out and it turned out it was a decoy.  Yes, a styrofoam duck.

After Rock Creek Reservoir we headed to White River Waterfall and that is seriously one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  There used to be a small dam or something that left a very cool looking ruined building jutting out into the water.  I even posted two pictures of it instead of one because it was so awesome looking.  I have to admit going on this trip made me realize how wonderfully diverse the countryside is here in Oregon and how wonderfully diverse the fauna is.  Besides the amazing birds we saw a herd of Antelope, lots of horses and cows, a beaver, deer, and lots of quail.  Which, technically are birds, but I consider them more of a ground beast because they're so funny looking!  I think they should be in a category by themselves.

Just south of the Dalles looking toward Mt Hood

Near Dufur

Jordan Creek

Near Jordan Creek

Rock Creek Reservoir with Mt Hood 

White River Falls

AMAZING!  At White River Falls

 with a view of the valley

I recommend this drive to everyone! It had multiple places to get out and hike (or bird) and is relatively close-ish to Portland.  It took about three hours to get to the Tygh Valley but the entire day ended up taking 12 hours because of how much exploring we did.  It was so much fun I really didn't want to come back!