After dragging Jill through rough terrain last week, I thought a walk-in-the-park would renew our energy for forest birding. Fortunately, we received a tip from another birder right when we needed one. The result was a spectacular day spent in the cool shade of big trees along the scenic Little Santiam River. After our five mile walk through the trees, we drove to Elkhorn Lake that is perched in a bowl on Elkhorn Mountian at the 3600 foot elevation. The birding was slow riverside - we only found American Dipper, Belted Kingfisher, and Common Raven. Things improved for us (birding wise) at the lake.  While there, we had a fun encounter with a shy Fox Sparrow - we tried to phish it out into the open with no luck. Then I tried my little wooden Audubon bird-call that I keep on my key chain, and voila, out popped the sparrow with attitude. Also of note, were two Red Crossbill foraging through the remains of an old campfire. They let me approach within a few feet, and then set up and photograph them for several minutes before a couple of swift (I think) caught my attention. I wish I would have thought to look through the ashes to see if I could identify what crossbill were attracted to. Our best bird was Sooty Grouse - we flushed two while searching in vain for a trail around the three and half acre lake.

We hope you enjoy the pictures of a few birds and lots of landscapes.

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The map below is provided by request - have fun!