May, 2022
Here we go again … more driving! In the past few days we’ve been south of the dam, then north of the dam, then south to the sagebrush … and now north again today! north again to that far watery north corner of the Potholes Reservoir in search of just a few more birds. Yes, we missed the majority of the traveling/migrating birds this year, but there were other birds that were reported to be seen here and we hoped to see them. Indeed, after a bit of searching, we found them. 🙂
The drive through this area at the northern edge of the Potholes Reservoir is so beautiful and peaceful.
In the photo below, you can see the edge of a wooden “blind” where people can stand or sit and watch birds through cracks or slits in the wood and so not bother the birds hardly at all. But there weren’t many birds here, and no other humans, so I stood outside next to the structure, with a better view of the surrounding environment. Just to the left of center, off in the distance, were three Great Egrets. Big birds. Look closely, they are way over there.
Around another corner or two or three on the gravel road, there was yet another Great Egret (below). Keep in mind that we never got “off idle” in the truck, and often I simply took the truck out of gear and drifted along the road, stopping often … and often turning the engine off.
Again, yet another Great Egret below.
And yet another! This one obviously did not want her photo taken.
But then around another corner and along another waterway, this one below appeared. I shut the truck’s engine off immediately, with the truck still rolling along, but we stopped safely. What a magical, beautiful being!
We saw seven Great Egrets, and we were happy! We continued on along the road to the gate that blocked the road, then we turned around and then headed back out. BUT, as we passed that large waterway with all the sticks floating in it … remember that? … we found a whole mess of these delightful Yellow-headed Blackbirds dancing around on the sticks and feeding. They were zippy fast!!
Click on each photo to enlarge the photos above. For the two short videos below, click on the small square thing in the bottom right corner to enlarge the videos.
We were thrilled to see those birds, but we had one more encounter yet to enjoy. We were driving along the gravel road and were almost out of the water-filled Potholes Reservoir area, but with one last turn in the road we came upon one more large waterway on the left. Coots! American Coots, more precisely. 🙂
With spring-time high water, it was spectacular here. I’m not sure I’d want to come here any other time of year, since the water level drops throughout the rest of spring and then throughout summer and into autumn as well. But maybe the next time my friend and I come over the Cascade Mountains for a visit here, we’ll come a bit earlier … in late April instead of late May. It will be colder. But maybe we’ll see some migrating birds. That would be super. And on the next trip, we’ll be sure to bring our chairs so we can sit and watch in comfort. 🙂
One more short set of photos from the trip is coming soon here, then we’ll be heading home.