May 12 - Wallowa State Park, OR

This day was planned to be primarily a travel day. Most of our remaining target birds were further south in the state of Idaho. Since we were on the northern tip of Oregon, we had an 8 - 9 hour drive to get our next destination.

Of course, we did some birding along the way.

Our first bird of the day was the common House Sparrow, seen on the roof of the motel we stayed at overnight. This was actually the first of the year for me, I'd seen the closely related Italian Sparrow in Italy in March.

House Sparrow - The Dalles, OR - 2019 Bird #98

About 90 minutes later, I got some nice shots of a Ring-billed Gull in Arlington.

Ring-billed Gull - Arlington, OR

Later on, we stopped somewhere on Highway 84 and took a few photos of different birds.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Highway 84, OR

Another bird seen on the way was this Swallow.

Violet-green Swallow - Highway 84, OR - 2019 Bird #99

Wallowa Lake State Park

We visited this park situated near the town of Joseph, Oregon. It wa our only real birding stop of the day.

Once again, we saw a beautifully coloured male Cinnamon Teal.

Cinnamon Teal - Wallowa State Park, OR

This is a poor shot of a Long-billed Curlew. We saw them in a couple of other places, but I never got a satisfying photo of one.

Long-billed Curlew - Wallowa State Park, OR - 2019 Bird #100

This is a Red-tailed Hawk, quite a dark one.

Red-tailed Hawk - Wallowa State Park, OR 

There's a gap of almost an hour before the next shot, I suspect we took a lunch break. After that, it was time for some mammals. First this ground squirrel. I'd say it's a California Ground Squirrel based on the brown face and where we were located.

California Ground Squirrel - Wallowa State Park, OR 

We then saw this Black Bear cub. This put us on guard as there was likely a Mama bear somewhere close by.

Black Bear cub - Wallowa State Park, OR 

Just minutes later, Chris spotted this Yellow Warbler. I think the photos were taken with the car doors open, ready for a fast escape.

Yellow Warbler - Wallowa State Park, OR

2019 Bird #101

About 45 minutes later we were more relaxed and chasing a sound that we both thought must be a Vireo. We did catch up with the bird eventually and Chris got some good shots. I had problems locating the bird and only got this rear facing shot, not the best for a lifer.

Cassin's Vireo - Wallowa State Park, OR

Life Bird #428 - 2019 Bird #102

To see a shot Chris posted on his Birdviewing site, check out this link:

Chris Geraghty - Cassin's Vireo

After this excitement, we saw a few more birds in the park:

Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Wallowa State Park, OR - 2019 Bird #103

Steller's Jay - Wallowa State Park, OR - 2019 Bird #104

Belted Kingfisher - Wallowa State Park, OR - 2019 Bird #105

After leaving the park, we drove for about 7 - 8 hours to reach our hotel in Almo, Idaho. The next morning we'd be tackling the City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho. Chris had quite a list of target birds here, with possibilities for 3 to 5 lifers.