2007 Tour Narrative
In Brief: Despite the binary nature of this tour’s title, it was a complete experience — much more than seeing a few birds and then watching a play. Each morning began with a copious picnic breakfast in idyllic settings with fresh mountain air, forest scents abounding, and birds singing. The backdrops for the birds were no less stunning, with coastal vistas, looming Cascade peaks, rich and wild coniferous forests, craggy mountain tops, and wildflower-drenched meadows framing great birds such as Northern Pygmy-Owl, voted trip favorite, and amazing views of Lazuli Bunting, Wrentit and Rhinoceros Auklet. The picnic lunches were equally resplendent, and even the restaurant dinners were fantastic, from French to Eastern Fusion to a down-home grilled dinner in the forest. Then the plays! Particularly enchanting were topnotch performances of Tartuffe (a premier translation, destined to become the standard for American audiences) and As You Like It, with Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest and the newcomer, Distracted, gaining high marks.
In Detail: Our first day’s highlight, after plunging Bryan headfirst into American driving by navigating Portland rush hour traffic, was a pair of American Dippers at a bridge not far out of the city. We also saw our only Evening Grosbeaks at this quick roadside stop before heading to the coastal headlands where swarms of Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Western Gulls and cormorants filled the air. One stop yielded great views of several Marbled Murrelets and a rare summer Red-throated Loon, while another had closer Surf Scoters. Our next morning on the coast yielded the stakeout Gray Catbird (hundreds of miles out of range), but a total surprise was the Northern Mockingbird that came to perch right above it. It was this morning we had our best Rhinoceros Auklet views, and we lucked out with the “rockpeckers” here: Wandering Tattler, Black and Ruddy Turnstones and Surfbird.
Our first days in the mountains surrounding Ashland were productive. Sandhill Cranes by the road, Dusky Flycatcher and gorgeous Western Tanagers in the woods and Green-tailed Towhees and Rufous Hummingbirds in the brushy wildflower slopes were highlights. Then came our side trip to the different world on the other side of the mountains, where we saw Sage Thrasher, Brewer’s Sparrow, Tricolored Blackbird, countless ducks and coots, White-faced Ibis and Eared Grebes carrying their adorable chicks. Our outdoor grilled dinner here was our most pleasurable meal of the trip, as the Pandora Moths (in the midst of a 20- to 30-year outbreak) and Pygmy Nuthatches adorned the trees nearby. After some morning birding that included MacGillivray’s Warbler and some lovely butterflies and dragonflies (Great Spangled Fritillary, Sonoran Skipper, Twelve-spotted Skimmer and Band-winged Meadowhawk), Crater Lake offered an impressive vista before we had to head back to Ashland, stopping for a picnic lunch to be shared with Gray Jays coming to our hands.
We spend our last birding days in the valley near Grants Pass (great views of Wrentit and countless Black-headed Grosbeaks) and in the mountains near Ashland, where we experienced fly-by views of Great Gray Owl, a very cooperative pair of Mountain Quail, Olive-sided Flycatchers singing, Fox Sparrow of the thick-billed subspecies and colorful Mountain Bluebirds.
- Rich Hoyer
Updated: September 2007