Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Burns to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The second day’s drive began at 07:30; hoping to capture more of the morning sun, which tends to render better photographs and less sweat. I had visions of getting out there somewhere for a fantastic sunrise shot, but then realized as the alarm went off at 06:00 that at this time of year the sun rises yesterday evening. It makes for long sunny days to see the sights, but sunrise photos take extra dedication.
It took me about an hour to drive 30 miles south to the wildlife refuge, including making two or three stops along the way to photograph. As at Fort Rock, size and distance are deceiving. Far ahead of me I could see a ridgeline which was fairly perpendicular to OR-205. I was certain that the refuge must lie to this side of the ridge, which was probably Steens Mountain or Catlow Rim or something that I see on the map down near the California border.
But I was grossly mistaken, as this was just a line of small hills to drive over, and then return to the flat desert floor. There was one more of these ridges to hurdle before arriving at the refuge, and then I could see the real mountains far off on the horizon.
I just had to stop along the way to look at some horses which were in a small pen near the road. They were obviously expecting someone, and eagerly approached the fence as I got out of my car. Having surmised that I’m not the droid they’re looking for, two of them became immediately disinterested, but the third came back for a second look.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge came into existence in 1908 as the Malheur Bird Reservation under proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the years more land has been added, and the refuge now boasts over 186,500 acres, 320 species of birds, and 58 of mammals. The refuge lands form a vague “T” shape, with two lakes, Malheur and Harney, at the top, and then a long meandering path to the south featuring wetlands around the Donner Und Blitzen River. I couldn’t make this stuff up.
I headed into the Refuge Headquarters, where I could pick up a map and a couple pamphlets. The Headquarters buildings look like 40’s ranch style, but they’re set in a nice little grove of trees and it’s a pleasant place. The “front lawn” is a haven for Belding’s ground squirrels, which are as cute as anything little and furry could be. Although the local population is probably more tolerant of humans than others, they’re clever enough to know that when a camera lens starts pointing their way, it’s time to dive into the nearest hole. After making some vain attempts to capture them doing that adorable little hind-legs perch, I snapped a couple photos of heads peeking out of burrows, got one shot of a bird in a small tree, and decided to get back in the car.
Even though I’d allocated three or four hours to exploring the refuge, I soon realized there’s no way I could see it all. So I took one of the longer stretches that headed south, since I planned to visit the town of Frenchglen at the base of the refuge. Spring is the most active season at the refuge, followed by fall; these are the migratory seasons. So I knew that I wasn’t going to see as much on a summer day like this. However, it was a nice slow drive, and air conditioning makes the climate unimportant.
Photographing birds was almost impossible, because they are very small, and most are absolutely terrified. Now I understand why wildlife photographers have those $2000 - $10,000 lenses that are longer than my arm. They can set up at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and photograph hummingbirds at the Malheur NWR who don’t have the slightest idea they’re being watched. The only thing I managed to photograph along the way was a glimpse of a jackrabbit.
For about 1.5 seconds I got to see a mule deer flying across the road ahead of me and disappearing into the big sagebrush. By the way, this variety of sagebrush can grow to eight feet high, easily concealing any living land creature, save giraffes and maybe very large elephants.
Bend to Burns