Early Summer Hike by Spring Creek, at Collier Memorial State Park, Oregon

Date: June 28, 2020

Place: Collier State Park, Chiloquin, Oregon

Coordinates: 42.641683, -121.879853

Length: 2.4 miles

Level: easy 

When we chose to go to Oregon for our 2020 summer trip we decided to split our time between Klamath Falls and Bend. In the Klamath Falls area the focus was on birding so we selected the sightseeing places from the list of birding hotspots of the local Audubon Society. Collier Memorial State Park near Chiloquin, about half an hour drive from Klamath Falls, is listed there, and it was the last of four such hotspots that we had visited that day. We didn't have much birding success in the previous places although at Hamaker Mountain we did have a nice hike with gorgeous views and lots of wildflowers.

Collier Memorial State Park is a pretty recreation area on the shore of Spring Creek and there are hiking trails that stretch along both its banks all the way south to its confluence wit the Williamson River. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

As soon as we got to the park we went directly to the Williamson River to see what we could find there. It looked wide and calm and we stood there for a bit, looking at the flowing water. 

Williamson River

Wild roses were blooming by the river bank and while my famiy birders were scanning the sky for birds I was busy sniffing the roses. 

Wild Rose, Rosa sp. 

After that we went over to Spring Creek and we found it to be a narrower but much faster stream than the Williamson River. There was whitewater in places and it looked like a fun creek to raft on, but we didn't see any rafters. There were no people in the water as far as we could see. 

Spring Creek

Pappa Quail and the elder chika were very leased to see birds flying over the creek. Finally they were seeing birds that got them excited. 

Tree Swallow

Photographing swallows and swifts is a serious challenge, however. These birds are very quick and very acrobatic. We stayed in that spot a lot longer than I would have had I been alone there, and I believe they got tons of photos of swifts and swallows, most of them blurry. 

Vaux's Swift

When I finally managed to drag them away from that spot by the creek the Elder chika grumbled that she didn't get a good enough photo of the swift. She might have stood there until nightfall and still not get a sharp image of these speedy aviators. 

I, on the other hand, was happy to see wildflowers on the creek's bank. 

Cinquefoil, Potentilla sp. 

We crossed the foot bridge to the east side of the creek. In the middle of the bridge I paused to look downstream where the creek curved through the pine forest. The weather was lovely and the sky was partially cloudy. It was a splendid day near the water. 

Spring Creek

We turned to walk upstream of the east side of the creek. Up to the highway 97 bridge the path was paved, and  there were other people walking along it as well. It seemed to be a popular trail and I could see why. 

Under the pine trees I saw pine drops plants blooming. It's a parasitic plant that pops above ground only when blooming. It is pretty, though 

Pine Drops, Pterospora andromedea 

We passed under highway 97 and on the other side was another foot bridge> the trail on the east bank discontinued so we crossed the creek once more. There was a logging museum there that was closed to visitors at the time. It might be interesting to check out next time we're in the area. 

Collier Logging Museum

We continued upstream along the west bank and there I saw lots and lots of wildflowers, which made me very happy. I was elated when I found that so many of these flowers were rein orchids. Big and healthy orchids in peak bloom. It was great to see, and it was very hard to select only a few photos from the numerous I took of these orchids on that hike. 

Rein Orchid, Platanthera sp.

There were lots of Indian paintbrush blooming there as well, adding their bright red to the lovely creekside beauty.

Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja sp. 

There were some other wildflowers too, also of kinds I was not familiar with. I walked very slowly along the creek bank, taking in the sights and enjoying the sound of the rushing water. 

Micranthes sp. 

While I was strolling slowly by the creek and admiring the wildflowers, my family birders had found some other birds. Little gray birds, all of them turned out to be of the same species. Those little pewees got their own inflated album of photos as if they were orchids. 

Western Wood Pewee

It was late in the afternoon and the shadows were getting long. On that part of the trail we were alone - there were no other people there, so we enjoyed a nice quiet stroll by the pretty creek. 

Spring Creek

The trail seemed to disappear between the grasses. I could tell where people had walked but there was no longer a single, distinct path. Every now and then I would step to the water line and look closely at one thing or another that captured my attention.

Polemonium sp.

Eventually the path disappeared altogether. We continued a little while longer, Pappa Quail and the elder chika being drawn by bird calls while me and the young chika lingered behind.

When they did turn around and started walking back toward us, there was no mistaking their triumphant expressions - they had seen more birds!

Cedar Waxwing

This little park by the creek proved to be he best birding hotspot we've been to that day.

Pygmy Nuthatch

It was also great to see so many wildflowers along that path. Even while backtracking that same trail I was finding wildflowers I had missed on our way north.

Veronica? 

Upstream of the highway bridge Spring Creek was wide and the water calm. There were islets of rocks and driftwood, many overgrown with vegetation. There were fallen trees lying in the water partially submerged, collecting soil in their crevices and anchoring plants. 

These fallen trees where also great perches for birds like this little song sparrow that Pappa Quail found when he stepped close to the water.  

Song Sparrow

Slowly we made our way back to the foot bridge near the logging museum. It was a nice bridge really. It reminded me an image from a European fairy tale. We crossed it back to the eastern side of the creek and continued south under the highway 97 road bridge, backtracking our steps. 

When we reached the other foot bridge, the one we first crossed to get to the eastern side from the main recreation area of the park we decided not to cross it right away but to continue south on the eastern side and see what we might find there. 

Spring Creek East Bank Trail 

We reached the confluence of Spring Creek with the Williamson River. The trail continued on along the river but we found a little trail going down to the water so we went down to explore a bit. 

Williamson River

There were some more wildflowers near the river but no birds. We sat there for some time, enjoying the calm flow of the water and the quiet afternoon. 

There were wildflowers blooming right in the water but they were a bit far for my camera to get an nice photo so I asked Pappa Quail to use his strong zoom and take some close-ups for me. 

Bur Reed, Sparganium sp. 

He photographed also flowers that I couldn't see were there because they were far and small. 

White Water Buttercup, Ranunculus aquatilis 

We walked a little more southeast along the Williamson River, watching the gentle flow of the water and the cloud move across the sky, their shadows floating on the river in their own direction. The day was slowly fading and the air became cold. The trail continued on but we turned around and walked back to the foot bridge across Spring Creek, and crossed over to the recreation area. 

Williamson River

My birders paused once more by the creek, spotting swallows and swifts. The light was too low to get any decent photo  so we didn't hang around much longer. 

Spring Creek

It was the perfect ending of a lovely day. A day spent chasing birds in established hotspots, eventually finding them here, at Collier Memorial State Park. In terms of wildflowers, it was an all winner day, and we drove back to Klamath Falls happy and satisfied. On the morrow we'll be driving on to Bend, to take in the Volcanic scene. 

Many thanks to members of the Oregon Native Plants group for their help in identifying plants!