Oregon Day V: Sisters - Woodpecker Alley

With Bend as base camp for the last two days of my Oregon birding adventure, I was able to catch some extra shut-eye ('till 5:45 AM!) on the morning of Thursday June 24. The target for today was the forest hills to the west of the town of Sisters, famous for harboring one of the greatest density and variety of woodpeckers in North America. I spent all morning hiking through recent forest burns and manzanita scrubs, and found many new species for the trip including my lifer White-headed Woodpecker (5 individuals seen!). I also got much better looks at a fly-by Lewis's Woodpecker, Western Bluebird, Olive-sided, Dusky and Hammond's Flycatchers, MacGillivray's and Nashville Warbler, and to much surprise a singing adult male American Redstart! This bird is very uncommon on the west coast and according to my field guide its range is limited to the extreme NE corner of Oregon.

 Male Black-backed Woodpecker (above) and Hairy Woodpecker (below):

 Male White-headed Woodpecker at Cold Springs Campgrounds:

Fresh burn near Trout Creek Swamp (above) and Dusky Flycatcher (below):

A male House Wren (above) in dispute over a nest cavity with a pair of Western Bluebirds (below):

While I was photographing the wren and bluebird, this female Rufous Hummingbird landed right in front of me:

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks must have had a nest or fledglings nearby because they were very unhappy with my presence:

Two of 11 wood-warblers seen during my trip: MacGillivray's Warbler (above) and Nashville Warbler (below):

After six hours of bush whacking and a severe sunburn I gave up on finding the two remaining woodpeckers on my wish list; Williamson's Sapsucker and Am. Tree-toed Woodpecker. Yet, I was more than pleased with the catch and headed down to Sisters for a tasty chicken burrito for lunch. After a refreshing break I headed towards Redmond north of Bend to explore a very  different kind of habitat: the dry pinyon and sage scrublands and its inhabitants.