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!

A Birding Hotspot Turned Wildflowers Hike, at Hamaker Mountain

Hamaker Mountain 

Date: June 28, 2020
Place: Hamaker Mountain, Klamath Fa;;s, Oregon
Coordinates: 42.068240, -121.973326
Length: 0.8 mile

Level: easy

On the summer of 2020 we had plans to travel overseas for a family vacation, but the pandemic had ruined our plans. We still wanted to go but now the options were very limited, restricted to where we would be willing to drive because flights were out of the question. While it seemed that California was slowly opening up a bit, and only a week before we could even go camping in the Sierra Nevada, most of the state was still closed down. After some thought we chose to go to Oregon, to Klamath Falls and Bend. 

The Klamath Falls is one of our favorites because of the excellent birding in that area. The drive there however, is long and it took us a full day to get there, including a refresher brake and hike at Castle Crags State Park in California. On our first day in Klamath Falls we went looking for the birding 'hot spots' as listed in the local Audubon Society chapter, and Hamaker Mountain was one of these hot spots. 

After a somewhat disappointing search for birds in a local forest we drove up Hamaker Mountain, and found ourselves all alone there, in a dirt pullout below what looked like a radar structure. 

It was very quiet there, and we didn't see any birds, not right away, anyway. There was a patch of yellow flowers at the edge of the pullout - little buckwheat plants on full bloom. 

Buckwheat, Eriogonum sp. 

There was no trailhead sight but the place's description at the Audubon Society website mentioned a hiking trail surrounding the mountain's summit, so we started looking for the trail. We found the trail at the southern edge of he parking area. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

As we were getting ready to go on the trail Pappa Quail and the elder chika found their first birds - a pair of Cassin's finches. 

Cassin's Finch, Female

Naturally, we all waited until these little birds were properly appreciated by my family's birders. It was a good thing too, because for the rests of the hike we didn't get to see many other birds and those we did see, didn't cooperate with the cameras. 

Cassin's Finch, male

We started on our little hike, circling around the fenced off summit of Hamaker Mountain clockwise. Since we started going south, we got a magnificent view of Mount Shasta early on our hike. Mount Shasta, with its snowy peak partially hidden in the clouds was looming over the vast plateau that stretches across Northern California and South Oregon, making it look closer than it really was, 

Mount Shasta

As for birding, Hamaker Mountain wasn't all that bird-rich (at least not on the day we were there) but wildflowers were another matter all together: Everywhere I looked there were many beautiful flowers. It looked like the bloom was at its peak. There was wonderful diversity of species and colors. While many of the flowers were familiar to me, I cannot be sure they were of the same species that I know from California so I decided to identify them only at the genus level. 

Coyote Mint, Monardella sp. 

The trail was easy enough to follow. It wasn't even a hiking trail but a sporadically used dirt road that was overgrown in parts by the new spring vegetation. 

Hamaker Mountain Trail

One of the most common wildflowers there was the lupine. Nearly all the blue color we saw on the mountain that day was of lupine. It was absolutely gorgeous. 

Lupine, Lupinus sp. 

Houndstongue flowers are normally blue too, or turn pink after their pollination. There were plenty of blue colored houndstongue flowers around the mountain as well, but I also go to see completely white-blooming individuals. They're of the sane species, so I guess it's a mutation. 

Houndstongue, Cynoglossum grande

Most of the red color came from the Indian paintbrush shrubs but there were pretty large patches of scarlet gilia here and there along the trail. These are also called 'birdfoot gilia' because of the narrow, back-curved petals. 

Scarlet Gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata 

The forest of Hamaker Mountain was patchy with trees growing n groves and stands, separated by wide clearings grown with shrubs and wildflowers. Circumventing the summit from the south we had the view of Mount Shasta peeking (or peaking ...) between the tree tops for a long part of our little hike. 

Mount Shasta 

White flowers were many, with no one species dominating this color. Phacelia plants were certainly common there, and also attracted many pollinators. 

Phacelia sp. 

For the most part the trail followed the fence that surrounded the radar structure. For the entire hike we saw no other human there, nor any apparent activity inside the fence. In fact, the whole place looked unattended and abandoned. I wonder who is in charge of the structure there and whether it's even needed anymore.  

As we turned around the corner and walked north we got some great views to the east. A very arable plateau lay below us, with green fields stretching all the way to the next mountain range. 

View East

There seemed to be more trees on the northeastern slope of the mountain, and although most of our trail was unshaded, many shade-loving wildflowers were added to my list of sightings that day, including the small, yellow violets. 

Violet, Viola sp, 

Out in the sun however, shrubs dominated the plant community. Among the most noticeable shrubs was the Indian paintbrush, with its bright red bloom. 

Paintbrush, Castilleja sp. 

The fragrance of the Ceanothus is impossible to mistake with anything else. Thee was much of that smell in the air as we made our way along the northeast part of the loop trail. 

Ceanothus sp. 

The Ceanothus too was at its peal bloom, I fid it hard to get a good closeup shot of Ceanothus because its flowers are so tiny, but I think I got a good one this time. Imagine a heavy honey-like smell filling your nostrils when you click on this picture. 

Ceanothus sp. 

Some of the bushes had thick woven nests of  caterpillar colonies on them. I don't know the species that does that but I do see it often. These caterpillars grow in large numbers inside this silky nursery, protected by the sticky threads and consuming the plant inside it until they are large enough to break through and leave the nest in order to continue growing on their own and eventually metamorphose onto a chrysalis. 

Caterpillars

We curved around the north side of the summit. The trail continued north down the mountainside and we had to look around a little until we found a continuation of the trail that was leading in the direction that we needed to go. The forest was a bit denser on the north side of the loop but still very separated and full of clearings with nice wildflowers. We could hear birds all around us but the birds remained obscure, giving a hard time to my family birders.  

Ne and the younger chika waited patiently while Pappa Quail and the elder chika walked between the trees trying to detect tiny warblers trough the thick foliage. Meanwhile I found many other wildflowers, including kinds I have no idea how to get their ID. 

I was happy to see wild strawberry in bloom. I like to taste their fruit when in season, and seeing the flowers had me salivating although I knew I won't be back there in time to enjoy the fruit. 

Strawberry, Fragaria sp. 

We arrived back at the dirt pullout where we parked with a very low count of birds but a wonderful display of wildflowers. As we neared our car my birders spotted another bird on the wire and went over to check it out.  

Western Wood Pewee

It was a lovely little hike that didn't take very long. I was happy with it but Pappa Quail and the elder chika were disappointed with the low bird count and so I opened the list I prepared of the birding hotspots listed by the local chapter of the Audubon Society. Another 'hotspot' we checked was also not a rich one, not even in wildflowers. The last place we checked out that day however, turned out to be a smashing success in terms of both wildflowers and birds. Hamaker Mountain was a sweet little hike but it was the appetizer for the main course which was Collier State Park at Chiloquin, north of Klamath Falls. 

Hamaker Mountain Road