The Great (Horned Owl) Date

A Great Horned Owl nest has been outside my office since February. I have been fortunate enough to watch the young owl grow and start exploring the tree in which he was born.  My co-workers and I affectionately call the young owl Junior. After several weeks, he took flight, and I didn't see him anymore. Until one morning, when I was walking around the entire Research Park to see if I could find him. 

For Amanda's birthday date on Saturday, she wanted to see some owls. She knew I had recently found the mother/child pair again after they left the nesting site. There was no guarantee that mother and Junior would be there, but there was a good chance. We parked close to where I had seen them last, I instructed Amanda as to what tree they were in, and we entered the trees by the building. Immediately we heard branches adjust after losing the weight of an owl and mother flew out of the tree directly in front of us (not what I'd expected). Fortunately she flew away from where we were coming in, and not towards us. She then flew over us and up into high branches of the tree Junior flew into the day before.  

We watched mother for a few minutes as I looked in some spots I'd seen Junior before with no luck finding him. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in another tree and Junior popped out to see what was going on. As we watched him watch us, a gang of corvids, including a couple magpies and crows, started harassing Junior, swooping in close to his roost. He became more interested in them than he was in us, and eventually flew into a different tree to presumably get away from them, though I think the new spot made him an easier target. Maybe they were his friends and they wanted him to come play.

At this point we continued on our journey to a pond to find Yellow-headed Blackbirds and maybe an owl, to no avail - no YHBL or GHOW. We decided on one more stop before heading out to dinner. We visited the place I'd seen many owls before, sometimes several at the same visit (three or four). Searching the places I'd seen owls before, we searched high for birds, and low for signs finding lots of old pellets and poop, but no birds. It was getting late, and we were getting hungry. Our decision was to head back to the car, get some food, and have a picnic dinner at the University of Idaho Arboretum in hopes of spotting a third owl.  

Walking down the path, we continued scouring each tree in hopes of spotting an owl on our way out. I called it a bust, and decided to walk a different path back to the car when Amanda called out, "There is an owl, a Great Horned owl, RIGHT THERE!" I was afraid I'd missed it, but there it was - perched next to the trunk, 20 feet up the tree. We wandered a bit closer and he sat there trying to determine if he could pick off the bigger one or would have to settle for the little one. He was much greyer than previous owls I'd seen and blended in quite well with the tree where he chose to roost. Amanda sat and got comfortable to watch him, and I continued through the line of trees to see if there were any more owls visible.

By the time Amanda caught up to me, I had seen a total of no more owls, but I had seen a couple of nests that could have supported them. We stood there trying to decide if we should continue on to the end of the path, or go back to the car. "How much further?" Amanda asked. "It's not too far," I replied, and we decided to hike down to a sign post about 100 yards away. As we walked, Amanda had an internal monologue about an owl shaped dark area on the ground, trying to determine if she should mention it to me or not. She eventually decided to mention it in case it was an owl. She didn't want to have to say, "I THOUGHT that was an owl," and have me not believe her. It turns out it was, since logs don't tend to turn their heads and fly up into trees.

Four! That was four owls, counting mama and Junior. What a great day! We were afraid she was on the ground because a young owl was near her, but that was not the case. We saw how much more brown/red she was than the previous one we saw here. As I was photographing her, she reacted to movement and Amanda and I turned around to see the owl from the beginning of this side trip, swoop in clicking its beak at us. Ok, we're in a bad spot. This must be their home and they aren't used to us. Just before wandering off, I looked into the next line of trees on the left and spotted a baby owl. That's five! We attempted to get a little closer but papa came sweeping through again, clicking loudly, so we said our farewells and got out of there.

As we walked back, Amanda was hoping that owl three, the one at the beginning of this side trip, was still there. I was skeptical, but also though that would be cool. We would look back periodically to make sure mama and papa weren't swooping in to get us. "It's there!" Amanda called out. Owl number three was indeed still there. Since that was the case, we realized owl 5 was actually owl 6, and what we thought was owl 3 swooping in was actually owl 5. WHAT?!?!?! Six owls? Now for some, this may be no big deal, but I was pretty stoked.

To say the least, I have been on an owl high for the last 13 hours. And as Amanda said, "Forever after, this SIX OWL date will be a high standard to ever meet again!!"     

First owl of the night seen. She didn't want to be seen.

Number 2. Junior

Number 3. Beautiful grey guy.

Number 4 was originally spotted on the ground, but flew up to this tree.

Number 5 swooped in and out so quickly I never captured a good shot.

Number 6 was the reason number 5 swooped in so close.

Future plans

One of my backpacking plans for this next season include my 7 year old son, JP.  I have big plans for getting him prepped for the trip so that way the trip will be more enjoyable for both of us.  I went on a 3 night trip along the St. Joe River to Bacon Lake with a group of scouts aged 12 through 16 this last summer, and part of the time it felt like I was with a bunch of whiners (including some leaders (including me...)), and other times it was a great adventure.  Part of it was the lack of physical preparedness. 

So in preparation of this next season I put a map of the Wallowas on my wall and marked the trails I've already been on. I have also been going on runs or walks to keep my legs moving during the winter months and after days of sitting in front of a computer at work.  The plan is to include JP in these walks and hikes so that he can prepare himself also.

There are a couple trips to the Wallowas in the works right now including one with my good Oregon friends who I go backpacking with often and my beautiful wife, and one with my oldest son and friends.   

(No trails are marked in this picture)

(Zoomed in and marked - but hard to see)

 

The yellow highlight is from a trip in 2012, pink is 2013, and orange is 2014.

 

This next season I have lots of hopes and aspirations of what I want to do including the two trips to the Wallowas, a trip to Priest Lake, ID, biking the trail of the Coeur D'Alene's, finishing a triathlon, and including my family in as much of this as I can.  Oh and there is a ski trip in there, and I haven't been in 6 years. 

 

Here's to 2015!

The Outdoors Call

I started working on this post about a month ago as I lay sick on the couch.  It is by no means perfect, but I had fun doing it.  My wife helped out a lot with finding the perfect words.  I hope you enjoy it. 

As I watched this video I realized I forgot to give credit to a couple other photographers.  Andy and Jeremy took a couple of pictures for me.  Sorry guys.  I will get you in the credits of version 2.0.

Day hikes of 2009

As previously posted, I did 2 backpacking trips in 2009 (Eagle Creek in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness and Table Rock). I also did 5 hiking trips – 2 trips to Silver Creek Falls State Park east of Salem, Lake 22 in Washington State, Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge close to Cascade Locks, and Opal Creek East of Salem.

Here are a few snippets from these trips.

Silver Creek Falls
July 3, 2009, with Amanda, Shonee and Sierra Langford (and children)
We often tease Shonee about the places he chooses to take us hiking because they haven’t always been the easiest. I have been to Silver Creek Falls several times as a child and adult and it is nowhere near difficult . . . unless you have a double stroller . . . which Shonee said we could bring. We started at the Winter Falls parking lot and hiked in to Double Falls with our double stroller for a little lunch. We passed by several water falls on this hike - Winter Falls, Middle North Falls, Drake Falls and Lower North Falls. I don’t remember much of this hike, but it was a beautiful day to celebrate our little Henry’s first 3 months of life. I did hike out with Joshy on my back. Poor kid was so tuckered out from throwing rocks.



Silver Creek Falls
August 10, 2009, with Tawnia, Emily, Mindy, Aaron, Clarissa and Joshy
What I remember from this hike is my sister, Clarissa, getting red in the face from walking farther than she was used to. We came to a fork in the road, and although she was a little reluctant at first, she agreed to take the longer route with us. Slow but steady and she made it through the hike. I was very proud of her.  We started at South Falls and did the 5ish mile loop through the park.  Always nice to get back to Silver Creek Falls - even if it had only been a month. 



Lake 22
September 5, 2009, with my adorable wife, Amanda
Driving to the trailhead in my mother-in-law’s Subaru Forester, we passed a hand-painted sign that read something like, “Hey libs! Slow those Subarus!  High speeds = Global Warming!” When we pulled into the parking area, the majority of the cars were Subarus. I guess the sign maker was accurate about Subarus on the road. We followed a stream most of the way up, and chipmunks were hopeful that we would drop something for them to eat. The hike was all up hill and the end result was a beautiful mountain lake made from snowmelt and surrounded on all sides (except the drainage side) by giant cliffs. Pica made homes in the scree and boulders, and their chirps were a pleasant surprise, as long as they stayed away from our food. A trail with boardwalks went all the way around the lake where many people were spending their Labor Day Holiday.

On the way out we found a sign that said “Toilet” and pointed up a little hill. Upon investigation we found a wood box with lid covering a hole in the top. Nature created the walls, or in other words, there were no walls. Back down to the outhouse we went.

	There is a pica in the center of this photo

Eagle Creek (Columbia River Gorge)
October 1, 2009, with my beautiful wife, Amanda
I have started to love the trails throughout the Columbia River Gorge. Accessible most of the year with waterfalls, forests, and views of the gorge, mountains, and valleys, makes for some very exciting exploration. Eagle Creek is one of the more populated trails, being an alternate to the Pacific Crest Trail’s descent to the Washington border. Portions of the trail have a cliff wall on one side and a hundred foot drop on the other. For your safety there are cables attached to the wall for holding onto. I did get a little woozy looking over the cliff’s edge, so I stuck to the cable side of the trail.

We took the side trail down to Punchbowl and Lower Punchbowl Falls. People have taken kayaks down Punchbowl Falls and drowned/died from hypothermia. Fortunately, none of this happened while we were there. The water was very, very cold . . . so cold that it hurt. I got my feet wet, and I can’t imagine being completely submerged.

We continued on the trail to High Bridge before turning around to get back home to our 6 month old, Henry. I could have kept on going, but sweet Amanda had to remind me that little Henry needed his mama. Fortunately I’d get another chance the next week to be out in the great outdoors!



Opal Creek and Jawbone Flats
October 8, 2009, with Frank, Evelyn, Emily and Joshy
The final outdoor adventure of the year took me to a beautiful cascade that I had wanted to visit ever since I saw a photo of it. Sawmill Falls or Cascada de los Niños (Waterfall of the Children) is a 30 foot cascade that pours into a beautiful pool, then quickly runs around a rock outcropping to continue down the stream. The trail along Opal Creek is an old logging road that ends at Jawbone Flats, an educational center. Vehicles can get back to it, but not unless you have permission and a key to get through the gate. Sawmill Falls is not on the main trail, but is behind Merten Mill (which is a shadow and shell of what it used to be), two miles past the gate.

Soon after the waterfall we started a loop going off the road on a trail and hiking up to Opal Pool. We then came in the backside to Jawbone Flats and saw all the buildings and used the composting toilet – weird to tell my two year old he doesn’t have to flush the toilet, but pour dirt into it instead.

Old trucks, axles and stoves flanked parts of the road through the area, as well as newer construction that housed a commissary and beds that could be rented by visitors. The trip was a little too long for Joshy to walk the entire way, but the trail wasn’t difficult, being mostly on a gravel road – definitely doable by a now almost 7 year-old Joshua.



2009 was a good year to get going in the outdoors. All of these areas are places that I have been to again, or would go to again. Thank you Oregon for being so absolutely beautiful and amazing. Oh and Washington twenty-too.

 

Hailing from the North!

The past several days have been ridiculously cold.  The temperature last night said -1 °F.  The high today is predicted to be 10 °F.  Not my idea of going outside for adventure type of weather.  But sometimes there are things that are just too extraordinary to stay inside for.  I am not sure if it was the cold weather that brought this extraordinary thing to Moscow, ID, but whatever it was, I am grateful.

I stayed home from work Friday and today from church due to a cold that has decided to linger and get worse.  However I decided to spend part of the day outside in the painfully, freezing cold – all because of this little guy.

 

As a young paper delivery boy I despised birds.  I had been pooped on by one too many.  Well actually by that point it was three too many, with one getting my right on the crown while I was wearing my new Portland Trail Blazer’s hat at Disneyland.  Later on in life while as a car washer at a dealership in McMinnville, OR, I parked a freshly washed, new Civic Hybrid against the building perfectly between the lines just to get it bird bombed by some migrating geese.  From then on I thought twice about looking up in the air to see flying V’s.

So how did I change my mind about birds?  What caused me to go from having a desire to get a sling shot and goliath every bird I saw to going out in the below freezing cold and take pictures of them?  I blame it on my mother-in-law, Sydney Craft Rozen. 

Her unrelenting love of nature and animals started rubbing off on me in Kingston, WA, as we were looking out the windows at the various feeders and she was naming off the different birds that were coming in for a meal.  I thought I could never tell the difference between a goldfinch and a grosbeak, or a junco and a chickadee.  Well, I sort of can now. 

It was in Kingston that my 4 month pregnant wife said on a walk through the woods, “There is a big huge owl in the tree over here,” and I saw my first owl in the wild.  These stealthy and mostly hidden birds have awed me off and on throughout life, but mostly on now.  I have seen silhouettes of Great Horned Owls on drives home through the farmlands of the Willamette Valley, and a dead Barn Owl in an old grain silo.  I have seen them swooping across the road quickly and silently, and at the zoo zooming across the crowds of wiggling children and just as excited adults.  I go “owl hunting” around my home to listen for the owl calls that have resonated from treetop to treetop.

But this owl, this Northern Hawk Owl that is not from around here but from (as its name implies) the north, seemed like it wanted to be photographed, to be visited and observed.  It wasn’t hidden at all.  It didn’t want to be secret.  For almost a week it has been hanging out in the same spot in Moscow.  Three different times on Friday I went to see it.  I took both my sons at different times, and I was able to get right below it all three times I visited (once it was on a lamppost, and two times in two different trees). 

I drove over after dropping Joshua off at school and saw a photographer walking down the bike path, so I figured I’d follow him.  I saw the bird fly across a frozen creek bed and up to a lamppost overlooking Highway 8.  Minutes later it flew back across the stream to another lamppost where it stayed the remainder of that visit.   

 

I went back a couple of hours later in the midday light, and it was perched in a pine tree.  I couldn’t find it on my own and fortunately another photographer was wandering over there and pointed it out to me.  I went and got Henry (my 4 and two-thirds year old) and we watched the bird with some others.  When we went to get a closer look from the bike bath, it took off across the highway and landed in another tree.  Joggers, cyclists, photographers and dogs didn’t seem to bother this guy, but 4 and two-third year olds did. 

 

The last visit was with Joshua after getting him from school.  The owl was yet again in another tree and it allowed me to walk almost directly beneath it (thankfully it did not poop but I probably would have been ok … probably).  I got several more pictures before heading home for the warm indoors.

  

A beautiful, magnificent bird hailing from the north coming to Moscow for some unknown reason – perhaps to rekindle a love of birds in me.  But more likely get a nice vole belly.