I stumbled upon this area by way of an eBird report of a Cray Catbird. I missed the Catbird but came away with a new place to watch birds and otherwise enjoy nature in central Oregon. The former meadow was used in 1975 to film the movie Rooster Cogburn, starring John Wayne and Catherine Hepburn - credentials attesting to the raw beauty of the place.
Restoration of this wetland is expected to benefit numerous wildlife and botanical species associated with fresh-water wetlands, including migratory birds, waterfowl, sandhill cranes, elk, and mule deer.
Our walk around the perimeter of this wetland yielded 35 species of birds. The best bird was a female Wilson's Snipe on a nest with three eggs. This was the first time we've ever found a Wilson's Snipe nest or witnessed this bird perform the broken wing display.
The ground along the west and north edges of this wetland is littered with wind fallen trees. So your choices are to keep out of the trees and get wet, or bushwhack your way through the trees and get scratched up - we chose the later. Next time we hike around this wetland, if there is one, we'll get wet instead. There were amazingly few mosquitos - no repellent, and no bites.
A short video of Dillon Falls, the river upstream, and the wetland from the parking lot:
Our eBird checklist for this visit is here
Olive-sided Flycatcher (a bird we don't often get good looks of):
An humorous series of an American Coot chasing a Ring-necked Duck:
Looking upstream along the river trail:
A wide-body bird I wish I got a better look at (bigger than a duck):
Savannah Sparrow: In the area we found a young family of House Wren:
Common Night Hawk:
An unusual looking Williamson's Sapsucker (no red throat or yellowish belly):
Wilson's Snipe & nest with eggs:
Oregonian/OregonLive, Terry Richard | The. "Deschutes National Forest Tries Wetland Project on Deschutes River Where 'Rooster Cogburn' Was Filmed." OregonLive.com. N.p., 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 July 2016. http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/01/deschutes_national_forest_test.html.
Ryan Ranch Restoration Project (a US Forest Service Publication)
Ryan Ranch Bird Monitoring Project Details - Read this to learn how to help
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