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Oregon Trip Part II: Lower Klamath Falls National Wildlife Refuge

Oregon Trip Part II: Lower Klamath Falls National Wildlife Refuge

Franklin's Gull

Franklin’s Gull Going After Insect, Lower Klamath Falls NWR, 2017

See Oregon Trip Part I for the first part of this story.

We spent the morning at Summer Lake and were giddy with all the cool birds we found. It was a beautiful, mountainous drive southward towards civilization, and Lower Klamath Falls NWR would be our last big birding spot of our trip. We didn’t realize it was an auto tour which made for a lot of driving as this was the second auto tour of the day, and we still had to continue to Dunsmuir for our final night.

During the entire auto tour, we never saw another car. It was completely empty of visitors. We saw Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Tricolored Blackbirds, Franklin Gulls, and even accidentally startled a Bald Eagle. But the coolest event involved one of our target birds: the Sandhill Cranes. We heard the cranes in Summer Lake but didn’t get to see them. Slightly disappointed, I added them to my life list wishing we could have at least glimpsed them. Their rattling call is quite memorable.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes and Coyote, Lower Klamath Falls NWR, 2017

We were on the auto tour for quite a long time, always seeming to be on the brink of getting lost. As we rounded the final part of the auto tour, we spotted two cranes! But that wasn’t the only activity out there. Nearby was a coyote. We watched the coyote as it feigned indifference to the alert cranes. But with each seemingly disinterested step, the coyote crept closer and closer to the cranes without alarming them. It was sneaky Wile E. Coyote tactics as it avoided focusing on the birds while inching closer. The cranes were huge compared to the coyote and I was shocked to observe its boldness. I was ready to watch a big battle of life and death unfold before me. It was probably a good 20 minutes of watching the hunt when the coyote thought better of its decision and eventually skulked away. How fascinating to watch this scene and learn how the coyote could creep so close to the birds without scaring them off flying!