Pacific Northwest Trip – July
15-25
After
much research and feedback from some of you, decision
was made to go with the July dates. Not
only will some of the esthetically pleasing areas be assessable in July
which
would not be in May, but these are some of the best birding sites. Plant people won’t be disappointed either
because these higher elevation places will still be showing off their
blooms. Waterbird plumages may not be at
their best but it will be more comfortable while watching them. Final decision has not yet been made as to
using vans or large bus and will be based on the number of participants.
The itinerary that follows may wobble a
bit but will be
pretty close…
Thursday July 15th – Fly from Pittsburgh
to Eugene, Oregon.
(Some of you have expressed a desire to make their own flight
arrangements in order to use air miles.
Others will be driving and can meet us in Eugene where they can leave their car
until
we fly out.
Beginning in Newport
with a
day of birding followed the next day with an optional half day pelagic
trip and
possibly a stop at the Marine
Science Center,
we’ll work our way down the coast to Waldport, Florence,
Bandon, and into northern California
to Crescent City
and the Redwood
Forest.
These coastal areas and boat ride should give a good start on a
check
list with Black-footed Albatross, Northern Fulmar, Pink Footed, Sooty,
and Manx
Shearwaters, Leach’s and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, Red and Red-necked
Phalaropes, South Polar Skua, Pomarine,
Parasitic, and Long-tailed Jaegers, Sabine Gull, Common and Artic Tern,
Common
Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Tufted Puffin, Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklet
and
Marbled Murrelet as well as lots of shore birds and waterfowl.
A little culture diversion in Ashland
for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and on to the highlands of Klamath Lake
and Crater Lake.
These higher elevation species will include
Grey-crowned Rosy Finch, Clarks Nutcracker, American Dipper, and
Pacific-slope
Flycatchers as well as many of the more familiar water birds. Then as we move farther north to Bend,
Prairie Falcon, California Quail,
Long-billed Curlew, Band-tailed Pigeon, Burrowing Owl, Bush Tit, Pigmy
Nuthatch, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, Sage Thrasher, Brewer’s, Lark, and
Sage
Sparrow just to name a few. The area
between
Santiam and McKenzie
Passes include
eleven
nesting species of woodpeckers including Lewis’s, White-headed,
Black-backed,
and all three western sapsuckers. Also,
Blue Grouse, Vaux’s Swift, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Western
Meadowlark (Oregon’s
state bird).
Then, after a banquet dinner followed by a final
check list
review and good night’s sleep in Eugene,
off we go flying home on Sunday, July 25th.
The pelagic trip holds a maximum
of twenty-seven people and
will have three to five birding guides on board. Anyone
not interested in doing the pelagic
trip can opt for a “land lubber” birding day, exploring some of the
areas not
previously visited.
As always, the price of the trip
includes all rooms, meals,
ground transportation, admissions to various parks and wildlife areas
and all
guide fees…..everything. If you are
interested, I’ll send you a detailed itinerary with maps and check
lists. Andy Hoffmann is still working
closely with
some of his birding friends as to the location of some of the hot spots. Sounds like a great trip.
Your fearless leader, Carl
To go, a $500 deposit mailed to: Carl Slater, 57290 Mehlman Road, Bellaire, Ohio 43906 and
made out
to me will guarantee you a spot. I’m
currently holding 25 airline tickets.
Price
of base trip
$2,180.00
Optional
Pelagic Trip 110.00
Airfare
670.00
All
inclusive
$2,960.00
Plus $375.00 Single Room Supplement