FOUR-PAGE SPORTS PULLOUT INSIDE
• B SECTION • FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2021
On top of
it all in the
off-season
at Tam-a-
Lau trail
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE
The Bulletin
A cedar wax-
wing pauses to
check its surroundings
Jan. 13 while eating ber-
ries from a tree near
the Old Mill District.
Central Oregon birders thrive
in winter with rare sightings
S
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
ome days, a message is sent
out on WhatsApp, alerting
birders of a northern saw- whet
owl, others it might be a message
on the Central Oregon Birders
Online website informing the close
to 1,000 members on the site’s
message boards about a swarm of
purple finches and hermit thrushes
A swan feeds
on aquatic vegetation
in the Deschutes River
on Jan. 15.
taking over a birdbath.
And if you are lucky, rare birds
Visiting Lake Billy Chinook
off-season can bring a feeling
of peace and quiet that you’ll
rarely have in the middle of
August. With the marinas
closed for the
season and
the boaters
on the wa-
ter focusing
on the ends
of their lines
TRAILS
rather than
the end of a tow rope, the res-
ervoir north of Redmond is
calm if a little cold.
But the water and fishing ar-
en’t the only reasons to check
out the lake at the Cove Pali-
sades State Park.
For those who want an up-
close look at some of the stun-
ning geological features and
for a bird’s eye view of the De-
schutes and Crooked rivers,
take a hike up the 6-mile Tam-
a-Lau trail.
Big rocks
One chilly, beautiful recent
Saturday, I took my father,
Mike, up to the park for a day
hike. We equipped ourselves
with my 2021 Oregon State
Park pass (still required, other-
wise day passes are $5) plenty
of water, snacks and hiking
poles just in case.
You won’t necessarily need
the poles unless, like my dad,
you have a bad knee or, like me,
you have occasional vertigo.
Tam-a-Lau, listed as moder-
ate, is open year-round for hik-
ing only with dogs allowed on
a leash . The best time to hike
up is in cooler conditions as
the trail is largely exposed up
at the top and can be extremely
hot in the summer months, as
well as loud from the activity
on the lake below.
See Trail / B9
Ryan Brennecke/
Bulletin photos
like white winged junco or a
American redstart might find their
way into your yard.
“The first spring I was here, I
was putting a swing set together
and had a gyrfalcon flying over
the house,” said Tom Crabtree, a
long time Central Oregon birder.
“There were only half a dozen
on record of people who saw that
falcon.”
See Birds / B10
Makenzie Whittle/The Bulletin
A basalt rock feature from the De-
schutes Formation as seen from
the Tam-a-Lau trail.
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